The Shepherd's Crown (by Terry Pratchett)

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I first came across Terry Pratchett in the early 1990s, and was introduced to the Discworld series soon afterwards. I gradually acquired those that had already been published, and then as new ones were written we bought them, often in hardback. I read many of them out loud to our sons, and some to myself. But I had never sat down deliberately to read the entire series from start to finish. 

So I started a full re-read of the ‘Discworld’ series just over five years ago, not all in one chunk of time, but interspersed with other books. I finished ‘The Colour of Magic’, first in the series, at the end of March 2019. I haven’t quite managed to read one Pratchett book per month as I had hoped, which is why it’s taken me so long to read the 41 books. But at last I’ve completed them, with ‘The Shepherd's Crown’. It’s fifth in the Tiffany Aching sub-series, and the final volume of the Discworld books, published posthumously. I first read it in 2017, but hadn’t remembered anything much about it. 

Tiffany Aching is one of the most likeable Discworld characters, in my view. We first met her as a young girl in ‘The Wee Free Men’. That book was intended for younger readers: teenagers, or even older children (possibly as a read-aloud) to introduce them to the Discworld series. Unlike the main books, those featuring Tiffany have distinct chapters and a more straightforward storyline. 

In this book, Tiffany is an adult - we don’t know her exact age, but it’s made clear that she’s more than sixteen. And as such, I wouldn’t really recommend it to children, although it would be fine for teenagers. Tiffany has a young man, Preston, who is working as a junior doctor in Ankh Morpork. They correspond, and she would love to spend more time with him; but they are both passionate about their work, and know that it has to come first. Preston appeared in ‘I shall wear midnight’, and I was sorry that he doesn’t come into this story other than in Tiffany’s mind and heart.

The first few chapters of ‘The Shepherd’s Crown’ involve a dramatic and potentially very sad event which I thought was handled very well. Not wanting to give spoilers, it’s hard to say much more except that Tiffany has to take on a lot more responsibilities than she used to, and finds herself over-stretched and very tired. 

Alongside this, we learn that the elves of fairyland are planning an attack on the Discworld. These elves are not like Tolkien’s: they are selfish, manipulative and without any sense of morality or empathy. 

There are references to so many of the earlier books that it would be hard to read this as a standalone novel, even though the story itself is complete. It’s not just the Tiffany Aching ones that are relevant, either. There are references to Tiffany’s forays into elvish territory in the first book about her, but also to the experiences that the older witches had, described in ‘Lords and Ladies’. 

There are also mentions of the railway - which comes to fruition in ‘Raising Steam’ - and the emancipation and personhood of the goblins, which starts in ‘Unseen Academicals’. The Disc has come a long way since the first books, and I love the way Pratchett helped the different races live in harmony - and they really are different races, not just humans with different shades of skin colour.

The Nac Mac Feegles have a lot of action in this book, most of it either raucous or violent or both. There’s a glossary of their pseudo-Scottish vocabulary in the back of the book, but I’m familiar enough with the words, used in earlier books too, that I only referred to it once or twice. 

And then there’s a new character, a sixteen-year-old lad called Geoffrey whose father is abusive, and who has left home. He travels with his highly intelligent goat Mephistopheles, making his way to Lancre where he has an unusual request for Tiffany. Geoffrey is an interesting person, full of diplomacy and also very caring. It’s sad that we won’t learn anything else about him; but his story is encouraging and he’s a nice addition to the book. 

The writing is good, although in places I wondered if there had been some non-Pratchett additions: a few phrases and uses of punctuation didn’t ring quite true to the other books. But it doesn’t much matter. There’s plenty that’s classic Pratchett, complete with literary and other references. It’s a good story, with a positive outcome, and makes an excellent finale to the lengthy series. 

Definitely recommended if you’ve read all or most of the others in the series. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Raising Steam (by Terry Pratchett)

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I have been re-reading the entire Discworld series, written by the brilliant Sir Terry Pratchett, over the past few years, at a rate of about one per month. I have just finished the fortieth book in the series, ‘Raising Steam’, which was published in 2014. I was given a copy for Christmas that year, and read it in April 2015. I remembered that it involved the Discworld invention and adoption of a railway, but nothing else. 

It opens with a general explanation about people becoming more impatient, and wishing that products from the other side of the Disc might be fresher. And then we’re taken to the home of Dick Simnel, whose father managed to explode himself when Dick was ten. His father was an engineer, experimenting with steam, recognising its potential but not entirely harnessing it. Dick is more meticulous as he grows up, and studies his father’s research as well as trigonometry and the use of the ‘sliding rule’. 

Eventually the first Discworld train, ‘Iron Girder’, is unveiled. Lord Vetinari sees the potential, as does the self-made millionaire Harry King. Harry agrees to fund further research and development, and Vetinari appoints Moist von Lipwig as overseer and negotiator. Moist is already the manager of the Post Office, and the Bank and Treasury; he’s a visionary, excellent at persuading people to do whatever is necessary to achieve a goal. 

At the same time there’s an undercurrent of insurrection, as some of the dwarfs start objecting to the democratic way that people in Ankh Morpork are all considered equal. Despite having come to an agreement to live side-by-side with trolls, some of the ‘grags’ want to remain traditional in their habits. And they take this to a fundamentalist, sometimes violent degree. One of them wants to depose the ‘Low King’ of the dwarfs, who they believe is too liberal.

I also appreciated the many goblins who appear in this book: in the last couple, they were acknowledged as sentient beings and given the same rights as other races. Goblins were excellent at running the ‘clacks’, and it turns out that they have a gift for working in the railways, too. I very much liked the way that quite a few goblins in this book are working in different capacities, treated much better than in the past, and given names. 

I had assumed that this was the last of the Discworld books; when it was being written, Terry Pratchett was already showing signs of illness, and forty seemed like a good round number. However there is one more Discworld book, published posthumously, which I'm already looking forward to reading in another month or two. 

'Raising Steam' includes several of my favourite characters from the series: not just Moist von Lipwig and Lord Vetinari, but Sam Vimes and some of the Watch. The book encompasses many areas of the Disc as a brave venture begins, to run a train all the way to Uberwald. This has to be done even though tracks haven’t been laid all the way, and there are some dangerous areas to pass through...

