I have never been a fan of Terry Pratchett. I have a built-in bias against any writer whose books are regularly described as any sort of "romp", and my experience is that with a very few notable exceptions, (Douglas Adams, PG Wodehouse and Bruce Bethke), writers who are supposed to be funny are simply not so. Don't get me wrong, Pratchett is amusing, but anyone who enters Discworld expecting gales of mirth is going to be sadly disappointed. That being said, the Discworld experience is definitely an acquired taste, not in the sense that one has to work to acquire it, but because the more deeply into Discworld one goes, the more interesting it tends to become. And I seem to have acquired it despite myself.

One of the more interesting things about Pratchett's approach to his series is that he frequently uses the setting as a backdrop to tell whatever tale he is interested in telling. It can be anything from a take-off on Macbeth, such as Wyrd Sisters, a riff on early Hollywood, Moving Pictures, or a more original tale such as Night Watch. The impressive thing about Pratchett is that even now, after more than 20 Discworld novels, he appears to be not only hitting his stride, but stretching his talent and hitting new heights. I have not read all of the Discworld books, only seven or eight, but I will be very surprised if any of them are as simultaneously gripping and savagely political as Night Watch.

Duke and Commander of the City Watch Sam Vimes is the protagonist of this tale, and the plot centers around something that happened in Vimes' youth, during a city-wide unrest that led to the death of seven good men whose sacrifice is unknown to most of the inhabitants of Ankh-Morporhk. While skillfully unveiling the story of plots in high places and low, Pratchett throughout demolishes many cherished myths of revolutionaries and would-be societal architects without ever becoming pedantic or causing his hard-headed protagonist to lose his voice, the authentic skepticism of the traditional English conservative. There is real pathos here, intelligent social observation and beneath it all, what almost feels like an anger at those in authority who foolishly allow themselves to believe that humans will ever be anything but human. And yet, at all times the story remains paramount and the tension increases throughout. Night Watch is an excellent novel.

Style: Pratchett's style is simple and easygoing. He makes much use of repetition and punnery, although in a less blatant manner than Piers Anthony. He's not one of the less-is-more school, and while I very much enjoyed this book, I found it difficult to get through the interminable movie references, which were nevertheless appropriate in Moving Pictures. He often likes to go over the top, which works best when he does it in a more subtle manner, as when the usurping Duke thoughtfully eyes a grater in Wyrd Sisters.

Story: The reader is hooked from the beginning, from the humorous reaction of Commander Vimes to the failure of yet another apprentice assassin to the inexplicable anger of his subordinate to a corporal's decision to wear a lilac on a seemingly insignificant day. And when the pursuit of a particularly amoral killer is complicated by one of the Discworld's magically amplified storms, the Commander finds himself hurled into a powderkeg of a situation that is both familiar and potentially fatal to him, and possibly Ankh-Morporhk as well. Pratchett does a magnificent job of building the tension throughout; although certain aspects of the story are never in doubt, the reader is thoroughly spellbound.

Characters: Pratchett always does a good job in creating characters with distinct personalities and idiosyncracies. In Night Watch, the author effortlessly handles the distinction between the older and younger Sam Vimes, and writes a scathingly accurate send-up of the well-intentioned but unworldly revolutionary. His portrayal of the high-functioning psychopath is chilling, and he also touches on the psychology of the just-following-orders crowd that is vital to any would-be represser. The best portrayal, however, is a seemingly minor one, of a decent, but cynical man who knows the score and yet cannot help doing the right thing when push comes to shove. Pratchett shows a surprisingly delicate touch here, as the reader might easily pass over the single line that completes the portrait.

Creativity: I find it hard to say that Pratchett is a particularly creative writer, but humor is notoriously difficult to write and Discworld is such a massive creation at this point that I must give him credit for creating a world that I, for one, have no hesitation about returning to on a regular basis. There are few who make stew of such a wide range of ingredients as this author, and while the quality may vary from book to book, they're always worth reading.

Text Sample:'Three watchmen were killed last night, did you know that? There were gangs roaming the streets! Well, martial law has been declared! Today we're going to show them a firm hand! Get your men together! Now!'

Vimes saluted, turned about, and walked slowly down the stairs. He wouldn't have run for a big clock.

A firm hand. Right. Gangs roaming the streets. Well, we sure as hell never did anything when they were criminal gangs. And when you've got madmen and idiots on either side, and everything hangs in the balance . . . well, trouble is always easy to find, when you have enough people looking for it. One of the hardest lessons of young Sam's life had been finding out that the people in charge weren't in charge. It had been finding out that governments were not, on the whole, staffed by people who had a grip, and that plans were what people made instead of thinking.

Most of the watchmen were clustered around the stairs. Snouty was quite good at internal communications of the worrying kind.

'Tidy yourselves, lads,' said Vimes. 'Captain'll be down in a few minutes. Apparently it's time for a show of strength.'

'What strength?' said Billy Wiglet.

'Ah, Billy, what happens is, the vicious revolutionaries take one look at us and scuttle off back to their holes,' said Vimes. He was immediately sorry he'd said that. Billy hadn't learned irony.

'I mean we just give the uniforms an airing,' he translated.

'We'll get cheesed,' said Fred Colon.

'Not if we stick together,' said Sam.

'Right,' said Vimes. 'After all we're heavily armed men going on patrol among civilians who are, by law, unarmed. If we're careful, we shouldn't get too badly hurt.'

Another bad move. Dark sarcasm ought to be taught in schools, he thought. Besides, armed men could get into trouble if the unarmed civilians were angry enough, especially if there were cobblestones on the streets.

He heard the distant clocks strike three. Tonight, the streets would explode.