Rating: 
Summary: A great book.....but.....
Review: Not as funny as some of his other works.....hence my 4 star rating.....really it deserves 4.5, but that is not an option.Let me say that I have read all of his books more than once. He is, by far, my favorite author. This book is not typical Pratchett, but needs to be read, especially if you are a fan and have read the series.....the plot itself is nice, and works fairly well, but more enjoyable for me was seeing so many of my favorite characters "in their early years." It kind of gives you a view of their past, and how they became what they are. I do not want you to think there is no humor in this book, there is. However, it just was not as funny as I am used to, and that is because the story is a bit different, and takes on a different theme. If this is your first Terry Pratchett book, DO NOT read it until you have read a few others, especially Thief of Time. I think this book will be better appreciated having read at least ToT. I see that others have mentioned what the book is about, well, you can read that anywhere, and you never know what someone else thinks is a bummer to find out before reading a book....I just wanted to give you my opinion before you spend the money....but do spend the money, I thought it was worth it. :-) One last thing, and for me it is a real annoying thing.....there are SOOOOO many typos in this book, that it actually throws off your reading at times.....I almost forgot to mention it...but be ready, I have never encountered so many in one book before. It kills the flow, especially in some of the more important moments in the book. What makes it worse is that in this day and age, there is really no excuse for so many errors in grammar and spelling....at least not at this price level. Knowing this before hand may make it easier. Peace, Morley
Rating: 
Summary: Tough calls and black humor
Review: The guards in general, and Sam Vimes in particular, are real heroes, in the meaning that you really feel that this is how real heroes would handle the tough calls, the conflicting interests, the raw chaos of unclear loyalties etc. and walk away with their integrity intact. He has succeeded in creating distilled reality, and that is magical, as magical as the making of fine malt whisky and as the library at the unseen university. He can even paint personalities with a one-liner, and that's bloody sourcery. I wonder about his ancestry, surely he must be the eighth son of an eighth son... The guards are hist best creation, and they were never better than here.
Rating:
Summary: The future is past
Review: Terry Pratchett is a paragon among writers. While some authors achieve a peak and slide away, even if only temporarily, Pratchett climbs upward, one step [book] at a time, reaching new crests. This work is indisputably his finest endeavor. Unlike other "fantasy" [ugh!] writers, he is able to draw on scientific sources to support his stories. In this instance it's quantum physics, time travel and probability. Oh, yes, and people. Plot and environment are set gently aside in Pratchett's quest to portray folks. Real people in real circumstances. Or at least as real as living in Ankh-Morpork, the Discworld's major city, will allow. We are once again confronted with the puzzle of how much is Sam Vimes Pratchett's idol and how much is Pratchett himself? All Terry Pratchett's characters are fascinating in their own way. Rincewind, a spectacular coward, expresses a survivor's continuing agonies of fear and distrust. Esme Weatherwax dons a cape of firm self-assurance you could roof a shed with - until she's alone and surveying her frailties. In Sam Vimes, however, Pratchett produced someone special. In his own view Sam sometimes strides on feet of clay. Plagued by self-doubts, worrying about problems often not his, beset by hordes of enemies and unpredictable circumstances, Vimes manages to trot up to the finish line soiled but sturdy. We live in an era when "character" is a disreputable phrase. Still, Sam Vimes arrives at each finale by employing resolute self discipline, applying it to himself or imparting it to others. In this book, that example becomes bifurcated by Sam's knowledge that he's coaching his younger self. Maintaining his own standards while imparting them to young Lance-Constable Vimes is a challenging situation. He was pursuing a killer in his own time - he continues the pursuit in the past. He's also, once again, caught up in Ankh-Morpork politics. Transported back in time, Vimes remains burdened with memories. Sybil, his wife, is about to produce their first born [promised in Fifth Elephant]. A Watch mainstay, Fred Colon, is an established Corporal, while Nobby Nobbs, a social stain, is a street urchin seeking the main chance. Sam encounters old friends and makes new ones. Some don't survive. Pratchett's ability to give life to each of his characters brings a sense of grief at their loss other authors fail to achieve. You cannot prevent a pause in your reading when you learn of their deaths. There is one character you're eager to see "pass on," but Pratchett denies you that comfort. Fantasy or no, reality is firmly established here. As always with Pratchett, the characters are your neighbours and family. You know them intimately, never mind their distance in time and place. You rejoice in their successes and mourn their losses. It's all part of Pratchett's ability to capture the reader - new or long- standing. Back in an earlier Ankh-Morpork, Vimes assumes the identity of John Keel. In this role, he establishes new standards in the Watch - dress, behaviour, skills, attitudes. Those who can't conform are eased [at least] out. Inevitably, the role of the Watch in relation to the military arises. Pratchett has addressed this issue before, of course, and it remains unresolved. Especially in times of civil unrest and resentment over government and taxes. The old labour movement refrain "Which Side Are You On" might have replaced the tune running through this book. Clearly, Pratchett is far more interested in helping his readers confront the world than in carving himself a comfortable niche among escapist fantasy writers. Those who bemoan the loss of "humour" in his recent works [although the asides in this book are among his best], are ignoring the message. He's a serious thinker imparting his ideas using the methods at his command. To pigeonhole him is to ignore his message or reject it. He deserves better. The next "critic" who labels Pratchett as a "humorous fantacist" can meet me in Sator Square. Bring your own weapons, but be advised my chosen second is the Commander of the Ankh-Morpork Watch . . .
