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Living in the past is hard. Dying in the past is incredibly easy. But he must survive, because he has a job to do. He must track down a murderer, teach his younger self how to be a good copper and change the outcome of a bloody rebellion. There's a problem: if he wins, he's got no wife, no child, no future. A Discworld Tale of One City, with a full chorus of street urchins, ladies of negotiable affection, rebels, secret policemen and other children of the revolution. Truth! Justice! Freedom! And a Hard-boiled Egg! |
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I've been reading Pratchett books for more than half
my life (and that's a scary statistic), and never tire of the world he
created. |
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I read this book from cover to cover during the time I was moving my site, and so haven't done a progress report on this one. Ooops! I was too keen, and the story was too good to take time out to write. This book overlaps with The Thief of Time, and begins as the Glass Clock stops time, causing Sam Vimes and Caucer, the criminal he was in the process of arresting at the moment causality hiccupped, to be thrust thirty years into the past. Sam has a fair bit to occupy his mind, as the history monks instruct him in putting events back on track; Lady Sybil was in the midst of a difficult labour as he left, and now Caucer is loose in Ankh-Morpork again. What's more he has jumped right into the middle of one of the most turbulent periods of the city's history. Sam remembers the Treacle Mine Road uprising well, he was there. It was where he learned to be a copper, under the tutorage of John Keel, the best damn copper to have ever trod the streets of Ankh-Morpork! By a strange twist of time and space Sam Vimes soon realises that the man who taught him everything he knew is himself...he always was an independent soul. History must play out, but Sam knows how this story ends...he visits Sergeant-at-Arms Keel's grave every year on the anniversary of his heroic death, defending the People's Republic of Treacle Mine Street and leading the rebellion. Vimes discovers that the reality isn't quite how he remembers it, but he's a copper and he must see the job through to the end and prevent Caucer killing his younger self, so he can hopefully return home to Sybil. Having spent so much time in the company of the Watch over the last few years it was a joy to take a trip back in time and see where it all began. This book felt like it revisited the Watch circa Guards Guards, you might say the Watch BC (Before Carrot). All the original characters that we've grown to love are present, just a tad younger. The most fascinating part of the story revolves around Vetinari, and his accent to the Patricianship of the city. I can't express how much I adored this book, and loved exploring the old, dirty city before it became politicised. Vimes has always been one of the best characters in Discworld, but this book fleshed him out and filled in the gaps. Not just Vimes, but Nobby, Colon, Reg Shoe and numerous other people popped up along the way to make sure you knew exactly where you were. The only thing missing was wizarding. I'd have loved to have seen a cameo appearance from a young Rincewind, or better yet Ridcully whilst a student of the university. To be absolutely fair there were very few missed opportunities in this book, but it did give me a yearning to have histories of other Discworld characters. It was such a cool book, and wonderfully written (as always). In my opinion this is one of the few Discworld books that really wouldn't work as a stand alone novel. To fully appreciate the background colour you need to be familiar with the setting and the people inhabiting the world. I loved reading it, and now want to get hold of The Wee Free Men as soon as possible.
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