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Monstrous Regiment (Hardcover)

by Terry Pratchett (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From AudioFile

Terry Pratchett's hilarious prose is significantly enhanced by the narrative skills of Stephen Briggs. The story, another in the Discworld saga, highlights the recruiting efforts of a small country chronically at war with its neighbors. A rotund sergeant and weasely corporal sweep through a small town, and one of the misfits who volunteers to thwart them is Polly Perks, disguised as a teenaged boy barely of age. Briggs takes on the misfits and makes them shine. As the little group proceeds from one improbable adventure to the next, Briggs and Pratchett are magnificent. D.A.W. 2004 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.


From Booklist

Pratchett flexes his satirical muscles again, with the follies of war his theme. Polly Oliver has disguised herself as a boy to join the army of Borogravia, which is always at war and bursting with patriotism, though the Borogravians are often less than clear on why they are fighting. But then, as followers of a god who believes that cats, babies, and cheese are abominations, they are used to contradictions; they mostly pray to their duchess, who may be dead. Their latest war has interfered with the commerce of Ankh-Morpork, which has dispatched Sam Vimes to bring matters to a "satisfactory" conclusion. But Sam still thinks more like the city watchman he was than the duke he now is, and this confuses people. Meanwhile, Polly's regiment, the Ins-and-Outs, has become quite high-profile, what with having, it is said, a vampire, a werewolf, and an Igor in its ranks, and with capturing, quite unexpectedly, the Zlobenian prince and his soldiers, an event publicized by Ankh-Morpork newspaperman William de Worde. Anyway, they're suddenly popular in Ankh-Morpork, and they subsequently turn the war upside down, so that it doesn't end the way the propagandists would have liked. No surprise, of course, to Sam Vimes. Polly concludes that it is, on some level, all about socks. Thoroughly funny and surprisingly insightful. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Socks, Slops and Scubbo, Jan 26 2007
By Craobh Rua "Craobh Rua" (N. Ireland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Monstrous Regiment (Paperback)
"Monstrous Regiment" is the twenty eighth novel in Terry Pratchett's hugely popular Discworld Series. A former journalist and press officer, he has gone on to win the Carnegie Medal for "The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents" and was awarded the OBE in 1998.

Polly Perks lives in Munz, a town in Borogravia - a country with distinct similarities to Oceania, the setting for George Orwell's "1984". Pictures of the Duchess, Borogravia's own Big Brother, are everywhere, while the country has always been at war with one or other of its treacherous, devious and evil neighbours. The current enemy is Zlobenia, a country that is allied to the foul and lewd Ankh-Morpork. Indeed, that sinful city has even sent Vimes the Butcher and its soldiers to Zlobenia's aid. Religious people pray to the Duchess, rather than Nuggan (the local God). However, she hasn't been seen for thirty years, and many people believe that she is dead. (Many people also believe that Borogravia is losing the war, but nobody dares express either belief). Nuggan, meanwhile, seems to be a spiteful God - his list of abominations includes the color blue, shirts with six buttons, garlic, dwarfs and babies. Luckily for the size of his congregation, few observe the complete list of abominations (ahem) religiously, though some try to avoid looking at the sky.

There are two notable buildings in Munz : the Girls Working School (where the bad girls are sent) and "The Duchess", the local tavern. Polly lives at "The Duchess", which is owned and run by her father. Her mother is dead, and her brother has been missing for quite some time, after having joined the army. Polly wants him home for a number of reasons : bluntly, he wasn't very good at looking after himself, and his absence is proving very difficult for their father. Furthermore, under Nuggantic law, Polly wouldn't be allowed to inherit "The Duchess" if anything happened to her father - which means the Perks family would lose their business. Polly decided to find and rescue her brother - the most obvious way to do this is to disguise herself as a boy and join the army. Having learnt to pick her nose and break wind, she cuts her hair, assumes the name 'Oliver' and joins the Tenth Foot Light Infantry (better known as the In-and-Outs and / or the Cheesemongers). Polly isn't the only new recruit - the others include a troll (called Carborundum), an Igor (who, like all Igors, is called Igor) and a vampire (called Maladict). Maladict, mercifully, is a Black Ribboner - he hasn't touched any human blood in over two years. Sergeant Jackrum, meanwhile, runs the regiment - a very famous soldier who is determined to look after his 'little lads'. Despite this, the Cheesemongers are sent to the front lines with shoddy equipment and no training. To make matters worse, it isn't long before someone sees through Polly's disguise. In a dark latrine, someone suggests she completes it with a strategically-placed pair of socks. This both worries and confuses Polly : someone has caught her out, but has also decided to help her...

