Rating: 
Summary: All hail Terry Pratchett the magnificent!
Review: I've read pretty much all of Mr.Pratchett's books (except some of his children's books) and have loved all of them.As brilliant as he is,I still prefer some of his books over the others,specifically his Lancre-books and his city-watch books.Well,Night Watch just moved to the top of my list.It has everything we have come to expect from his books and more.If you've never read any of his books before,this may not be a great place to start,as it includes characters well-known from other books,but to everybody else:read it!And to those of you who have never read Terry Pratchett before;get started,you have a lot of catching up to do.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of a Book
Review: This is Pratchett's 28th book in his Discworld series. It's a masterpiece. Unfortunately, if you haven't read all his earlier works (or at least those focusing on the Watch), the book will mean nothing to you. Also, it's not a funny book. It extends the trend toward seriousness present in his other books of the Watch. I think what Pratchett's done in this book is where he'll be going for future books: he'll fill in the far past of his characters. The humor will be there for other characters (like the Witches or the Wizards), but for the Watch, I think he'll maintain a more serious, darker, police-work feel with dabs of humor here and there. Really, an excellent book that requires the background of his previous works.
Rating:
Summary: A rebirth for Prachett
Review: First of all, I would like to point out this is a very good book (at least in my opinion). Second I would like to point out that I was relieved when I finished this book. Lately in many of Prachett's books (and also books by Neil Gaiman) that I have read, I felt a feeling of regret, partially because of the ending of such an admirable book, but partially because of a feeling that the imaginative world that was created was now closed. I did not get that feeling while reading this book.
Now I would like to point out my views:
1. There have been a few views that this book is not as funny as some of Prachett's earlier works. This is not exactly true. There is as much humor in this book as the others, it is just mostly crammed into the first 50 pages or so. After that the book is mostly more serious until the last twenty pages, when it gets more humorous
2. I found the book rather inspiring on its views on how government and law actually work (at least here)
3. I just found it very cool that you can glimpse younger versions of certain characters, including Nobby as a young street urchin, Colon as an uncertain corporal, Vetinari as a young assasin with revolutionary ideas on camuflage, Rosie Palm as a middle rank "seamstress", Reg Shoe alive, and of course Vimes as a young, naive recruit.
4. However, if you don't know who the older versions of the above characters are, this is not the novel for you. Read the other Watch books and Theif Of Time to get the full experience of reading this book
5. The very last joke in the book, in the last two paragraphs or so of the entire book(the one about Vimes's cigar, which is saying a bit too much about it) is both extremely funny and casts new light on a scene which happens much earlier.
Rating: 
Summary: Morality
Review: Night watch is just my thrid pratchett book after the Science of Discworld 1 and 2, and the Amazing Maurice. As reviewers pointed out the story may not be as hilarious as earlier pratchett books, and this book did not get me laughing many times. What I appreciate about this book the most is not the laughs (there are many other books if you want just brainless comedy), but the fact that this book is trying to present a morality issue about what is bad and right in times of crisis. This is very evident about the decisions Sam Vimes had to take during the revolt. The summing moment to me was when the madam asked Vimes on whose side he was on the revolutionaries or the current patriach. Vimes said neither. I don't know if these morality issues have been touched before in earlier books but I do find that it makes this book worth its salt.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect.
Review: The best Discworld novel I've read to date, and I own them all....and have read most of them three or four times. Consistently funny, as well as emotionally powerful and philosophically both deep and sound (although you can read it as a straight, non-philosophical story, too, if you're tired).
Buy this book. Now. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: A return to the Watch...Hooray!
Review: Another solid effort from Terry Pratchett. The Discworld novels that revolve around the Watch are undoubtedly my favorites. If you're familiar with the series you'll recognize the cast of this novel immediately. Commander Vimes (the central character) is second only to Corporal Carrot in terms of my favorite Discworld protagonists. "Night Watch" takes us back (literally) to the beginnings of the Watch, how it was formed and the politics and intrigue behind the government of Ankh-Morpork as we know it in all the other Discworld novels. Hilarious, well-thought out and at times even downright poignant. If you've never read a Pratchett novel you may want to start earlier in the series, this one's got some inside jokes and some plot points that will be unfamiliar to "newbies", nevertheless highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Back to the Future for Sam Vimes
Review: The latest in Terry Pratchett's Night Watch series of Discworld novels continues the exploits of His Grace, Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh-Morpork and Commander of the City Watch. And, like his increasingly lengthy title, the Watch under his command is getting too big. Vimes pines for the days when he was just a copper, walking the night beat, chasing down criminals. But an encounter with a murderer and a bolt of lightening on top of the Unseen University's High Energy Magic Building will give him just what he wishes for. And more.
