By Terry Pratchett
I read this in early February 2024.
You can kind of tell that this was one of PTerry’s later works (only followed by Raising Steam and The Shepherd’s Crown, actually), because it feels a little…unfinished. The dialogue is less polished, some of the metaphors are clumsy or ungainly, and it seems a bit unfocused. His sheer genius still shines through, though.
Although it’s the last time we ever see Vimes, he’s on absolute top form, and his inner monologue is done as impeccably and subtly as ever. The overarching theme of the Watch series, of the distinction between law and morality, crime and evil, is embedded into the fibres, in the humanity of the goblins, the wretchedness of their murder being termed only a slaughter, and the complicit silence of the villagers in the countryside observing their slavery and trafficking and doing nothing about it.
It’s got flashes of sheer comedy here and there, and heartwarming moments of bonding between Sam and Young Sam, scenes of romance and married life, and the pathos of seeing Vimes, for once in his life, enjoying some lightheartedness as he pilots his way down a river.
It seems like a bit of a send-off for him, actually - he’s famous across the Disc, he helps elevate an entire nation of goblins to a full people with rights, and he even gets a medal as King of the River after piloting a boat through a flood.
I think reading Guards! Guards! after this would be such a nice moment, a look at how far he’s come.