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Title: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0-06-001315-X Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.66 (56 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Funny and yet thought provoking
Comment: This is the Thirty-first(!) book in Terry Pratchett's series on the Discworld--a flat world, supported on the backs of four massive elephants riding on the back of a planet-sized turtle. Anything hilarious can happen here, and eventually does.
With the Duchy of Borogravia locked in a long-standing war, that it seems to be losing, plucky Polly Perks sets out to find her missing-in-action brother. And, what better way is there to find a soldier than to become one? So, armed with the Duchess's commission, a short haircut, and a pair of socks thrust confidently into her pants, it's off to war for Private Oliver (nee Polly) Perks. But this new regiment of the Tenth Foot ("Ins-and-Outs") has more that its fair share of non-men; it has a vampire, a troll, and a group of soldiers who all have something to hide. No doubt about it, this is a monstrous regiment!
I have been a fan of Terry Pratchett of many years, and consider him one of the master storytellers of this era. As always, this book is funny, with the author taking an offbeat look at men, women and war. Not quite as funny as many of his previous books, this one is also not single-minded in its social commentary, with Mr. Pratchett not just knocking war, but examining it from many different angles. Overall, I thought that this was a very good book, funny and yet thought provoking.
Rating: 5
Summary: Pratchett has outdone himself with this fresh and witty book
Comment: Polly Perks is confronted with a dilemma. She's very bright and her mother has taught her how to read and write, which has become an Abomination Unto Nuggan, the local god. She tends her father's bar and understands the business, but in Borogravia --- ruled by the tyrannical god Nuggan and his human counterpart, The Duchess --- no woman can actually operate a business because that too is an Abomination Unto Nuggan. Art, music, jigsaw puzzles and rocks have also recently been declared as Abominations in a rapidly deteriorating country that is losing its war.
The trouble is that her brother Paul, the only legal heir to the lucrative pub, is off to the wars with neighboring Ankh-Morpork, who has been captured or is perhaps dead, so Polly's future looks rather bleak. Paul is a gentle soul by nature, an artist who of course can't practice his craft due to Nugganism and has no head for business. With him installed as legal owner ' well, you see Polly's problem. She needs to find Paul, bring him home, and set him up as owner so she can secure her future --- or else it's the Workhouse (or worse) for Polly.
So she crops her hair, dresses up like a boy, and runs off to join the regiment. This is of course an Abomination Unto Nuggan, but Polly is nothing if not resourceful and with the quiet help of someone who whispers helpfully from behind a wall when she's relieving herself in the privy that a carefully placed pair of socks might fool the casual onlooker, Polly becomes Oliver Perks and her adventures begin. Polly, becomes Oliver, takes her duties as a private seriously. When she finds herself feeling aggressive and even belligerent, she blames it on the socks. In fact, after cursing or belching she often thinks to herself, "It's the socks talking, there."
Her fellow soldiers in the Monstrous Regiment consist of (remember this is Discworld) a motley assortment of what's left of Borogravian young manhood: a Troll, a vampire, an Igor (Igors are a special class of being on Discworld --- they make excellent field medics because of their skills in stitchery and, er, recycling body parts). Also enlisted are three other young lads, all under the eagle eye of Sergeant Jackrum, veteran of legendary battles and the stuff folk songs are made of.
This extraordinarily amusing book is a homage to Terry Pratchett's huge following of well-educated women, which make up a surprising majority of his vast readership. In fact, until J. K. Rowling came along, Pratchett held something of a record in book sales in Great Britain, acquiring an O.B.E. in literature from the Queen. He has caught on in a big way with American readers who enjoy his droll satire. Only a few of the books in the 28 volume-series on Discworld feature women. The Wyrd Sisters (a group of erstwhile Witches), Angua (a female werewolf in Ankh Morpork's Watch) and Commander Vimes's wife are among the few female protagonists. With MONSTROUS REGIMENT, we are introduced not only to Polly Perks but also to some other rather astonishing heroines. Elaborating on them though would spoil the tale.
Pratchett has outdone himself with MONSTROUS REGIMENT --- a feat that might be hard to imagine after so many books. It is fresh, witty as ever, and brings a whole new look to Ankh Morpork. One might be tempted to compare this tale to our conflict in the Middle East, if one was of a mind to take Pratchett with more than a grain of salt.
--- Reviewed by Roz Shea
Rating: 3
Summary: Serious Satire or Slapstick?
Comment: In far-off Borogravia, the kingdom is at war and has used up its supply of male cannon fodder, and so it is up to the girls to protect the motherland. Our hero(ine) Polly joins up, and winds up in a regiment containing a vampire, an Igor, and a troll, and with several other members who are, predictably, not quite what they seem. There is a great critique of militarism and military culture buried in here, and Borogravian society is a great send-up of theocracy in which the god Nuggan is suffocating his followers in endless new commandments about things to avoid. Then there's the mysterous and creepy Duchess: the book gets an extra half-point for some unexpected genuine spookiness. Reviewers are calling this Pratchett's best book to date. I'm not sure I agree, but I acknowledge that over his last few books he has become a satirist to take seriously, if that makes any sense; I think it yields mixed results when this is a writer whose appeal comes largely from his wordplay and humor; I'm not sure he can quite pull off both Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain at the same time. As is usual in his books, the final plot twists and surprises are not very interesting by the time we get to them. Vimes, Angua, Otto, William de Worde, and an Igor show up, and so it all makes more sense if you've read Fifth Elephant, The Truth, or Carpe Jugulum, but this is best thought of as a standalone.
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Title: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0060012366 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
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Title: The Bromeliad Trilogy : Truckers, Diggers, and Wings by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0060094931 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
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Title: Nanny Ogg's Cookbook by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0552146730 Publisher: Corgi Pub. Date: 26 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0060013125 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0060586605 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 25 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
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