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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Night Watch. Terry Pratchett.

Night Watch.
Terry Pratchett
HarperCollins: 2002.

The most serious Discworld novel I have read.  Police Captain Vimes is sent back in time along with a psycho-killer and must play the part of his own mentor/idol to a younger version of himself and the rest of the Watch.

The psychopath's name is Carcer, one letter away from cancer, which is perhaps intended, but also one letter away from career.  One can't help but wonder if Pratchett is feeling stuck rehashing the same old jokes and wanting to go back to the good old days.  Although Vimes is successful in being a good role model for this alternate-universe/younger Vimes, can Pratchett be a good role model for himself?  Can his work remain fresh after two decades of Discworld?

This book is quite different than most--no as funny, much darker, and virtually exclusively focused on one character, rather than his usual convergence of multiple plot lines.  We shall see if Pratchett is able to control his own career or if it will control him.

The book is fun in that it gives background info on recurring minor characters.

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