Like everything else I've read by Pratchett, this is an excellent book. It's a little less silly than many of the previous instalments, but there are still plenty of laughs. It's easily read, and features plenty of likeable characters- particularly Jackrum.
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2.0 out of 5 stars My least favourite Discworld novel, Dec 13 2005
By D. Mosey (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Monstrous Regiment (Paperback)
I adore Terry Pratchett's novels, especially the Discworld series. I think he's one of the best living writers and I admire his deft touch at weaving together humour and philosophy, dialogue and action. And, although there are a number of Discworld novels I think are weaker than his best (Jingo, Fifth Elephant, Thud!), I still enjoy rereading them because of the author's extraordinary skill.

Monstrous Regiment is the one Pratchett book I cannot bring myself to reread. It's just not very good.

I don't care about any of the characters in this one. This is partly because Pratchett is so clearly on a soapbox the entire time that very little humour is allowed to come through. The single "twist" is repeated so many times that it quickly loses any ability to surprise or instruct. By the end of the book I was praying, "Please, Mr. Pratchett, you can't possibly do it again ..." But he did. The only character I enjoyed was Jackrum, but when the all-too-predictable twist was applied to this character as well as everyone else, I continued reading only because I couldn't imagine not finishing a Pratchett novel. The final twist made me throw the book down in disgust.

When Pratchett gets preachy, his normally deft touch gets leaden and the humour flees. The only "darker" book of his that really works for me is Night Watch, which is quite stunning.

I suggest that you read just about anything else by Pratchett, rather than this one. It was so bad it made me not read anything by him for quite a while, and I've only just caught up with Thud! (disappointingly heavy-handed), Getting Postal (excellent -- among his best) and Making Money (pretty good).



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5.0 out of 5 stars The Roles of War, Jan 6 2004
By Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Monstrous Regiment (Audio Cassette)
Long-standing fans of Discworld know how Pratchett explores many levels in his books. MR achieves a new degree of intensity in examining the human tendency for conflict. The "fantasy" aspects of the Discworld are nearly abandoned in this story of war and soldier life. To be sure, there's a vampire, a troll, and Angua the werewolf. An Igor completes the team in a special, rather cutting, role. None of these "fantasy" characters can avoid being dominated by their human aspects. Pratchett enhances his ability to show us to ourselves. While his humour carries us along in following the tale, the underlying theme remains clear. War is a distinctly human enterprise.

Polly Perks seeks her missing brother in the middle of a conflict none can explain nor justify. Hiding the fact that she's a girl, she slashes her golden curls, dons boys' clothes [including "special purpose" socks] and enlists to seek him out. Her military career is fraught with risk, but not just from battle. If she's exposed, the wrath of Nuggan, the local deity, will be boundless - dressing as a man is an Abomination. As are cats, the colour blue, garlic and a host of social ills. These are lined out in the Appendix of a bible - with the Appendix larger than the main inspirational text.

In Sam Vimes' view, Polly has entered a life of crime, but not through her cross-dressing. He thinks "war is a crime - like murder". Sam, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, has been sent to make a peace. When the stakes are as high as these - who rules the country - the task becomes Herculean. As with most wars, this one uses high moral purpose to camouflage baser selfish motives. A prince seeks power. Polly, along with her meagre "regiment" is caught up in the forces this war for rule has unleashed. They are ill-equipped and untrained for their task. Even so, Polly's first skirmish with the enemy has enduring results.

Pratchett, using Polly's voice, has produced his finest work. He delves into military life, the vagaries of monarchy, and the shams of religion. He exposes many nerves in this book, but with a gentle finesse. He encourages the open mind while appealing to those who haven't taken the trouble to even ask questions. Polly asks and confronts many of these queries. She examines the answers in light of what is occurring around her. She's sharp and alert. She has to be, hiding her identity from friend and foe alike. She learns to belch, pick her nose and walk swaying her shoulders instead of her hips. Is this what's important? Pratchett takes us to the abyss of gender politics, reveals its deceptive simplicity, and leads us away. To confront a yet more fundamental horror. He is adept at surprising the reader, accomplishing that again here with his usual aplomb. Once again, he's "mirrored" our world. Take a close look and see if you are imaged here. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa]

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Roles of War
Long-standing fans of Discworld know how Pratchett explores many levels in his books. MR achieves a new degree of intensity in examining the human tendency for conflict. Read more
Published on Jan 5 2004 by Stephen A. Haines

4.0 out of 5 stars Monstrous, Monsters and Disguises
Nothing is quite what it seems in this latest Discworld offering. Even the Discworld is not quite what Pratchett fans can identify. Read more
Published on Jan 5 2004 by Friederike Knabe

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