As with all Pratchett’s writing, there are references to the ‘real’ world, and other random allusions, some of which I probably missed. But I was amused by the many synonyms for ‘moist’ used by one of the goblins, and also by some pointed references to the classic children’s novel ‘The Railway Children’. Some have said that this doesn’t read like classic Pratchett, possibly because he was no longer able to type, and had to rely on dictation for most of this novel. But I didn’t have any problem with it, and thought it made an excellent read.  

It could stand alone, as most Discworld books do, but it’s much more enjoyable for having read the previous books, particularly those involving the Watch and Moist von Lipwig. There are references to events in previous books which would make little sense to someone who had not read any of them.

Definitely recommended if you like the Discworld series and have not yet read this one.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Snuff (by Terry Pratchett)

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It’s been quite a long journey, re-reading the ‘Discworld’ series by the late Terry Pratchett. I’m nearing the end now, as I’ve just finished reading ‘Snuff’, 39th in the series (including those for teenagers). I read this book in 2014, and had entirely forgotten the story nearly a decade later. 

The book mainly features Samuel Vimes, Commander of the City Watch in Ankh Morpork. I didn’t like the ‘Watch’ books when I first starting reading Discworld books, but Vimes is a well-developed and ultimately likeable person with a great deal of integrity as well as some acknowledged faults. So I’ve come to appreciate this sub-series of the books. I particularly like the later ones when Sam is Sir Samuel, married to the voluptuous and delightful dragon-breeding Lady Sybil, with a small son, known as Young Sam. 

In this book, Sybil persuades Sam that he needs a holiday. So they travel into one of her family mansions in the countryside. Sam Senior is not at all sure what he will do. He appreciates time spent with his son but isn’t too sure about Young Sam’s obsessions with the ‘poo’ produced by different animals…

Then Vimes discovers that the countryside isn’t so quiet and peaceful as he had thought. He gets into a fight with the local blacksmith, who later disappears. And he learns that the folk in the area where he’s staying consider the goblin population to be ‘vermin’ rather than sapient beings. There have been brief mentions of goblins in previous books but in this they’re shown to be a race of people who have a very poor opinion of themselves. And yet they have extensive talents, including making special boxes, and - in some cases - composing and playing music.

There’s more than one storyline, as is common with Pratchett’s writing. Sam is determined to catch a cold-blooded villain; he’s also eager to see goblins recognised in the law. In Ankh-Morpork there are many different races: people, dwarfs, trolls, golems, vampires… and more, mostly living alongside each other in reasonable harmony. Or, at least, acceptance. Out in the countryside, people are more traditional, and very good at turning a blind eye to some terrible crimes. 

There are classical allusions, of course, and one or two asides that made me smile, but mostly it’s quite a serious, thought-provoking story of good vs evil, on the broad topic of racism. I’m also currently reading the biography of someone brought up in the racist southern part of the United States in the middle of last century, and some of the attitudes are strikingly similar. 

It took me a couple of weeks to finish this book; I see, looking at my review from 2014, it took me even longer the first time around. I read the last hundred pages or so almost at one sitting, but it was a bit slow to get going and didn’t grab me at the start. Still, overall I liked it. I’d recommend this if you like the ‘Watch’ series in the Discworld, or as part of the series as a whole. But it wouldn’t make a good introduction to Pratchett, as there are so many references to events and people from previous books. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

I Shall Wear Midnight (by Terry Pratchett)

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I’m glad I decided to re-read all the ‘Discworld’ books by the late Terry Pratchett, in the order of publiciation as recommended by the official Discworld Emporium site. In this sequence, the fourth ‘Tiffany Aching’ book for older children and younger teens is 38th in the series. I last read ‘I Shall Wear Midnight’ back in 2011, not long after it came out in paperback. And I had totally forgotten the storyline. 

I do like Tiffany. In the first book about her, ‘The Wee Free Men’, she was nine: hard-working and likeable, but undisciplined, and unsure where she fitted into the world. She was very good at making cheeses, and fond of her old grandmother… she was thrust into adventure, and trained as a witch. Now, in this book, she is sixteen and established as the witch of the ‘Chalk’ area. 

As the local witch, Tiffany has to oversee births and deaths. She’s like a district nurse or health visitor, who assists elderly people, binds up wounds, looks after children, and is generally a good influence in the area. She’s often very tired but - on the whole - she loves what she does. She’s a bit miffed that her former friend Roland no longer seems to speak to her, and that he’s become engaged to a very fluffy girl called Letitia. But she’s very fond of his father, the elderly Baron, who is dying. Tiffany visits him regularly to ‘balance’ his pain, in a way that is explained somewhat scientifically, but is one of the more mystical or magical abilities she has. 

At the same time, Tiffany has a growing awareness that something evil is in the air. People who used to respect her are now suspicious; if a baby dies when she’s present at the birth, she is rumoured to be responsible. She learns about witches in former centuries who were burned at the stake, and discovers that, in kissing the Wintersmith (in the book simply called ‘Wintersmith’) she has unleashed an evil spirit, the ‘Cunning Man’, who had been benign…

Pratchett had a genius for weaving several different subplots together. Some of his Discworld books seem confusing for the first 50 pages or so, as so many viewpoints are introduced, with apparently unrelated storylines. This book is much less complicated, since Tiffany is the viewpoint character throughout, and although she’s older, it’s still intended for younger people, though probably teens rather than children. 

Some of the references to the ‘Cunning Man’ and his activities are potentially quite disturbing, as is the description of terrible domestic violence which happens early in the book. Nothing gratuitous, but not appropriate reading for a sensitive child, or even a younger teenager.

We also see both Tiffany and Nanny Ogg trying to explain the ‘facts of life’ to a young, innocent girl about to get married. Nothing explicit is said, but much is implied. It might go over the head of a younger child, but I suspect most children would find this novel a bit dull; there are no children in it.

There’s more of a crossover with the main Discworld books than there was in the earlier Tiffany Aching books. Tiffany has to visit Ankh Morpork at one point, and comes across ‘Wee Mad Arthur’ who is delighted to meet the Feegles - the small blue men who have sworn to protect Tiffany. She also meets someone I had given up hope of ever reading about again - the legendary Esk from the early book in the series, ‘Equal Rites’. 

I liked reading about Tiffany again. She has matured in positive ways since the earlier books about her. She’s kind and generous, and also quick-thinking and courageous. She’s quite determined, too, and mostly confident about her own abilities. There’s even a low-key romantic element for her, involving a young man with the brains to go to university, but no money.  

