Discworld: NIGHTWATCH, half-way

[timepiececlock]

NIGHTWATCH, page 274/422

They're building the barricades, and it's getting very exciting, and I can't stop reading! This is darker than all of the other Discworld books so far, and oh Vimes, and it's going to go badly and we'll lose people and... and I hope that grave in the beginning chapter isn't the foreshadowing I'm afraid it is. ::crosses fingers::

It's neat to see all the familiar characters in their younger days. I especially enjoy Nobby, Dibbler, and so forth. I'm amused that a certain young rookie has a resemblence to Carrot.

That's it for now. I'll probably type up something when I get to the end of the book. No spoilers or hints in the comments, please! I'll be done by tomorrow at the latest.

Comments

[gojira007.livejournal.com]

I've been very interested in the Discworld novels ever since I caught a clip on YouTube purely by chance of a scene from the TV movie adaptation of "The Hogfather" in which Death of Rats reaps the soul of a mouse caught in a trap. Alas, I've lacked the time and funds to sink my teeth more fully into the series until recently. So, since you seem to be a big fan, I'll ask: what book is best for a n00b like me to start with?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

YOu can probably find a lot of them on bittorrent for the audiobooks. I've been getting them that way.

I'd say read/listen to them all in published order, starting with The Color of Magic. You'll want a library card since the series is about 35 books. Or you could download the audiobooks somehow.

If you don't want to read the whole series in order, and want a smaller portion, the City Watch books start with Guards! Guards!, the wizards start with The Colour of Magic, the Death books start with Mort, and the Witches books start with Equal Rites in a way, but truly begin with Wyrd Sisters. One of my favorites is Small Gods which takes place a hundred years or more before the main series timeline, though.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

amend: I got them on audiobook, but I didn't get them from bittorrent, so I don't know if they're there or not.

[gojira007.livejournal.com]

As I possess a library card, I think I may well read the whole series gradually. Anyway, I like starting at the beginning, so "Color of Magic" it is. Thanks for the tips, though. :)

[boosette.livejournal.com]

If you get discouraged by or find that you just aren't clicking with _Color of Magic_, don't be shy about skipping ahead to another subseries - I like the Watch books best (As in, oh great good god I would sell my soul to have these books go on forever) and was absolutely bored to tears by _Mort_,.

If you're looking for a one-shot, I can't reccomend _Monsterous Regiment_ highly enough. It's hilarious and poignant and amazing and lovely. (It's tied loosely to the Watch books, but the Watch characters play only a peripheral role in MR.)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

See, that's where it gets iffy. I'd still say just skip to the next book in the progression (which I believe is another wizard book and then the witches and then Death), because the City Watch don't kick in until book 8.

It's all taste, too. I was lukewarm on the first Watch book Guards!Guards!(#8), but I really liked the second one Men At Arms (#15, I think.) I loved Mort, but I didn't care for Sourcery as much as The Color of Magic. And for stand-alones, I liked Moving Pictures more than Pyramids.

That's why I say just go chronologically, and if you don't like one, skip to the next. They're in a criss-crossing chronological order that gets something of a loss if you only read one group of characters. There's a lot allusions and in-jokes that you'd miss.

[boosette.livejournal.com]

I am horrible for these sorts of things - I tend to read the L-Space article on the book before/while I'm reading it, so I know what the in-jokes are, even if I don't get-get them.

(I read/am reading DW all over the place, myself, because I started with the Watch books on recommendation and proceeded with what my local library had, and there the pickings were rather slim.)

Also, when you get to Thud!, the companion picture book Where's My Cow? is absolutely adorable.

[fani.livejournal.com]

DON'T START WITH THE COLOUR OF MAGIC.

Start with the 'start' of the series for either Watch, Witches, Death, Rincewind (I find rincewind annoying) or start with the oneshots like Small Gods and Moving Pictures.

Rashaka, I understand that this is your blog but I find I was terribly turned off when I started with the colour of magi. I thought, "WTF IS SO GOOD OF THIS SERIES?" And then I jumped to Maurice, and I understood. (although I honestly think that you really shouldn't jump ahead to Maurice because some jokes just fly over my head).

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

It's true that the first books aren't as strong, but since Colour of Magic *is* the first Rincewind book, I say start with it.

Otherwise I've told people to start with Small Gods since it's chronologically the first book in the timeline.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Night Watch is the BEST ONE.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

It's so SERIOUS, though. I was quite taken aback, and I think it's going to hurt my heart.

The last one was about mice and a cat and THAT one hurt my heart too. These are some of his strongest books, coming later in the series.

[boosette.livejournal.com]

A year ago I would have agreed with you, but now I have to say you are _Wrong_ with a capital silent W. Thud! is definitely better than Night Watch, although it is by a slim margin.

finished it!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I have that one in paperback form waiting for me, a few books in advance.

I liked Night Watch a lot, though I can't say if it's my absolute favorite yet. I'll have to read them all to decide. So far, these are my favorites:

Wyrd Sisters
Small Gods
Hogfather
Maskerade
The Amazing Maurice & H.E.R.
Nightwatch

I really like Small Gods and Nightwatch the most I think, though I'm still very attached to the Maurice book, which I think fully deserves the award it got.

Though I'm amused that it qualifies as children's literature because it basically reads like all of the Discworld books, with only slightly less violence. And most of the violence is done by furry animals...even though it's still definitely violence.

As a character set, I like the witches most, but I really enjoy them all. Even though none of the Rincewind books are my favorite, there are elements of his series that I really, really enjoy. Same for the City Watch.

Having finished tonight, I can guess that Nightwatch is given more adherence from fans because it's so much heavier than normal Discworld fair. All the DW books have dark plots at the core (usually involving murder or war or justice or power), but NW seemed to have only 1/5th the amount of humor of his normal books. Usually the humor offsets the drama, but here it was solid drama the whole way through, and the series of final climactic confrontations were darker by far, even compared to the prior darker books like Small Gods, The Fifth Elephant, and Lords & Ladies. Drama moves us more than humor, especially if it's usually more humor than drama in our regular fair.

I'm not sure if that's a cynical or sentimental assessment.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

I was so excited when I saw this was the next one on your list. everything you have said about it is SO TRUE. *surreptitiously leaves a box of Kleenex, just in case*

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

HUGE MEGA POST put up tonight.