Monstrous Regiment (by Terry Pratchett)

(Amazon UK link)

I do like Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series. Partly because they're so cleverly written. And partly because they don't actually fall into any traditional genre. They are fantasy - of a sort - since several non-human races co-exist happily (well, sometimes) on the Discworld, such as trolls and vampires and wizards. But they're not normal fantasy. They're humorous, satirical, thought-provoking, and full of classical allusions.

I read 'Monstrous Regiment' aloud to my teenage sons when they were 15 and 17. It's fifteenth in the Discworld series, and is the story of a teenage girl who decides to join the army. The book is about what happens as she attempts to deceive everyone by pretending to be a boy (the Discworld is very sexist still), and eventually manages to enlist.

Several adventures await, and a good many surprises. Some of her new friends turn out also to be rather different from what first appearances would suggest.

This series works wonderfully well as read-aloud books for parents who wanted to keep reading aloud to teens. The only problem is that there are no chapters in the Discworld books, so you find yourself reading until you are hoarse, and then looking for a convenient asterisk to use as a stopping point for the day.

I'm not particularly interested in books about armies, and having finished this, I would not count it as one of my favourite Discworld books. Still, there were some amusing moments here and there, and I will probably re-read it one day. Worth reading for Pratchett fans.