Great story. I loved how he challenged himself to love the city. Thanks for writing this.

Your humor is dry and very...grim, much likr Havelock himself. Welldone.

That was absolute genius! I love Vetinari with a passion - and his learning to love AM as a mental exercise is a stroke of genius - although, come to think of it, you'd have to be a special kind of mad to just take a shining to it...
Perfectly done - I felt the oh-so-familiar "I-see-what-you-did-there" pride that comes from seeing Havelock's plans unfurled.

The Ditch

Wonderful fic. It has Vetinari's characteristical subtlety that can easily go over one's head, but if spotted - wow.

Wonderful. I don't quite get the brushing himself bit, but the plaque... Yes! He's earned it.

This is an elegant piece of prose in very good language, and it is consistent within itself. There is somethin I wonder about, but it's a lengthy thought, so I'll e-mail you about it.

Oh, WOW. This is just wonderful--perfectly in character and well-written and everything. You've got a lot of insight into His Lordship, you do.

Couldn't do another logged in review as have already done one...

Hey, you added a new bit! How'd you do that without losing all your reviews? First time I read it I thought it was good, but thought that "He remembered that look" didn't have as much punch as the "There was no plaque", but I'd just read the little extra bit on it's own, which I thought perhaps didn't do it justice, so I went back and read the whole thing through again. That altered the impact dramatically. The fervent emotion behind Vetinari swearing "to defend the city, to lead the city, to be the city" gave a thrill and sent shivers down my spine. This in turn meant that the last line *did* in fact have a great amount of strength, especially when you consider Wonse's actions with regards to the Patrician later in life.

I can see how your style could perhaps not be to everyone's taste, but as far as I'm concerned this is a blooming brilliant piece and you are an extremely skilled writer.

Estelle Tiniwiel -x-

This is beautiful! Some parts didn't work completely for me, but I think that has more to do with some issues I have about Night Watch than with the story itself – the first three snippets border on angst, and someone I never managed to associate Vetinari with that.
I loved how you brought in his aunt; this isn't how I'd have imagined it, I think, but you see how important she is for all the parts of his life that are politics and breaking guild rules, so I like the sense of her being really different, and a surprise to him (beside, she seemed similar to Lady Margolotta in some aspects, so I've wondered if he didn't have a bit of a childhood/teenage crush on her). I liked how he isn't all that happy when she moves in, especially "and it was only because he had practiced wearing sincere expressions that he was able to greet her with a smile".
I also love how he -makes- himself love the city. And how the very first part is about him 'making the gift of silence his own." Or this line "He was dressed all in black, but no one officially paid it mind. It was, after all, to be a period of mourning."
And I really love the overall style of the story, though I couldn't explain why exactly; there are so many parts that feel chilly precisely -because- they're not very direct, if that makes any sense, and that suits the characters, imo. (Sorry, I know I'm rambling a bit.)

as he swore to defend the city, to lead the city, to be the city.

Love that sentence! The whole thing's nicely done and is very Vetinari-ish.

Wow and wow. I can't tell you how excited I am to find an author who can write Vetinari so well -- he is such a very, very difficult character to capture and I am so impressed with the careful, understated way you pulled it off. Unbeatable intelligence, unbreakable self-control, bizarre creativity, and an endless capacity for ironic amusement, all in the service of the city. I adored your idea that he deliberately labored to make himself fall in love with the city as an intellectual challenge - that is such a perfect idea it is now my personal canon. Well done, very well done. I love the way you write his relationship with Madam -- they are two of a kind, and there is some genuine love and respect between them, I think, but they are like poker players who never *ever* tip their hands. Anyway, I loved this story and look forward to reading more of your work!

excellent writing! i really enjoyed reading this fic.

you have captured Vetinari very well

:)
The title grabbed me, and then I found your writing even better- lovely. In each part your use of language is so concise and controlled and it seems wonderfully in character. I especially liked your extrapolation of Vetinari's childhood- it seemed to fit with what we know about him, but without descending into Teh Angst. His rise to power was interesting as well.
Um, yeah. So basically, I liked it. Thanks for it ;)

Like Twist said, the title got me hooked with its superbly chosen wording and then dragged me into the story. This seems to me to be perfectly in character for Vetinari and the concise thought processes conveyed within the little snapshots are extremely skilfully done (way better than I can do, that's for sure!). I loved it - it was somehow funny whilst at the same time being very sad and poignant and full of the rock hard sure-mindedness of Vetinari.

The last line added the final dramatic touch.

This is absolutely *fantastic*; a great story about my favourite discworld character.

You had me at the title, and it just got better from there. :D Good work, love to see more from you.