Sunday, November 22, 2009
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Comedy/Humour Book Reviews

Terry Pratchett: Night Watch

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Vimes is on the streets, where he loves to be and chasing down one of the vilest criminals in the city, so he is one happy man. However, just as he is grappling for his life with this most psychopathic of killers a magical thunderstorm comes in and they both find themselves in the past, back to when Vimes was just starting out on his career in the Watch.

Due to many and varied events Vimes finds himself having to play the role of Keel, a tough man who teaches a young Vimes about being a copper. Keel went down in the history books, he helped lead a revolution – and died in the process. This revolution is just around the corner, so will Vimes from the future die? Or will history be changed? Or will a certain sweeper with monks clothing have another plan?

Night Watch appears to have more in common with older Pratchett books than the new. It's darker than the newer books but still incredibly funny. Old Pratchett fans are likely to get a familiar sensation when they sit down to read this, and may find themselves thinking: When I was lad all Pratchett books were like this!

Another interesting part of this excellent story is the extra history it brings to the Discworld table. Many of the characters that appear throughout his books are in this, but much younger of course. Examples that spring to mind are Reg Shoe (before he died) and Vetinari (who was a member of the Assassins Guild).

This book will bring a warm smile as well as much laughter to fans of Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series. And it is these people that Pratchett has obviously aimed the book at. If you are new to Pratchett then this is probably not the book to start with (try The Color of Magic), it is filled with too many "in jokes" and characters. But for Pratchett fans this is a welcome return to the really, really, good old days.

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