Night Watch

First published on 7 November 2002 by Doubleday (UK hardback). It is the twenty-ninth Discworld novel and the sixth City Watch book.

Many readers consider Night Watch the series' darkest entry — it deals directly with political violence, torture, revolution, and the betrayal of idealism in a way that is largely unmediated by comedy. Pratchett considered it one of his best books.

The novel takes place during 'The Glorious Revolution of the Twenty-Fifth of May' — a popular uprising that is presented not as a heroic moment but as a grinding, brutal event that most of the city survives rather than wins. The lilac flower becomes its symbol.

The lilac has become a symbol of remembrance for Night Watch readers — worn on 25 May (the date in the novel of the revolution) in honour of the characters and what they represented. It became a genuine fan tradition, adopted by Pratchett himself.

No — Night Watch draws heavily on Vimes's history across five previous Watch books. It is best read after at least Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms, and ideally the complete Watch sequence up to Thud!.