Night Watch - Terry Pratchett

I am currently working my way through the Discworld. This one, I had not read before, which is always fun, because I tend to forget till I am several pages in whether or not I have read any given Discworld book.

I love Sam Vimes as a character. I love that he changes and grows through the books, while at the same time retaining this core of Vimesness. This book is great because we get to see Vimes meet his own younger self. And how many of us would love that opportunity? Go back and tell your own young self everything you've learnt since then. Of course, he doesn't. He can't. Because that would change things. But it is still good fun to watch.

This book also gives us a look at Ankh-Morpork before the time of Vetinari, which we are more familiar with. And that's fun too. Especially since we get to meet a young Vetinari, and get a feel for what it is that drives him and turns him into who he becomes.

I'm not sure this would be a good gateway Discworld book. They do generally stand alone well, but I think a lot of the joy of this one are the little nods to the long time readers who will spot the references or beginnings of things that are tropes in the other Watch books.

And did anyone else notice the Les Mis thing going on? I didn't imagine that, right? There was a Les Mis thing going on there?

I'd recommend this to people who have read the other Watch books and enjoyed them. But if you're new to the Disc, this may not be the best place to start.