"...Не то, чтобы город погряз в беззаконии - как раз законов у него было в избытке. Просто он создавал для граждан не так уж много возможностей существовать без их нарушения. Свингу и в голову не могло придти, что цель его службы - ловить преступников и, не мытьём так катаньем, делать из них порядочных людей. Вместо этого он предпочитал ловить честных людей и делать из них преступников..."Читаешь такое и думаешь - ах, старый чёрт, эко он насмотрелся на наших российских правоохранителей! Ведь один в один. А потом смотришь на дату выхода романа и мрачнеешь. Потому что старый чёрт написал это и напечатал за несколько лет до того, как на приличном куске "постсоветского пространства" обосновались и вошли в полную мерзость местные версии лорда Уиндера и его Штатских. Нет в вашем сюжете никакой уникальности, как будто говорит Пратчетт, одна только унылая неспособность усваивать уроки истории. Даже собственной. "...И если вы выводите на улицы войска, то катастрофа становится только вопросом времени. Стоить какому-нибудь обормоту кинуть камень - и через секунду дома начинают гореть, а люди - умирать..."Что в этом непонятного? Что? Не поспоришь ведь. Но фишка в том, что тех, кто выводит на улицы войска, это не парит. Он МЕЧТАЮТ, чтобы какой-нибудь обормот кинул камень. И вот тогда эта зарвавшаяся шваль увидит настоящую козью морду власти и обгадится.А вдруг не обгадится? С козьей морды-то?"...Те, кто выступает на стороне Народа, неизменно остаются разочарованы результатом. Они вдруг обнаруживают, что Народ вовсе не рвётся быть благодарным, не ценит сияющих в будущем перспектив и не особо послушен. Народ, скорее, склонен уделять внимание всяким частностям, он оказывается консервативен, не слишком продвинут - и вообще не хочет доверять умникам. И дети революции оказываются лицом к лицу со старой как мир проблемой: светлому будущему чуждо не только неправильное правительство, это было ясно и так, но ему чужд и неправильный Народ..."У вас нет дежа вю? Я похожие плачи совсем недавно встречал в нашей прессе. Правда, там это было совершенно всерьёз и с надрывом, а для Пратчетта это настолько банально и замылено, что становится поводом для издёвки. Он как-то слишком уж ушел от нас вперёд, не находите? Вот бы догнать..."...То, что выплеснулось на улицы, не было восстанием или бунтом. Это были страх и отчаяние. Так бывает, когда живой механизм города даёт сбой, его шестерни останавливаются и привычный уклад вдруг рассыпается прахом. И когда это происходит, люди ведут себя куда хуже овец. Овцы просто убегают, они не пытаются загрызть тех, кто бежит вместе с ними..."В этом романе Сэм Ваймс (его более "тёртая" версия) смотрит на революцию с высоты своего жизненного опыта. Терри Пратчетт не верит, конечно, что читатель прислушается к Ваймсу и оценит его опыт. Для этого писатель слишком хорошо знает человеческую природу. Но он точно знает, что когда-нибудь разочарованные победители и побеждённые совсем других революций и восстаний, защитники и захватчики баррикад, размахиватели флагами и бурчатели из фейсбука, прочтут этот роман. И потом дадут его прочесть своим детям с острым чувством надежды, что хотя бы такая прекрасная книга сможет кого-нибудь вовремя научить паре-тройке несложных правил жизни в меняющемся мире.И, конечно, в 99 случаях из 100 эти надежды окажутся напрасными.К счастью, только в 99 случаях из 100.
Where do I begin with this most beloved of books, by this most beloved of current authors? I guess I can start by explaining how I came to read the world-renowned works of Sir Terry “the new Chaucer”* Pratchett myself. It was because of a blog that I came across accidentally. The blogger was thrilled because a new Disc World book had come out in the USA, and she couldn’t wait to read about “Death’s granddaughter.” She added that she envied anyone who hadn’t read a single book in the fantasy series, because every page in every volume was laugh-aloud funny.Whoa! A whole series of laugh-aloud fantasy books? Plus the idea that Death could have a granddaughter . . . that was intriguing! I bought the first book, The Color of Magic, and enjoyed it immensely. In its early days, Disc World was indeed almost all about a chortle (or three) per page.And then . . . it became so much more. By the time I got to Lords and Ladies, I was not just guffawing at the wit, but crying in sheer wonder at the end of the book. Sir Terry does desperate idealism and uplifting, heartbreaking climaxes with effortless grace. Sure, he’ll add a triple-twist to the conclusion that leaves you chuckling in admiration at mysteries cleverly solved, but in the latter two-thirds of the Disc World series he’ll also make your heart swell and your eyes mist over as you are exhilarated by a perfect moment of raw feeling at the end.When I started Night Watch, I knew exactly what Sir Terence David John “Terry” Pratchett could do to me with his endings. I guess that’s what snatched away my breath at the very beginning of the book, the first time I read the five words of the story’s theme song: “How Do They Rise Up.” I began to weep on the spot in anticipation. (I was right, too.)What is Night Watch about? I believe the blurb on my first copy read something like: “This morning Sam Vimes was reminiscing about the good old days in the Watch. This afternoon he’s living in them.” In a nutshell, His Grace, the Duke of Ankh, Watch Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, accidental time-traveler, is hunting a serial-killer named Carcer, who has also been thrown back thirty years in time. His Grace quickly discovers that although a vicious criminal like Carcer is actually better off when no one recognizes who he is, being a Duke or a copper** is dependent on other people allowing you to be one. Not only that, but the “good old days” are actually some very bad old times, with a corrupt Patrician ruling the metropolis of Ankh-Morpork, and a vigilante group of secret police, the Unmentionables, dealing out their own terrifying version of justice by torture. What’s a Samuel Vimes to do? There’s nothing for it but to get a job as a copper again, under the pseudonym John Keel, his old Sergeant’s name. As soon as he does this, however, he meets up with skinny, naïve eighteen-year-old Lance Constable Sam Vimes. Yep, His Grace must become his own tutor--the staunch Sergeant who teaches young Sam all that’s vital about becoming a good copper rather than a