Sam Vimes

Sam Vimes

Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional policeman from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector-Morse-type 'old-school' English policeman, and a film-noir-esque grizzled, jaded detective. His appearances throughout the Discworld sequence show him slowly and grudgingly rising through the ranks of both police force and society. As of his latest promotion, his full name and title is; "'His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes": When serving as Ambassador for Ankh-Morpork, he is also referred to simply as "His Excellency", and is also nicknamed "Blackboard Monitor Vimes," and "Vetinari's Terrier" (or hammer): According to his wife, Sybil, Vimes is recognised by many as Lord Vetinari's right-hand man.

He first appeared in the novel Guards! Guards!. While no detailed description of his physical appearance shows up in any of the Discworld novels, Pratchett says in the companion work, The Art of Discworld, that he has always imagined Vimes as a younger, slightly bulkier version of British actor Pete Postlethwaite. Artist Paul Kidby, who has collaborated with Pratchett on several works, portrays him as resembling Clint Eastwood.

Vimes is the Commander of the City Watch, the burgeoning police force of the Discworld's largest city, Ankh-Morpork. His rise from drunk policeman to respected member of the aristocracy, and the growth and development of the Watch under his command, have together been one of the major threads of the Discworld series. Born into poverty, he is now a highly reluctant member of the nobility, having been made both a knight and a duke, as well as an ambassador. He is married to Sybil Ramkin, the richest woman in the city.