As always in Pratchett's novels, the characters are what matters. Vimes is, as always, appealing as a Dirty Harry-esque copper, but without Harry's distorted morals and penchant for murder. We learn much more about Vimes' past, obviously, since he's there, and the fact that he is teaching himself how to be himself is the source of much humor. The main villian, Carcer, is little more than a MacGuffin to move the plot along, and is possibly the most thin of the myriad Discworld characters. He is evil for the sake of evil, much like Wolf from "The Fifth Elephant", but without Wolf's style or dangerousness. But he still gets the job done. The young Sam Vimes is also a lot of fun, as a very naive and clueless young man with faint glimpses of the man that he will someday become. It's also fun to see Lu-Tze from "Thief of Time" in a brief cameo.
The novel is a gift to fans of the Night Watch series, and as such may not be enjoyed by those that aren't. The real fun comes from seeing CMOT Dibbler, Nobby Nobbs, Vetinari and the rest before they become as we know them, and from the way that the future Vimes is involved in all of it. As for me, if it has Sam Vimes in it, I'm sold. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Still better than a lot of books out there!
Review: Let me say that I love Terry Pratchett, and for over 10 years I've eagerly awaited each new book. I've read some of his early discworld books so many times I've lost count.Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to to really like this book, it was very disappointing. Another reviewer got it in one when they said, "just not funny". Yes, all of his books are social satire, but this was verging on just 'social'. Even the jokes that were attempted seemed forced and unoriginal, like I had read them in his other books before. I even read it again (because I always read ever new Pratchett books several times right away since there is normally so much I miss the first time through), but it never 'caught' me, I never laughed, and I just set the book aside. I have been disappointed in the last two Pratchett books, and while I'll be certain to pick up his next book as well, I really hope to see some new, refreshing material in the future.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful.
Review: Without a doubt, Terry Pratchett just keeps getting better. I can no longer simply describe his books as "fantasy, but funny"...because they're just so much more. The last few, especially the last few about the watch, have grown increasingly more meaningful. 'Night Watch' more than continues that trend. The inherent contemplations about the nature of time that were introduced with the History Monks in 'Thief of Time' are added to the depth that has become ever more present in the watch books. At the same time, 'Night Watch' provides some truly wonderful background on Vimes, Vetinari, and the rest of the original gang, while being far more than a simple prequel. I disagree with any who felt this book was not as funny as others; there were parts that made me laugh for minutes on end. Many of those parts involved humor anyone would understand, while others were so amusing simply because they involved characters that we're used to seeing decades later. What's even more important to me, however, is not that this book made me laugh -- Terry Pratchett has never written a book that has not accomplished that. This, however, is the first book he's written that has ever made me cry. One of the things I most admire about Terry Pratchett's writing is that he draws so much from history and from our own world, yet does so in ways that you never notice until you have learned the history elsewhere; I discover a new reference every time I read or reread a book. 'Night Watch' contains some truly striking commentary on war and revolution, as well as on a myriad of other topics. Do not begin the series with this book, as much of its value derives from the framework provided by previous books. With that said, I recommend this book to all and offer my applause and thanks to Mr.Pratchett -- he deserves them.
Rating: 
Summary: Fatal flaw
Review: There was one really fatal flaw in Night Watch. It just wasn't funny. Instead of the usual hilarious humor, we had Terry Pratchett pontificating on revolution, repression and who cares? This may be an occupational hazard for best-selling authors: deciding that they have a mandate to Share their Views. There was one good joke at the start of the book, where Vimes get depressed because the Guild of Assassins is no longer trying to kill himl, but that first joke was the last. I was used to laughing out loud at Discworld, but this time I barely smiled. Calling the secret police "The Unmentionables" could have set off a satire on The Untouchables, but no such luck. Just one more missed opportunity.
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