Rating:
Summary: Trollfree, dwarffree, and Carrotless, but still enthralling
Review: Not a typical Watch book. Our hero Sam Vimes accidentally slips about 30 years back in time in pursuit of a criminal, only to encounter his younger self as a wet-behind-the-ears Lance Constable. Will he find a way back to Sybil? Will Carcer (our criminal villain) kill him first? Can Vimes prevent an uprising of the common folk from turning into a massacre? Moving back in time leaves Ankh-Morpork free of many (but not all) Watch favorite characters (the book is quite Carrotless, troll, dwarf, and almost zombie-free). This reduces the slapstick and rat-pie quotient significantly but if you prefer Vimes' hardboiled cop to those hijinks, you will like this a lot. It's quite thrilling, actually, and a lot of fun seeing many of the Watch series' human characters in younger form.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel With Two Sam Vimes
Review: Mr. Pratchett does it once again. Any fan of his should not, and will not be surprised. What does he do? Well, since you ask....In this his 28ath novel of the Diskworld series; Mr Pratchett gives us a very healthy dose of philosphy disguised as a humorous (actually humorous is too tame a word) novel. In this particular novel Sam Vimes (my personal favorite of all of the diskworld characters) is the central character in a tale that deals with the potential problems that could ensue if you are able to travel back in time and be there at a pivitol moment in your own life. Also included is a healthy dose of the nature of right and wrong, and good versus evil. While the above sounds rather heavy, it is delivered with Mr. Pratchetts world class humor and an eye for fleshing out his characters and the world they inhabit. Sam Vimes is fast becoming one of the most "real" characters to ever inhabit the world of fiction. We see him complete with all of his character traits, both the noble and just, as well as some of his less admirable traits. It all serves to make him a real person. In this novel we are also treated to glimpses of Sgt Colon, Nobby Nobs, Lord Vetinari, Reg Shoe, Mrs Palm (rad the book to find out her first name), as well as some of the characters we have only heard about in the previous novels. The book is 338 pages and they turn one after the other almost of their own volition. This is one of those (rare) books that just grabs you and won't let you go until the last page is read. As for myself, as soon as I am done writing this, I am going to sit down, and re-read it, for I find that with any of the Diskworld novels, each re-reading brings new and deeper joys.
