god, i wish i could have a list of what terry pratchett was reading when he wrote Night Watch. i’ve read this book almost every year for probably 15+ years now, and every year i’m more impressed by the depth of knowledge behind it. of course there’s urban design understanding, but he also concisely laid out a lot of concepts in civ-mil relations, the specific difficulties of fighting in urban environments without defined combatants and noncombatants, anti-escalation conflict management, the tension and symbiosis of idealists and those working within an imperfect system needing practicality, civil society and public service, community policing… just to name a few, and just the ones i’ve dived into myself. i’m not surprised when i see this kind of writing come from like CSIS or USIP or think tanks, and of course all of terry’s writing is very smart and displays good knowledge of the world, but it is remarkable to have it in a fantasy book about a time-traveling policeman in a vague les miserables backdrop, and to have it to the degree i keep recognizing more and more
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