Sir Terry Pratchett may be widely known as a fantasy writer whose world rests on the back of four elephants standing on the carapace of a giant turtle. Humans, trolls, dragons, werewolves, dwarves, witches, goblins, the undead, and even an occasional orangutan populate Discworld. But Pratchett’s books, with doses of satire, mystery and action, also commit to realism. While the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling and George R.R. Martin are anchored on the grand theme of good versus evil, Pratchett’s gift lies in spinning everyday struggles into literary gold.
This is best seen in the City Watch books, a subset of his Discworld novels. Pratchett fans are split into those who enjoy the Watch books and the Witches books, but most recommend the former. Samuel Vimes, the protagonist of the Watch novels, exemplifies the down-to-earth approach that Pratchett takes in creating his make-believe world. Pratchett himself noted: “There is possibly more of me in Sir Samuel than in any other player on my pages.”
The transformation of Sam Vimes from a rookie night policeman in Ankh-Morpokh to Commander of the City Watch is similar to the growth of Pratchett’s oeuvre. Vimes’s motley group of policemen fight a magical dragon in the first Watch book Guards! Guards! and, by the last book Snuff , Vimes has made a strong case for the embracing of diversity, a familiar topic of today.
Pratchett uses Vimes to take on heavy subjects: corruption in business and politics ( Feet of Clay ), land rights ( Jingo ), diplomacy and foreign policy ( Fifth Elephant ), and intolerance and war ( Thud! ). But far from becoming a superhero, Vimes becomes increasingly aware of his flaws. In Thud! ,for example, Vimes struggles to be master of the ‘Summoning Dark’, a creature of dwarfish lore that is a metaphor for the policeman’s desire for vengeance.
In Discworld, Vimes is one of the many characters who strives to do good. In Men At Arms , he gives away his monthly savings to the widows and children of personnel killed in duty. His emphasis on human values earns him the loyalty of all kinds of people — werewolves, trolls, even a zombie — in the night watch.
Vimes is Discworld’s greatest humanist just like the stellar humanist that Pratchett was in his fight for freedom of choice, his ethics classes for schools, and his support for critical thinking and scientific enquiry. In Pratchett’s last few years, he advocated for wildlife conservation, made donations for research into Alzheimer’s treatment, and campaigned for the right to assisted death. When he died at 66 last year on March 12, Pratchett left behind a legacy of work that will never cease to delight and edify.