Inevitably there are some lighter parts of the book, and some humour, particularly where the Feegles are concerned. But it’s ironic humour, the kind that made me smile wryly here and there, rather than anything overtly funny.

Overall I thought this a very good addition to the Discworld books. Definitely recommended if you liked the earlier Tiffany Aching books, or if you’re a fan of the Discworld books in general. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Unseen Academicals (by Terry Pratchett)

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Re-reading the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series, there have been times when I wonder whether I should give up. It often takes me a while to get into them properly, and they’re not as enjoyable reading on my own as they were reading aloud to my teenage sons. But I’ve kept going, and, as I near the end, am glad that I did.

‘Unseen Academicals’ is 37th in the series.  I first read it in 2010, having borrowed it from one of my sons; I apparently liked it so much that we acquired our own copy, although I had not re-read it until just recently. I vaguely recalled that it was set mostly amongst the Discworld wizards and the Unseen University. I also remembered that it was about football. That’s not a subject which usually interests me in the slightest.

The book opens by introducing some of the staff who work at the Unseen University. There’s Glenda, an excellent cook and head of the ‘night kitchen’, for instance. There’s Juliet, a young, beautiful but not very bright young woman who works with Glenda. There’s Trevor, whose father died playing football, and who works with the candles. And there’s Mr Nutt.

I’d forgotten all about Mr Nutt, whose story runs through the book, giving a little mystery that isn’t solved until nearer the end. Mr Nutt has come from Uberwald and is considered to be a kind of goblin, but nobody really knows. He is a very private person, and extremely skilled at candle dribbling. He did not have a happy childhood, but he’s a polite, highly intelligent and well-read person. He sometimes gives offence accidentally - he’s like a Discworld version of a autistic person. 

Ponder Stibbons, who does most of the important jobs in the Unseen University, has discovered an old document stating that some ongoing finances will stop unless the wizards have a football team. Football has become a violent, unregulated sport in the streets. So a lot of the book involves the implementation of rules which (as far as I know) roughly resemble those of football as we understand it on Earth. 

It took me even longer than usual to get into this book despite some enjoyable asides and not-always-subtle references to literary or mythological figures, as happens so often in Pratchett’s writing. But gradually the story took hold of me; I was particularly keen to find out who exactly Mr Nutt is, and why he’s working so hard for so little pay in a job generally considered one of the lowest. 

One has to suspend reality on the Disc, of course; but there are some quite thought-provoking discussions about racism, and how different kinds of people (trolls, vampires, dwarfs, humans etc) can learn to get along with a few concessions. There’s also a foray into the fashion industry, and even a very low-key romantic thread. And there’s football, but somehow Pratchett managed to turn even that very dull subject into an enjoyable part of the plot.

Definitely recommended if you’re a fan of the series. Although it stands alone, it’s undoubtedly best to have read some of the earlier books, particularly those involving the wizards. Many names recur and it’s confusing enough for someone like me who is reasonably familiar with most of them. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Making Money (by Terry Pratchett)

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In my gradual re-read of Terry Pratchett’s long Discworld series, I reached ‘Making Money’, which is apparently the 36th book by publication date.  I first read it towards the end of 2007, shortly after it was published but have not re-read it since. So I had pretty much forgotten the storyline.

Unlike the majority of the Discworld series, this book is divided into chapters, and mainly follows the activities of just one individual: the ingenious, intelligent former criminal Moist von Lipwig. While this book stands alone, as all the books in the series do, it’s definitely best read after ‘Going Postal’. That's the book where Mr Lipwig was introduced: saved from the hangman’s noose, he went on to revitalise the Ankh Morpork Post Office.

However, Moist is becoming somewhat bored. He’s an innovator rather than a maintainer. Everything is going smoothly, and his girlfriend is away trying to rescue some golems… so he starts taking risks, seeing if he can still break into places not because he wants to steal anything, but to see if he can. Moist is a very clever creation: a conman and crook at heart, yet also fair-minded and something of a pacifist. He never commits physical violence, and he only cheats people who are trying to cheat him… 

The Ankh Morpork bank is struggling, in the hands of the greedy and snooty Lavish family. The head of the family, and chairman of the board, is an elderly lady who meets Moist and immediately likes him. Lord Vetinari offers Moist the opportunity to take over the bank, but Moist refuses… until circumstances force him to take a hand. 

I have very little financial understanding, but it’s not essential to enjoy this book - and I did like it, rather more than I did first time around. Rather than having lots of classical allusions, this book deals more in similarities with financial institutions and - although I had not taken it in while reading - subtle references to the game of Monopoly. 

So Mr Lipwig invents the idea of a paper note rather than relying on coins and gold bullion, and persuades people to deposit their money, however small an amount, with the promise of interest. He rather shocks Mr Bent, the very uptight and slightly weird chief cashier of the bank whose affinity with numbers is astounding, as he does complex mental arithmetic without flaws in just a few seconds. Mr Bent clearly has some kind of secret but I had entirely forgotten what it was, and had not guessed. 

There’s also a sideline about golems, the people of clay who have featured in several of the other Discworld books. Moist’s girlfriend works for the Golem Trust, ensuring golems can be freed. She travels the Disc finding abandoned or buried golems, and ensuring their release. However she’s not prepared for Gladys, a golem working for Moist, who insists on wearing a dress and reading books on etiquette for young ladies.

It’s a very readable book, although it took me ten days to finish. This is possibly because I didn’t care sufficiently about the main plot to want to keep reading at every moment. But I did like it, and may well read it again in another ten or twelve years. 

Recommended as part of the Discworld series, or as a sequel to ‘Going Postal’. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Thud (by Terry Pratchett)

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Re-reading my way slowly through Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ series, I reached ‘Thud’, the 34th series. We bought the hardback edition shortly after it was first published, towards the end of 2005, and I read it aloud to my teenage sons - finishing just before my elder son left home. I hadn’t read it since then, and had entirely forgotten what it was about.

‘Thud’ is one of the ‘Watch’ books, a direct sequel to ‘Monstrous Regiment’, at least as far as Sam Vimes goes. He has a young son now, known as Young Sam, who lights up his world in a way he had not expected. However most of his time is taken up with his work - and tensions are brewing in the city, as the trolls and dwarfs clash. A dwarf has been killed, and a troll club found nearby. Koom Valley day is approaching, and the patrician - Lord Vetinari - is worried that battles might break out in Ankh Morpork.