Rating:
Summary: Lilac and the Prime Directive
Review: A comparison between a Discworld novel and the Star Trek TV series would not usually come to mind. However, in NIGHTWATCH, we are discovering something like the program's temporal prime directive. It is one thing to be transported 30 years back in time through some magical fluke. It something else to ensure that events there do/will not distort the present. The present is a past and will lead to a future. What would you be coming back to? Sir Samuel Vimes, the Commander of the City Watch in Ankh Morpork, is catapulted out of the present at a sensitive and important moment in his personal life. Together with the criminal Carcer, who he was about to arrest, he is transported into an earlier, smaller and much less organized city. It would not be true to his character if he just laid low while waiting and hoping to get back to the present/future. Disguised as another copper, he involves himself in the city's business. He meets a number of well-known Discworld luminaries in their earlier selves, from Nobby Nobbs and Fred Colon to a smart young Havelock Vetinari and learns how Reg Shoe becomes a zombie. And, of course, we encounter the young Sam Vimes who is still very naïve. He is in need of a role model and hero and Vimes, the older and still disguised, has to step into the part. Suffice to say, that the events are unfolding in good Pratchett fashion. Sam Vimes is in the thick of it - a rebellion to be precise. As a result of Vimes and Carcer's presence, events happen not quite as they were suppose to have happened. That is where the temporal prime directive becomes an important aspect leading us to a more reflective and pondering Sam. He knows how history will report the past that he is reliving, but not as himself. Will he jeopardize his own future if he tweaks reality in the past? Will there be his wife, Sybil, and the child yet to be born?... Those familiar with Pratchett's Discworld will remember time shifts and alignments and those who tinker with them in THIEF OF TIME. Not surprising therefore that the Sweeper has to make an appearance, this time accompanied by a character similar to one in Star Trek - playing with time and space. To find out about the importance of lilac, you have to read the book. NIGHTWATCH is a great book - rich in the story and the reflections on politics, power, violence and teamwork. And of course, Pratchett's famous and unsurpassed one-liners, such as, when referring to the old Watch "in the sea of adventure, you're bottom-feeders". It is one of those P'Terry books you want to read in one go. On reflection, it is also recommended to newcomers to the Discworld. You don't have to read all 28 Discworld novels first... you will certainly read more of them after you started with this one.
Rating:
Summary: interesting and humorous Discworld novel
Review: The Duke of Ankh Sir Samuel Vimes knows that in his role, as Commander of the Watch, there is never a dull day on Discworld. Usually Sam stays off the street and works behind a desk, but when a particularly vicious psychopath kills one of the men under his command, Vimes is determined to find Carcer and bring him down. He corners him near the university but just as he is about to apprehend him a freak occurrence sends them back in time. Carcer kills John Keel, the man who taught Vines how to be a good copper, and it is up to Sir Samuel to find a way to teach the young Samuel Ivens how to bring honor to a job. Before he can think of returning to his present, he must also take care of Carcer, show the Watch that it needn't be corrupt, and find a way to put history back on track. The Discworld novels are always interesting and humorous and Night Watch is no exception. The hero is thrust back in time and into an organization that is corrupt, inept and inefficient. Using the knowledge gained in the thirty years on the job he brings a sense of honor and fair play to the NIGHT WATCH, which makes him very appealing to the readers. Terry Pratchett has written a fine well-rounded novel that will please his fans. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A history that never even begins to flag
Review: Whilst about to apprehend a homicidal maniac called Carcer, Commander of the Watch Samuel Vimes is caught in a funny sort of magical storm and wakes up - naked - back (about 25 years?) in his own past, when the mad, bad and paranoid Lord Winder is Patrician, Vimes' wife Sybil is a 16 year old girl living at home with her father, and Vimes himself is a young lance-corporal: inexperienced, and not a little idealist. Those were... These are, troubled times. A rebellion is getting ready bubble up and when it does it won't be pretty. Vimes knows how it's going to turn out, and who's going to die. Trouble is, if he manages to save them, then the future he came from might not exist. And then there's still Carcer, who's loose and dangerous in this past version of Ankh Morpork. Certainly the most sombre Discworld novel ever, Night Watch is still very funny and never for a moment lost my interest. This book shows you one of events that make Anhk Morpork the functioning-against-all-evidence metropolis that it becomes; and it will give your the answers to, among others, these questions: Just who - that is if you can see him - is that young Assassin in the (non-Guild regulation) dark green outfit? Why is Nobby, of all people, wearing a lilac blossom? And how exactly did Reg Shoe become a zombie? By the end of Night Watch, the reader will never be in doubt of what any reader of Pratchett's phenomenal series would already know, that, both figuratively and physically, Vimes and Vetinari rule.
Rating:
Summary: He's still got it! (Well, who ever doubted it.)
