Night Watch all the way for mine, being centred on Vimesy/Keel gets it my vote but it is just a well-rounded book that stands out even in the exalted company of the remaining discworld series.

Vimes being the most likable/interesting character on the Disc (or maybe im biased...) helps but NW gets the right balance in pretty much all areas - its an ankh-morpork/watch/vimes/urban based novel, which are my favourite, but also has an element of travel (albeit time) to suggest a new environment while remaining ankh-morpork, a tidbit of magic/causality etc as a throwback to earlier works. Not to mention the fact he managed to tell a new story without having to march time even further and make further advances in time, technology aging etc.(for example compare the city from TCOM to Thud) also it fleshed out many of the main characters (Vimes, Colon, Nobby, Vetinari, Rust etc.) and the city itself to give us a look at the past.

As a checkmate, i challenge anyone to tell me they weren't entranced by the finale, from the cleaning of the nest to the final skirmish... (cmon vimesy has the best moments, from his stint as Keel to his 'WHERES MY COW' from underground Uberwald)

How do they rise up...

Ned, you should make a post in the Introductions section to announce your existence to the board.

"No, a proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof, and when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven." - Actual quote by Jean Chretien, former Canadian Prime Minister.

I find it very weird that so many people choose "Nightwatch" to be honest... IN many ways its the most atypical of all the watchbooks becaus key characters appear only very briefly in this book whereas in the other ones they are an integral part of the story.. ( Angua, Carrot, Detritus, ...) Other characters like Colon and Nobby appear in a different form, and i must say i really liked the dialogues about those two in a lot of the other Watchbooks. My favourite is "Jingo", mostly becaus Pratchett really is at his satirical peak here for me.. I really love "Fifth elephant" , "Feet of clay" and all the other ones though

Hey everyone, I'm new too. My favourite watch book ( which also happens to be the first and most beloved discworld novel I read ) is Night Watch. One of the best books I ever read...

Btw would anyone happen to know where I can find some posters? Preferably of the Night Watch cover.

cheers!

Hi Yoko and welcome...

You can find all sorts of great discworld stuff here, including posters: Discworld Family Values Poster (and they do deliver abroad)

Damn Spider pig

It's hard to choose, but I think my fave is Feet of Clay- I guess partly because the watch is now running like a well oiled crime-fighting machine, complete with forensics. The part where Fred and Wee Mad Arthur are trying to get away from the King Golem had me in stitches- I read it again and again

I don't get why everyone says Night Watch, it only really works if you've read others and stands on the shoulders of better books...

I'd pick Thud any day.

I suppose stand-alone wasn't a criterium for most... I think what many loved about it so much that it wrapped a lot of background stories of favourite characters into a pretty good foreground story, so to say. It was a great read for Watch-fans.
Looking back, I like Feet of Clay best, because it travelled so far with me... and because the Watch was already the Watch, but fresh, so to say. Purely subjective reasons, nothing academic, really.

Night Watch was one of the first Watch books I read, I'd read a few Pratchett books years before but when I rediscovered them, Night watch was the first book I bought. I think it can stand alone just fine, but having read the rest now and having re read most of them just in the last 7 or so months, it does benefit from knowing the way things worked out so to speak. I do love Thud, and Feet of Clay, but Night Watch is pretty much tied with The Fifth Elephant for first place in my affections.

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My first watch book was (I think, it seems a long time ago now) Men at Arms, which I consequently love. But I think Thud! is the book (except perhaps Night Watch) with the most depth (no dwarfish pun intended).

Maybe if I knew how to read, I'd know that Spamming was a naughty thing.

In other news, I have herpes.

Having read all the Terry Pratchett books I can get my hands on, I would have to say that Thud is my favorite watch book. I even have a copy of 'Where's my cow?'. I adore Sam Vimes and his attitude to life and policing.............

It's too hard to decide really. I love all the Watch books and i'm keeping everything crossed he writes another. I'm quite fond of the Fifth Elephant and Guards, Guards as it introduces Vimes, Colon And Nobby.

all of them.if i was pushed night watch,and men at arms.also like jingo and feet of clay.oh its so hard.

The Fifth Elephant! I really loved it back when it came out, and it is always the first I go back to reread once I finish the lot for the umpteenth time. I disagree with disclaimer saying it is Thud's unedited version though. I think it follows a similar story down a different path. Vimes' interaction with some of the Uberwaldean(?) characters is the highlight for me.

I can see what everyone is saying about NW and some of the others too. I really liked the tension that story of NW managed to build towards the end. Similarly, Jingo had some quality moments with some of the watch characters (Nobby and Colon's roles were great).
The early ones really work well as an image of the transformation the watch went through too, Feet of Clay being a particularly fond memory...

Well, reading that back I guess I like the lot, but the 5th Elephant still takes it! I just love the finish.