I’m not sure I followed all the intricacies of the plot, which involved several investigations, a game called ‘Thud’ played on something like a chessboard, and some more dwarf fatalities. There’s a new recruit to the Watch, a vampire known as Sally, who rather likes the look of Captain Carrot. Angua the Watch werewolf dislikes vampires intensely, but finds herself partnered with Sally more than once…and in some unusual predicaments. 

Then there’s a subplot involving the strange Nobby Nobbs, who is going out with a beautiful but very insecure young woman who works as a pole dancer.  And there’s a very important event which Sam Vimes must be present at every evening.  He has a ‘gooseberry’ - a Discworld style electronic organiser, powered by an imp who tries very hard to get Sam to fulfil his obligations.  

For the first hundred or so pages (as with most Discworld books, there are no chapters), I didn’t find this book all that interesting; I was never a huge fan of the Watch books, although I’ve liked them more this time around. But by the time I was half-way through I was liking the character interactions, and even appreciating the storyline, although I didn’t follow everything. I certainly didn’t grasp the rules of ‘Thud’ - perhaps I wasn’t supposed to. 

While some Discworld books could be read as standalones, this one involves a lot of characters from previous books. Although the plot is complete in itself, the characters in the Watch have developed over the course of the books, and it’s better (in my opinion) to read them in order.  

Definitely recommended if you’ve read and liked earlier ‘Watch’ books in the series.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Going Postal (by Terry Pratchett)

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I was quite looking forward to reaching ‘Going Postal’ in my gradual re-read of the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series. It’s one of the books I read aloud to my teenage sons in 2005, having bought it in hardback soon after publication, and I recalled liking it very much.

I had even remembered what happened in the first chapter - a very dramatic opening to the book - which results in the condemned crook Moist von Lipwig being appointed as the new Postmaster General for the Ankh Morpork post office.  The post office has been entirely dormant for some years and there have been others appointed to this role, but they all suffered unpleasant accidents… some quite recently. However Moist has no option but to accept, and no chance to escape as he is determinedly followed and tracked down by a Golem known as Mr Pump. 

Most of the former post office staff have long gone, but two remain. There’s the elderly Mr Grout, who believes in dosing himself with all kinds of dodgy remedies, and never washes. There’s also the younger Stanley, a gangly, nervous young man who only becomes enthusiastic when talking about his all-consuming hobby of collecting pins.

Moist has worked as a conman and swindler all his life, and was apparently very good at it, but he isn’t entirely lost to emotion, and does have a kind of standard of decency. He will engage in a fair fight, although he prefers to avoid physical pain, but he tries to avoid hurting the innocent, where possible, and is proud of the fact that he’s never killed anyone. Not directly, anyway…

It’s a good story, the first of the main Discworld books to be written in chapters; that’s something I had not remembered. And I’d forgotten most of the details of the book. Moist does not just have to restart a post office that’s stopped doing anything, he has to wade through mountains of undelivered mail, some of it going back decades, blocking up doorways and covering furniture everywhere in the huge post office. 

He also finds that he’s in competition with the ‘clacks’ towers - a kind of Discworld semaphore-based phone system that uses Disc-style computers and geeky people who like numbers… but which has been taken over by a ruthless conman who’s as talented as Moist, but without his hint of humanity.

Lord Vetinari appears several times, smooth and tyrannical, yet doing what he can for the city. And there’s a wonderful section about the invention of stamps which I appreciated very much. 

Still one of my favourite of the Discworld novels, probably because it’s so character-based and Moist is a wonderful, complex character who’s likeable despite his criminal tendencies. I hope it won’t be another eighteen years before I read it again.

Definitely recommended if you’re a fan of these books. If you haven’t read any Discworld books before, this could make a good starting point, as most of the characters are new to this story.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Monstrous Regiment (by Terry Pratchett)

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In my gradual re-read of Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series, I had reached ‘Monstrous Regiment’, which I only previously read once in March 2004. It was shortly after publication date, and I read it to my two sons, who were teenagers at the time. We had mixed feelings about it at the time, and I recalled it being about a girl who joined the army… so I didn’t think it would be all that appealing.

It turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. Polly is the main character, and we meet her dressed as a boy so that she can join her country’s army. There are always wars, and recruiting officers tour around looking for likely lads. Polly has been working as a barmaid in her father’s inn, and has thus had the opportunity to observe a lot of men and listen to male conversation in a way that would not normally be possible for teenage girls in that era.

She is accepted, kisses the picture of ‘The Duchess’, who is a somewhat odd figure, something between a minor god and a monarch, whom nobody has seen for a long time. But The Duchess apparently tells some people what they should be doing. One of Polly’s new colleagues is a devout worshipper. They’re quite a mixed bunch - there’s a vampire (reformed); there’s a troll, and there are other different shapes and sizes of new recruits. Polly realises there may be problems when she needs to use the ‘facilities’, but she manages, although it’s not long before she starts to wonder if others of her group may also be of the female persuasion…

Polly is a quick thinker, and asks a lot of questions which makes her unpopular with one of the officers, although the other, a very large sergeant, is more benign and generally well-disposed. And they start out on their way to fight battles with no training, because the army is running out of people…

There’s quite a bit of politics in the book, Discworld style, which I skimmed. I lost track of who was attacking whom, and how the different ambushes, battles and so on worked. I was more interested in Polly’s story, her growing friendships with her new acquaintances, and the difficulties she finds in a man’s world, contrasted with her very different life prior to joining up. It’s a theme Pratchett explored in ‘Equal Rites’ in rather a different way.

Samuel Vimes of the Ankh Morpork Watch is in this book, in a fairly minor role until the end, but most of the characters are new so it’s certainly possible to read this as a stand-alone story. I prefer to read a series like this in chronological order where possible, but it’s not necessary. Still, a working knowledge of the way different races (humans, trolls, vampires, wizards etc) manage to co-exist in the Disc is a useful background. Knowing who Vimes and the other Watch members are is a nice bonus.

‘Monstrous Regiment’ is still not my favourite of the Discworld books, but I liked it better than I did nearly nineteen years ago.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

A Hat Full of Sky (by Terry Pratchett)

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In gradually re-reading Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series, I’ve taken a slight detour from the main books to revisit the first couple of Tiffany Aching books, which were written for younger readers, although they’re enjoyable for people of all ages.