Review: This is another excellent book in the Discworld series. It's not the best, by some way, but it's still an incredibly good read. Sam Vimes is cast back in time to old Anhk-Morpork. Whilst there he must drag a vicious killer back to the present, stop a bloody revolution, and teach the young Vimes how to be a good copper, otherwise when he returns, he may find himself faced with no future at all. This book is considerably darker than some of Pratchett's works, and there's not quite as much humour as normal, which doesnt really matter, because it is still there in part. (Indeed, the way Nobby Nobbs imparts news of husband's death's to their new widows is posibly the funniest thing i have ever read.) However, it's still absolutely chock-full of the philosophical musings which lift his books so far most fantasy novels, indeed, almost ALL novels. Not only are his books immensely enjoyable, funny and well written, they make you think, and they say a great great deal about the world we live in today, by using the Discworld societies as mirrors of our own. Some people say that some of books of the last five or so years havent been as good as some of those from his "middle period", i however, couldn't disagree more. In the past few years, terry Pratchett ahs produced some of his absolutely best work, from the best of the entire series, "The Truth", to the cleverst work of detective fiction i've ever come across, "Feet of Clay". This book has another cracking plot with some excellent characters (it was great to see some of the characters we now know so well, in their younger days. Nobby, Fred, etc. Indeed, the young Havelock Vetinari provides an absolutely brilliant performance.) and it's nie to have a window into Anhk-Morporks history, however, after the excellent first 200 pages, the book slows down a bit and gets slightly, dare i say it, mundane, for a very short while, before it picks itself up again and goe son to another great ending. Terry Pratchett really deserves some kind of award for this, and every book he's wrriten. Indeed, with Terry Pratchett writing a book a year, no other fantasy/sci-fi writer would stand a chance.
Rating:
Summary: How the Vimes Character was Formed
Review: Night Watch is the 27th, or 28th (depending on how you count them) book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. The Discworld series takes place on the flat world of the Disc which is carried on the backs of four elephants standing on the great Turtle, A'tuin, as he (or maybe she) swims through space. On the Disc mariners who attempt to sail over the horizon, in fact, sail over the edge. The Disc is home to magic and many magical creatures and beings abound, gods, dwarfs, trolls, vampires, zombies, werewolves, wizards, witches and more. Terry Pratchett's Discworld books can be grouped into categories depending on who the primary characters are. I tend to think of the categories as the Wizards of the Unseen University, the Witches of Lancre, Death, and the City Watch. Most of the Discworld books fall into one of these categories although a few like Pyramids, Moving Pictures and Small Gods don't. Night Watch though is definitely a City Watch book. In Night Watch, we learn how Samuel Vimes' character was formed. His Grace, the Duke Samuel Vimes, the commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is dispatched back in time (along with a ruthless killer) to the waning days of the corrupt Lord Winder's reign as ruler of Ankh-Morpork. Vimes must assume the identity of John Keel, a guardsman recently recruited to the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch as a Sergeant at Arms. In the Night Watch he finds his earlier self, takes him under his wing and teaches him how to be a good copper. In his jaunt back to the past Vimes meets earlier versions of Fred Colon as a corporal, Nobby Nobbs as a street urchin, Reg Shoe as a non-zombie revolutionary and a young new street vendor named Dibbler just starting out. Lu-Tze, the sweeper monk of history, makes an appearance trying to get Vimes to accept his role in the course of events leading up to the revolution that ousts Lord Winder. A young Vetinari, as a senior at the Assasins Guild also takes part in the plot. Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are jewels of humorous fantasy and Night Watch is no exception. The most enjoyable Discworld books involve the City Watch, Guards, Guards, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and The Fifth Elephant. Night Watch continues the story of the City Watch characters by going back in time to explain how the central character, Sam Vimes, came to be. However, Night Watch, is not the typical hysterical Pratchett romp through the fantastic world of the Disc. This book, while still funny, is a little darker than the average Discworld book and a little bit deeper, which makes it a very nice change of pace. The older Sam Vimes as John Keel, teaches the younger Vimes the meaning of being a watchman, doing the job that's in front of you and keeping the peace. It's in some ways a sad and trying story, but it opens up tremendous insight into one of the most beloved Discworld characters. This book probably is not the best choice for your first Discworld book, but if you are a fan of the Discworld and enjoy the books about the City Watch, this book is a must read.
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