{"id":4498,"date":"2018-03-27T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4498"},"modified":"2018-03-25T12:19:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T19:19:30","slug":"mark-reads-night-watch-part-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/03\/mark-reads-night-watch-part-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Night Watch’: Part 19"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth part of Night Watch<\/i>, Vimes succeeds, but it has a terrible cost. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, what now<\/i>?<\/p>\n

I braced myself for the last hundred pages or so for a bloodbath. And while this is still violent and frightening, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not what I thought would happen. With such a massive force attacking the barricade, I assumed that a lot<\/i> of people would die. But it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just a logistical issue! My biggest worry is that despite all of Vimes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s efforts, history would correct itself. The course would be righted.<\/p>\n

And yet, there does not appear to be any determinism at work. With the help of the grannies (MY FAVORITE SINGLE DETAIL IN THIS WHOLE SECTION, I LOVE THE BARRICADE GRANNIES WITH ALL MY HEART), a expertly-constructed barricade, and Vimes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s know-how, the rebels are able to expel the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soldiers with only one<\/i> casualty. In the original timeline, lots<\/i> of people died. So, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a success\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 sort of? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing Vimes isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t too happy about Nancyball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. (And what a particularly gruesome way to die, too.) But is this enough? Is this what he was supposed to do, or will the monks oppose his changing of history?<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know the answer to this question! But I feel like this is thematically on point with the larger issue brought up in Night Watch<\/i>. Throughout this book, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen how complicity with power and authority can naturally lead to corruption and evil. So many people within this world and at this point in time simply did what they were told. They were just following orders, which is a mantra that still<\/i> persists to this day. And what happened in Ankh-Morpork when people defaulted to this kind of law and order?<\/p>\n

Torture. Violation of human rights. Cruelty at a systemic level. Constant intimidation. Murder. (Carcer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playground, so to speak.) Thus, I find that Vimes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization always<\/i> meant that he was going to defy the monks. Why would he do what they said without question? Why would he not<\/i> try to save as many lives as possible while he still could? And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a new revelation, of course, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve brought that up before in reviews. But it feels crystallized<\/i> now, more clear than before, and that is why I am completely not certain about the end of this. See, Vimes may have succeeded, but how is he going to deal with the next wrench in the machine?<\/p>\n

I found it humorous that Winder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own paranoia is probably what killed him, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that Vetinari knew that, hence the production. (That was<\/i> Vetinari, right???) So, with Winder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s demise (NO CAKE FOR HIM), Lord Snapcase rises, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better<\/i>, so to speak, but even if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only relative to Winder, his appointment still presents a major problem: Keel was too<\/i> radical. He was too<\/i> good at what he accomplished, and thus, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a threat to Snapcase.<\/p>\n

So Snapcase orders him assassinated.<\/p>\n

WHICH. Okay, so Keel died in the original timeline. Is he supposed to die in this one, too???? And how can that be possible if Vimes is<\/i> Peel? Clearly, Vimes has been able to change history, so to speak, so he could do it again. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he have<\/i> to so that Keel could provide the revolutionary framework for Ankh-Morpork to change? That part is so VITAL to what motivates the Watch in the future. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW. How??? How does he navigate this??? Will Vetinari reach him in time???<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/d_h0MyKPMxg<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"