I re-read ‘The Wee Free Men’ back in July, and liked it very much. I last read its sequel, ‘A hat full of sky’ in 2005 and had entirely forgotten the story. Although it took me a day or two to get into it, I thought it an excellent book. As ever there are quite a few characters and more than one storyline, and it works best read as a sequel rather than a standalone.

Tiffany Aching, who is now eleven, is on her way to work for Miss Level. Her parents think she’s going to be a kitchen maid or similar, and have no idea that she’s going to learn to be a witch. Tiffany’s grandmother was - kind of - a witch but died before the first book started, and she still misses her; but she feels quite a pull to continue her work.

She’s not entirely sure that she’s cut out to be a witch, however; just riding on a broomstick makes her feel queasy. And she’s pretty sure that she’s the only one who is followed around by the Nac Mac Feegles - the six inch high ‘Wee free men’ of the first book - who have sworn to protect her. She’s also a bit disillusioned when she realises that most of her work with Miss Level is in fact cleaning, and checking animals, and helping people in the village who are sick, or elderly, or just need company.

But Tiffany is being followed by a ‘hiver’, an invisible being that preys on the vulnerable. And it seems likely that it will catch up with her at some point, and we don’t know what will happen. I hadn’t remembered at all; obviously it was all going to work out in the end, as this is a children’s book, but I had no recollection of what happened, or how the hiver was persuaded to leave Tiffany, or what happened later in the book to ensure it didn’t return.

Nor do I know whether the word is pronounced 'high-ver' (to rhyme with diver) or 'hivver' (to rhyme with shiver). It might even be 'heaver'.

I suspect that some of the book would go over the head of younger children who could, nevertheless, read it as an exciting adventure. Tiffany is an excellent heroine, who is a little naive but kind, practical and determined - and stronger than people realise. She’s also very good at making cheese.

Definitely recommended if you like Pratchett’s writing, or just want something a bit different for an older child or teenager. But do read ‘The Wee Free Men’ first, even if you haven’t read anything else set in the Discworld.

There are three more books about Tiffany Aching, but I'm going to return to the main Discworld series for a few more books before continuing with them, reading the entire series roughly in publication order.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

The Wee Free Men (by Terry Pratchett)

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In my gradual re-reading of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, I reached a point at which - chronologically - it was time to diverge slightly from the main books and into those written for younger readers. So I picked up ‘The Wee Free Men’ a few days ago, and have just finished reading it. I had only read it once before, nearly two decades ago, when I read it aloud to my teenage sons. I had a general recollection of the plot, but had entirely forgotten the details.

This book is set in the ‘Chalk’, an area I don’t recall from earlier books in the series. And the reason it’s intended for children rather than adults is that the heroine is nine-year-old Tiffany Aching. She is a hard-working girl who lives on a farm. She is full of integrity and also some self-righteous judgementalism. She’s very bright, and likes learning the meanings of long words. Every so often, teachers come to town and her parents encourage her to go and get a bit more education, paid for in farm produce.

Tiffany’s main expertise is in making butter and cheese, but she has also helped with lambing, and has many daily chores. One of them is watching her small brother Wentworth who must be about two-and-a-half. At the start of the book, is fixated on either sweeties or going to the toilet. Tiffany feels a sense of duty, and some loyalty, but on the whole she finds her brother annoying. So when danger threatens, she decides quite cold-bloodedly to use him as ‘bait’.

We learn early in the book that Tiffany is probably a Discworld witch. She is observant, and blessed with what the author describes as ‘first sight’, and ‘second thoughts’. The latter is the ability to observe herself thinking and analyse her thoughts. And she’s a highly analytical person. She’s not entirely sure what being a witch involves, but it appears that her late grandmother was probably the local witch when she was alive, although most of her life was taken up with delivering or rescuing lambs.

Danger threatens the Disc, and Tiffany appears to be the only person who can do anything to avert it - particularly when her small brother is stolen by a Queen of another world. Her parents are distraught, and she knows she must fetch him back. In this aim she is aided (mostly) by the ‘Wee Free Men’ - the Nac-MacFeegles, who are small ‘pictsies’ with blue skin, kilts and strong Scottish accents. They are very courageous, and love nothing better than fighting or drinking. They’re also convinced they are dead…

It’s an enjoyable story, free of some of the ‘adult’ innuendoes that tend to pop into some of the main Discworld books. There are not so many literary references, either, although there’s more than a nod to some classic children’s fantasy: Two of the Narnia books, for instance, came to mind in scenes involving snow and dreams coming true. I was also forcibly reminded of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ more than once. There are plenty of references to classic fairytales too, as the book progresses; Tiffany wonders if witches must live in gingerbread houses, or if they’re in danger of being thrown into their own ovens. She feels that they often get a bad rap in the stories.

The writing is classic Pratchett, and the storyline as complex as I have come to expect in his writing; Tiffany is never entirely certain when she’s dreaming or what the nature of reality is. And she’s a strong, likeable heroine who is quite confident, even when terrified. She’s perhaps rather mature for a nine-year-old, but that doesn’t matter; children of that age and older seem to enjoy the book, but it’s entirely appropriate to be read by adults as part of the entire series.

Recommended as an introduction to the Discworld series for anyone aged about eight or over, or as part of the series.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

Night Watch (by Terry Pratchett)

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It’s been an interesting experience re-reading Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series, many of which I only read once before; in some cases nearly twenty years ago. That’s the case with ‘Night Watch’, 29th in the Discworld series, which I first read - aloud to my teenage sons - in 2003. I didn’t remember liking it particularly; I wasn’t much of a fan of the ‘Watch’ books, and almost missed it out this time.

However I’m glad I decided to reread it for the sake of continuity, although it’s taken me over a week to complete. This book features Sam Vimes, both as Sir Samuel, Commander of the Watch (soon to be a father), and as the young recruit Lance Constable Sam Vimes, a couple of decades earlier.

At the start of the book there have been some nasty killings by a really unpleasant character called Carcer. Vimes is determined to catch him, and almost does so in the University library… except that it’s an area of high magic, where time and space don’t necessarily function in their normal way. And due to some complexities which only the history monks understand, both Vimes and Carcer find themselves in the past, a few days before a terrible scene of violence in the city which Vimes and some of his friends had been recalling, wearing lilac blooms in their helmets.

