Shannon C.’s review of Monstrous Regiment (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
Fantasy fiction released by Harper Torch 31 Aug 04

I’ve been resisting reading any of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett for a long time. Fellow fantasy readers keep assuring me they are wonderful, but the first couple I tried did not work so well for me. Then, I pulled out Monstrous Regiment from the TBR because the thought of an army squad composed of women disguised as men appealed to one of my huge and not so secret loves. And I think, after reading this book, that I’ve definitely got to read more Discworld books. 

Our heroine is Polly Perks, from the country of Borogravia. Borogravia isn’t exactly the best place to live at the moment because it’s perpetually at war with everyone.  Its monarch, the Duchess, is most likely dead, and the citizens worship a god named Nuggan who keeps handing down abominations, like crossword puzzles and the color blue.

Polly, whose brother joined the army, decides she needs to enter all of this chaos by following in his wake, disguised as a boy, and retrieve him, so she can run her parents’ thriving inn. Women owning property is an abomination unto Nuggan, and Paul is himself pretty simple-minded, so Polly figures she can just leave him in peace with his art and go about her business. Anyway, upon joining a local recruitment party disguised as a boy, she begins to learn that a lot of Borogravian women have had similar ideas. Hilarity, of course, ensues, but so does some extremely good satire.

I liked Polly. She was quick and clever and competent, and I really enjoyed reading the sections of the book where she was featured. Her squadmates are also a lot of fun, from the loud, brusque Sergeant Jackrum to Lieutenant Blouse, their superior officer, whose greatest dream in life is to one day get an article of clothing named after him. (He does. It’s a type of fingerless glove. What else would you be thinking?) There’s even a vampire who is addicted to coffee instead of blood, and a troll, and a religious fanatic bent on saving Borogravia, and all of them are rendered likeable in their own way. We also get a few chapters with Sam Vimes, head of the notorious Ankh-Morpork city watch, and I can’t wait to read more about his adventures in other books.

The book moves along briskly. I was reading it at every spare moment I could find, and laughing my head off more than once. I really like Pratchett’s dry, distinctly British, sense of humor, and I further liked his satire of patriotism and how we view men and women in society today. His passages about the effects of war are also more than a little heartbreaking.

This wasn’t the first Discworld book I’ve read, but it stands perfectly fine on its own. Fans of humorous fantasy and well-written satire should definitely give this one a try. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Mr. Pratchett.

Grade: A-

Summary:
War has come to Discworld … again.And, to no one’s great surprise, the conflict centers around the small, arrogantly fundamentalist duchy of Borogravia, which has long prided itself on its unrelenting aggressiveness. A year ago, Polly Perks’s brother marched off to battle, and Polly’s willing to resort to drastic measures to find him. So she cuts off her hair, dons masculine garb, and—aided by a well-placed pair of socks—sets out to join this man’s army. Since a nation in such dire need of cannon fodder can’t afford to be too picky, Polly is eagerly welcomed into the fighting fold… along with a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious fanatic, and two uncommonly close “friends.” It would appear that Polly “Ozzer” Perks isn’t the only grunt with a secret. But duty calls, the battlefield beckons. And now is the time for all good … er … “men” to come to the aid of their country.

Read an excerpt.

Shannon C.’s review of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Fantasy humor fiction released by Ace 1 May 96, re-released by Harper in trade ppb 7 Aug 07

An embarrassing number of people have told me that I need to read both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I had read neither until I picked up Good Omens on a whim and consequently realized that I’d put off a very real treat.

The plot of this novel is convoluted, and I’m not sure I could do it justice. But basically it’s about Armageddon, and about an angel named Aziraphale and a demon named Crowley, both of whom kind of… like Earth. It’s also about a mix-up involving the Antichrist being switched with another baby and growing up in lower Tadfield in England without anyone noticing, and about the ranks of the Witchfinder Army, and the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter.

This book, obviously, doesn’t take itself terribly seriously, and is written in a droll, quintessentially British, style that I love. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the only way that I’d have enjoyed this book more would have been to actually *be* British, which, sadly, I’m not.

I suspect some may find the fact that Pratchett and Gaiman poke fun at all sorts of religions a bit offensive. Personally, I ended up smiling and nodding and laughing out loud in places. Which is the whole point, as I don’t think this book is meant to be especially deep. I found that I agreed with most of the observations the authors made about people, and I found the story itself to be a great fun-filled romp. I don’t think I’ll be rereading it, but I do think people who enjoy funny books, satire, and even tales of the apocalypse, should give this one a go. Plus, after you read the book, you can check out the line of Good Omens-inspired fragrances from one of my favorite eTailers.

Grade: B+

Summary:

According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter - the world’s only totally reliable guide to the future, the world will end on a Saturday.

Next Saturday, in fact.

Just before dinner.

Which means that Armageddon will happen on Saturday night. There will be seas on fire, rains of fish, the moon turning to blood and the massed armies of Heaven and Hell will sort it out once and for all.

Which is a major problem for Crowley, Hell’s most approachable demon and former serpent, and his opposite number and old friend Aziraphale, genuine angel and London bookshop owner. They like it down here (or in Crowley’s case, up here).

So they’ve got no alternative but to stop the Four Motorcyclists of the Apocalypse, defeat the marching ranks of the Witchfinder army* and - somehow - stop it all from happening.

Above all (or, in Aziraphale’s case, below all) they need to find and kill the Antichrist, currently the most powerful creature on Earth.

This is a shame.

Because he’s eleven years old, loves his dog even though it’s really a Satanic hellhound under all that hair, really cares about the environment and is the sort of boy anyone would be proud to have as a son. He’s also totally invulnerable, and a nice kid.

And if that isn’t enough, they’ve still got Sunday to deal with…

*All two of them.

Go here for a nice long excerpt.

If you click on the link to the fragrance site, she has a few small bits of the book quoted throughout.