crooked one.Night Watch is also about revolutions (“Don’t put your trust in [them]. . . . People die, and nothing changes”); and about the nature of evil (“You found that people like Carcer . . . looked at the world and realized that all the rules didn’t have to apply to them, not if they didn’t want them to . . . They shook hands with The Beast”); and, most importantly, about the nature of goodness (“All the little angels rise up, rise up . . .).Speaking about goodness, Sergeant-at-arms John Keel is one of my favorite characters of all time. He is all that is positive about Sam Vimes, while remaining about as far from a saint as he can get without losing his halo entirely. By the end, he is proved to be a tactical and psychological genius while still being a grunt,*** a sort of olden-days MacGyver, and a truly decent man who must face a seemingly impossible dilemma: how to finish his manhunt and get back home without allowing the tragedy that engulfed the real Sergeant Keel’s fellow coppers to happen all over again. Incidentally, there are several wonderful sub-plots that I am ignoring because of spoilers.I won’t say much more, except that you’ll smile wryly or laugh aloud on many of the pages, and if you’re sensitive you’ll likely cry at some point in the end. When His Grace Sam Vimes discovers what matters more than gilt and feathers and badges and feeling chilly, you’ll want to raise a glass to his health (something non-alcoholic, preferably). Also, for fans of the modern Patrician, Lord Vetinari, I think that young Havelock of the Assassins Guild offers a refreshing insight into the character of this most cerebral and duplicitous politician. Night Watch quite changed my own perspective on the gentleman. I love his redoubtable aunt. One last word: This book is best enjoyed if you are already familiar with the character Samuel Vimes, who debuted in Guards, Guards as a forlorn and alcoholic Night Watchman. It isn’t absolutely necessary to read all the previous Sam Vimes books (Guards, Guards, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and The Fifth Elephant) before taking up Night Watch, but it does make for a richer experience.*The Washington Post coined this nickname, and it’s perfect. He’s not as bawdy as Geoffrey Chaucer, but his satire is just as vivid, his humor just as wicked, and his love of misfits--his great compassion for the flawed or fallen of humankind--is just as deep. **Police officer, member of the Watch.***A “man of the polis.” Polis = Greek word for city-state. Roughly: “man of the people (of the city).”
What do You think about Night Watch (2011)?
A fairly late book in the Watch series. Improves on being read in sequenceThe life of Sam Vimes. Living the uncomfortably posh life -- he can't really go on patrol, because the sergeant alert the men to straighten up, and the consolation of knowing he has sharp sergeants does not compensate for the lack -- and his wife is in labor -- and he gets word that a homicidal sociopath, Carcer, whom they've been looking for, had run into a guardsman just off duty and killed him. Top priority comes to cornering him, which ends up on top of the Unseen University When Vimes goes to bring him, lightning strikes.Next thing he knows, he's lying in the street. It takes him some time to work out that he's been thrown back in time. His wife is still a girl. His younger self is new to the Watch but quick-witted enough to arrest him. Lord Winders is Patriarch and paranoid, and his Unmentionables are doing his (very) dirty work.The History Monks find him and tell him that Carcer has set time awry. They can sustain things if he moves into the shoes of a person whom Carcer kills, significant in his past.It involves inkwells, lilac blossoms, Dr. Lawn an irregular doctor, needing a receipt to hand over prisoners, a silver cigar case, the inconspicuousness of dancing through the street lighting firecrackers, where the second-hand store got its used clothes, setting a building on fire, and much more.
—Mary Catelli
7.5/10This is rated as one of the best Discworld novels out there, a number of friends put this at the top of a highly rated pile so coming into this on those high hopes didn't take much for it to fall short for me.Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this. It's a Watch novel which involves time travel. Talk about a winning combo! Add into that seeing all the characters you enjoy reading about at an earlier stage in their life, a revolution, and some quite emotional scenes then you have a recipe for success. Sam Vimes teaching himself (a younger version of himself, time travel remember) tips and tricks on how to become the man he is stands out as some of the more interesting aspects of the Discworld series.Why it fell a little flat? Me, in a word. Busy schedules and a weekend away drinking in excess meant that I couldn't get the story flowing, things were forgotten and motivation was low. This is definitely one of those books that would probably have impacted me more if I could have cracked at it quicker. A Discworld novel should take about 4-5 days for me to read, this took 11 which sums it up really.So in summary, don't drink and read. I'll probably come back to this in the future and give it the time and attention it truly deserves.If you like this try: "The Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett
—Richard
String, bitter, dark and sweet (much like %85 chocolate) this book from the city watch series is a departure from all the previous Sam Vimes books. It is hard for me to be sure, but I think it might work well as a stand alone read for people who have not followed PTerry, want to get into the discworld books but find themselves unable to bond with the earlier books.Sam Vimes, while pursuing a particularly nasty murderer ends up on a dome of Unseen University just as magic goes haywire, he is catapulted back, not only in Anke Morporks history but in his own. He ends up back at a particularly important part of his own development as a watchman, during an event that was part of sealing the future of the Watch, although in an usual way.As I said, a bit darker and a bit more bitter than some of the earlier works, the characters are more gritty than comical and the social commentary is becoming more obvious. I really do love the way this series became more mature as you real through them.
—Deborah Ideiosepius