It’s a bit of a complex plot, one that doesn’t really follow other time-shift or time-travel books: in the Discworld understanding, there are millions of universes, where anything that might happen does happen in at least one of them. There’s no problem with Vimes meeting his younger self, although he calls himself John Keel; I didn’t quite get why he does this, but he remembers that John Keel taught him all he knew. And in this particular past, John Keel is dead, by the hand of Carcer.

So events have changed, and if young Sam is to turn into a man of integrity he needs a mentor… and the only person who can do that is the older Vimes, known as Keel.

One has to accept all kinds of unexpected, bizarre circumstances in the Discworld books, so time travel isn’t particularly difficult to take in. Sam Vimes, knowing what’s coming, and absolutely on the side of the rebels of Ankh Morpork, brings some of his natural tact and diplomacy to the fore, possibly changing what happened, but knowing that eventually he will be able to return.

I found it an engaging story. Sam Vimes, at both ages, is a likeable person; angry at times, potentially dangerous, but essentially honest, kind and fair. He does the job in front of him, finding some nostalgic pleasure in being a Sergeant again, treading the streets in boots lined only in cardboard. He meets some dubious characters, and befriends an excellent, if unconventional doctor.

There are some brief mentions of the history monks, who were introduced in the previous book ‘Thief of Time’, but it’s not necessary to have read it first. It would probably help to have read the earlier ‘Watch’ books, however:, in particular ‘Guards, Guards!’, ‘Men at Arms’, and ‘The Fifth Elephant’.

Well worth reading as part of the Discworld series, or just as part of the ‘Watch’ series.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

Thief of Time (by Terry Pratchett)

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In my gradual re-reading of Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ books, I reached the 26th in the series, ‘Thief of Time’. I’m surprised how much I’m liking some of the books, including this one. It wasn’t unputdownable - some days I read only a few pages, so it took me over a week to finish - but the plot is cleverly done, and some of the concepts stayed with me even though I had totally forgotten the story itself. Not surprising, really, since I had only previously read it once, back in 2001 when it was new and I read it aloud to my teenage sons.

As with many of the Discworld books, there are several scenarios introduced, running roughly parallel as the story progresses, until they gradually start to converge. ‘Thief of Time’ is no exception. One section is set in a kind of monastery. Lobsang Ludd is a new recruit but he seems angry, unwilling to study, and yet remarkably intelligent. It’s felt that there’s nothing he can be taught. So he’s given as an apprentice to Lu-Tze, who works as a sweeper but is in fact a very senior monk with many talents.

The monastery features ‘history monks’, one of my favourite of Pratchett’s creations. They work to keep time running smoothly, ensuring that events happen. I’m not sure I understand the details, but they snip time from places it’s not really needed, adding it into scenarios where more time is needed. Nobody is aware that this is happening, although people do sometimes comment that time seems to have raced by, or that a moment has lasted a long time…

Meanwhile another young man, a brilliant clockmaker called Jeremy, has been approached by a slightly odd lady and asked to make a glass clock that will keep perfect time. Money is no object, and she even sends an ‘Igor’ to help him. We quickly learn that Lady LeJean is not quite who she appears; but the longer she keeps her persona, the more human she seems to become.

Then there’s Susan Sto Helit, the granddaughter of Death, who is mostly human and works very successfully as a classroom teacher of small children. She is very strict but also creative in her methods, and regularly takes her class to places they could not possibly have gone to without leaving the school. Susan doesn’t want to get dragged out of her classroom, but after reading a fairy tale about a glass clock, she realises that once again she is needed in her grandfather’s world.

Naturally there are all kinds of surprises in the book, alongside some humour and many references to the ‘real’ world, Discworld style. Pratchett pokes gentle fun at everyone - the way people cleaning the streets are often ignored, for instance; or random clichés treated as enlightened wisdom.

Although Susan has appeared in other Discworld books, and the history monks were mentioned in at least one of the others too, this book stands alone. Having said that, it’s taken for granted that the reader understands about the different guilds in Ankh-Morpork, and the way gods and monks work; there are also a couple of brief (but very important) cameo scenes involving Nanny Ogg. But it’s certainly not necessary to have read all the earlier books before this one, and for someone with a vague idea about the Discworld series, it could make a good introduction to the series.

Definitely recommended if you like the series, or even if you struggled to get into some of the earlier books and would like to try something different.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

The Truth (by Terry Pratchett)

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I’m mostly enjoying re-reading Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series, more so with the later books, although for most I have only previously read them once. That’s the case with ‘The Truth’, 25th in the series, which we acquired in hardback shortly after it was published in 2000. I read it aloud to my sons, who were teenagers at the time, in March 2001.

I didn’t remember much about this book, other than that it involves a newspaper. I had quite forgotten the young and enthusiastic William de Worde, hero of this book, who is compulsively truthful. When we first meet him, he writes a monthly newsletter to a few dignitaries, letting them know what’s going on in Ankh Morpork. It’s a tedious process, writing the information longhand, then having someone from the Engravers’ Guild carefully cut out the writing - backwards - and print it on paper half a dozen or so times.

But some of the mechanically-minded dwarf population have developed a printing press, with movable type. When William discovers this, he realises that he can print dozens - maybe hundreds - of his newsletters. And as one of the dwarfs points out, if he sells lots of them inexpensively, he can earn considerably more than selling a few at high price.

And so it escalates. More copies are made, more are sold, and people become hungry for news. So William starts to produce a new ‘paper of news’ daily, employing more people, spending more money, publishing items that seem of low significance but which prompt citizen letters or even visits…

But this is Pratchett so there’s not just one main storyline. There’s also a significant one involving Lord Vetinari, the Patrician, who has been taken into custody after apparently trying to kill his secretary. William reports on what he knows, and the Watch attempt to figure out what’s going on, but they are hampered on all sides. The reader quickly learns how the apparent crime was committed, but it’s a difficult one to solve.

I’m not sure I followed all the threads fully, but the Vetinari one involves two unpleasant people who have worked all around the Disc, extorting, cheating and getting away with all kinds of nasty things - mostly employed by others who don’t want to get their hands dirty. Mr Pin is the brains of the pair, Mr Tulip the brawns, with a limited vocabulary and an urge to scrag people and destroy evidence.

Other interesting characters of significance in ‘The Truth’ involve Foul Ol’ Ron and his cronies, Gaspode the talking dog, Otto the vampire, who is an excellent iconographer, and the dodgy zombie lawyer Mr Slant. Pratchett’s writing was, in my view, at its peak with the middle Discworld novels, satirising the newspaper and printing industries, and showing - in a low-key way - the importance of all races, and the way unpleasant people are biassed. And they really are different races on the Disc, not people of the same race with different shades of skin colour.

I liked this book very much; it makes a great addition to the series, and would probably work well as an introduction to the series, too; while some characters have appeared in earlier books, most of the main ones (including William and his staff) are newly introduced in this story.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

The Fifth Elephant (by Terry Pratchett)

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In slowly re-reading my way through Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series, I reached #24, ‘The Fifth Elephant’. I read this aloud to my sons nearly twenty-two years ago, not long after it was published, but I had not read it since. So, unsurprisingly, I had no recollection at all of the plot.

And it’s one of the more confusing plots, in my opinion - not that any of them are straightforward. Sam Vimes, the Duke of Ankh and commander of the City Watch is the star of the book, although there are many other characters involved. But the story is mainly set in Uberwald, traditionally home to many dwarfs (underground) as well as werewolves and vampires. It’s roughly equivalent to a caricature of Transylvania, where the traditional ‘lore’ holds, rather than any real law.

Vimes is sent as part of a delegate from Ankh Morpork to the coronation of a new dwarf king; apparently one who is keen on moving with the times, although many of the dwarfs prefer a rigid traditionalist. Vimes takes with him two of his staff: Detritus the troll, and Cheery, the dwarf who has ‘come out’ as a woman. These are controversial choices, although they turn out to be good ones.He also takes his wife Sybil, who has something she really wants to tell him.

There’s a lot of politics, some of which went over my head, and the references to the fifth elephant are minimal; apparently a fifth elephant crashed into the Disc in prehistoric times, leaving mines of fat below the surface. Vimes hopes to come to an agreement to purchase some of them at a good price. To add to the confusion, an important dwarf artefact has been stolen, and it appears that a replica was made, although the person who did so is then found dead.

Meanwhile Sergeant Angua has vanished, having heard that her brother Wolfgang is causing mayhem in Uberwald; he’s sadistic and cruel, and she is probably the only person with any chance of stopping him. Captain Carrot is temporarily in charge of the Watch while Vimes is away… but resigns in order to go and find Angua. He takes with him Gaspode the talking dog…

So there are many subplots running alongside each other, and I found it quite tricky to keep track. Not that it’s a problem - it’s always enjoyable to read Pratchett, with his clever turn of phrase, even if I don’t have the slightest idea what’s going on. However I can’t say this was one of my favourites; it’s quite violent in places, and the political aspect didn’t interest me much. We see a lot of Vimes’ thought processes, but I couldn’t really follow his logic.

However this is the book which introduces the ‘clacks’ towers, which enable messages to travel faster then with carrier pigeons. It also introduces the traffic calming regimes, and the idea of clamping vehicles, something which some of the Watch do rather too enthusiastically. 

There’s a good subplot involving Sergeant Colon being temporarily promoted to Captain, only to find that power goes to his head… and there are some thought-provoking asides from Cheery. It’s the first book where Lady Sybil is more than an eccentric figurehead - she is immensely kind and thoughtful, as we learn in this book, and also vehemently against any kind of racism.

I don’t know that I’ll re-read this book again, although if I do I hope it will be before another 20+ years have passed, but I’m glad I did as part of the Discworld canon. As with all the books in the series it could stand alone, but is much better read after the earlier ‘Watch’ books, even if you avoid the others. The Watch books are: ‘Guards, Guards’, ‘Men at Arms’, ‘Feet of Clay’ and ‘Jingo’.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

Carpe Jugulum (by Terry Pratchett)

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I’m slowly re-reading the entire Discworld series by the late Terry Pratchett, and - on the whole - enjoying them. Each one stands alone, although of course many character re-appear, and in many cases it’s at least twenty years since I last read the book. 

I’ve just finished ‘Carpe Jugulum’, which is twenty-third in the series. I know I’ve read it before, but since I hadn’t reviewed it previously it must have been early in 1998. That was shortly after it was published, when - most likely - I read it aloud to my sons, who were teenagers at the time.

I remembered that it involved vampires - the titles of the books are excellent, in my opinion, reminding me of the broad theme of the books - but had forgotten that it’s essentially another book about the witches. There are four of them now: Granny Weatherwax is getting a bit frailer, Nanny Ogg is still rather bawdy and Agnes Nitt (with her inner self Perdita) is the third. However Magrat, married to Verence, is still a witch on the inside…

As with many of the books in the series, the opening pages have several different storylines, hinting at things to come, but basically quite confusing. Granny Weatherwax is upset about something that she keeps looking for, and grumpier than ever. There are a lot of magpies around. There’s also some other strange object, emanating light. And there are people who are excited about a gold-edged invitation…

The first main event is the naming ceremony of Magrat and Verence’s new baby. This is a huge affair; the entire population seems to have been invited, as well as representatives from neighbouring regions. Verence has even invited some vampires - or vampyres - from Uberwald. And because they’re invited, they can wreak havoc. Vampires, we quickly learn, have ways of controlling and manipulating people even before they have bitten them.

One of my favourite characters in this book is the Reverend Mightily Oats, a very determined evangelist from the Omnian religion. He has been invited to conduct the naming. He’s a bit confused about what he believes, and at first tries to squash down any thoughts or doubts, wanting to follow what he has been taught blindly. But events - and Granny Weatherwax - get him thinking, and he turns out to be a very selfless and kind person, who gradually realises that he doesn’t need to hide behind religious symbols and aphorisms.

Pratchett was famously anti-religion, but he makes some excellent points in this book. I was particularly struck at Granny Weatherwax commenting to Oats that sin begins with treating other people as things. I had remembered her later, longer comments about how any real religious belief should cause people to care deeply and passionately rather than being wishy-washy and handing out pamphlets. Granny makes some excellent points, and I enjoyed her acerbic relationship with Oats - including the way he was willing to keep helping her, despite her constant criticism and lack of appreciation.

But theirs is a sideline to a rather complex story that’s caught up in vampire mythology, something I knew little about. The Count and his family are particularly unpleasant people, despite their insistence on being more modern and up-to-date than their ancestors. I rather liked their servant Igor, a ‘man of many parts’, as someone put it, who speaks with a deliberate lisp and wants to be treated badly.

I suspect I missed a lot of the references, and didn’t entirely keep up with the storyline which was somewhat complex, but I liked the book on the whole and am glad I finally re-read it.

Recommended as part of the Discworld series, but best read after the earlier Witches books - particularly 'Wyrd Sisters', ‘Lords and Ladies’ and ‘Maskerade’.

Review copyright 2021 Sue's Book Reviews

The last continent (by Terry Pratchett)

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‘The Last Continent’, 22nd in the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series, was published in 1998. We have the hardback edition, so must have acquired it soon after publication; possibly I read it aloud to my sons, or we might have read it separately. In any case, it was before I started this blog in the spring of 1999, and I haven’t read it since then. So it’s not surprising that my memory of it was almost non-existent.

I did recall that the continent of the title, Fourecks (or XXXX) is broadly based on Australia, although at the start of the book the author insists that it isn’t actually that country - just rather loosely Australian. And, as is the norm with the Discworld series it’s full of references and allusions, many of which are to animals, plants or cultural norms in Australia, albeit in a highly caricatured sense.

‘The Last Continent’ is a story about the Discworld wizards, and as such continues from where ‘Interesting Times’ left off. Rincewind was sent to Fourecks, and we see him trudging through the desert, finding what food he can from local wildlife, falling into rapidly emptying waterholes. He’s watched over by the creator, and accompanied, at times, by a talking kangaroo.

Rincewind might not be a very good wizard, but he is excellent at surviving impossible circumstances, and escaping from danger. He uses these skills many times in this book, including an episode where he is wrongly arrested for sheep-stealing, and sentenced to be hanged. The creator wants him to discover what’s happening to all the water, but nobody will believe him when he talks about rain.

What Rincewind doesn’t know is that the Unseen University wizards want to find him. The Librarian (who has been an ape for as long as anyone can recall) is very ill. But they can’t help him with magic because nobody knows his name. It’s suggested that Rincewind might, as they used to work together. So they decide to track him down… and in the bizarre way that the Discworld functions - and even more so in the Unseen University - they discover a kind of portal to a tropical island, which just happens to be not too far from Fourecks.

Of course nothing is straightforward, and the book switches from Rincewind to the other wizards - and many other folk met along the way - before they finally meet up. The Librarian keeps changing shape as he’s unable to control his morphic field, and the geeky Ponder Stibbons figures out that they’re not just on another continent, but are back in time, many thousands - or possibly millions - of years earlier. The wizards encounter one of my favourite of Pratchett’s inventions, the God of Evolution; one part of the book which I had remembered was the creature considered the pinnacle of his creation (shudder).

It’s not the kind of humour to appeal to everyone; satire abounds, cultural references are everywhere, and fun is poked not just at Australians but at human nature, at religious belief, and even at reproduction. Pratchett never minced words. I always like spotting the references - many of them obvious in this, including finally discovering just why the platypus is as it is… and the way the author plays with history, and the idea of time travel, and whether or not people can affect their own futures by changing history. Or prehistory, perhaps.

I didn’t entirely follow all the plot developments but it doesn’t much matter. The Discworld books are meant to be light and frivolous - although deeper truths are regularly uncovered, and in poking fun at the wizards, the author points out many inconsistencies and fixed ideas that are all too prevalent in everyday life.

I liked this book very much, and hope it won’t be another twenty-four years before I read it again. Best read after at least a few of the earlier Discworld books.

Review copyright 2021 Sue's Book Reviews

Jingo (by Terry Pratchett)

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On the whole I am enjoying re-reading Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ series, some of which I haven’t read in over twenty years. ‘Jingo’ is one of them. We probably acquired it some time in 1998, which is when the paperback edition was first published, and I must have read it, either to myself or out loud to my sons, before I began this blog in April 1999. I certainly haven’t read it since. I didn’t remember it as being particularly interesting, but then I had totally forgotten everything that was in it.

‘Jingo’ is the 21st Discworld book, and fourth in the ‘Watch’ series featuring the Disc equivalent of a police force. It follows on from ‘Feet of Clay’ which I re-read a few months ago, and features the same haphazard bunch of individuals including a troll, a dwarf, a werewolf, a tall person brought up as a dwarf, a couple of humans, and not forgetting Nobby Nobbs, who doesn’t appear to fit entirely into any species.

Sam Vimes is the commander of the Watch, married to Lady Sybil. He is unimpressed that he has to lead a civic parade involving the wizards and some invited royalty visiting Ankh Morpork. He is particularly unhappy about the traditional costume he has to wear. He’s also concerned as he’s been warned that there may be violence or even an attempt at assassination, so he has his team stationed in strategic places….

Pratchett’s plots are never particularly easy to follow, and this book is more confusing than most - or perhaps it’s that my eyes tend to glaze over at any mention of either politics or war. And this is essentially a book about war, although more theory than practice. A new island has suddenly appeared, mid-way between Ankh Morpork and Klatch, observed by two fishermen, one from each country. Naturally everyone wants to claim it, and they can’t quite agree… and when something dramatic happens in the Ankh Morpork parade, war is declared.

Meanwhile Leonard of Quirm, the brilliantly eccentric inventor, has created a going-underwater-boat (he’s not great at names), and Lord Rust, one of the guild leaders, has taken over the city and is trying to build up an army. There are clues to two murders - some of them patently false - and various expeditions launched.

I found it very hard to keep track of what was going on, but I found it a lot more readable than I had expected. That’s because of the interactions between the various Watch folk; Pratchett had got well into characterisation by the time this book was published. I found the scenes with the oddly likeable Captain Carrot very enjoyable, and I was pleased to see a bit more of Cheery Littlebottom, the dwarf whose ‘coming out’ as female was a significant part of ‘Feet of Clay’.

‘Jingo’ is, unsurprisingly, full of jingoism, of Disc style racism, and of questions about why people feel negatively about those they don’t know. Patriotism, ownership, and the ethos of war are all covered in conversation and action… it’s really quite a thought-provoking book. Pacifism is promoted, along with diplomacy and even a bit of sport as a means to enable friendly rivalry without violence. In theory, anyway.

And of course there are literary and other references, to be appreciated or ignored, depending on one’s background. I’m sure I missed many of them. But I did spot a few.

I hadn’t expected to like this book as much as I did, so I’m glad I’ve finally picked it up again to re-read. Recommended, but although each Discworld book stands alone, this is best read after the earlier Watch books: ‘Guards, Guards!’, ‘Men at Arms’ and ‘Feet of Clay’.

Review copyright 2021 Sue's Book Reviews