Monday, August 23, 2010

Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett


2003; 389 pages. Book #28 of the Discworld series. New Author?: No. Genre : Fantasy, Humor. Overall Rating : 7½*/10.
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The pastime of the small kingdom of Borogravia is war. They're constantly fighting one or more of their neighbors. And if a country doesn't happen to abut on their borders, it's okay to fight them too.
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Polly Perks needs to find her brother, who is a footsoldier in the Borogravian army. But women aren't allowed to join up. So she cuts her hair, dons men's clothing, learns to spit, belch, and walk like a clod, and Voilà! "Polly' becomes "Oliver". She...er... He enlists, gets a spiffy uniform (see bookcover), and with a pair of strategically-placed rolled-up socks, the illusion is complete.
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She gets put into a small fighting group that includes an idealistic lieutenant, a jaded veteran sergeant, a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious visionary, and a cook who can make a passable meal out of anything. But they all have their secrets...
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What's To Like...
The characters in the Monstrous Regiment are fun to get to know as they interact under trying circumstances. The themes are good - War, Feminism, Religious Fanaticism. Pratchett even touches upon Gay Love, which is unusual for him.
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The story is slow-go for a while. Lots of marching around, and not a lot of action. Things pick up in the second half. Also, there is almost no Ankh-Morpork in this story. Sam Vimes and Angua are here, but it's little more than some cameo appearances.
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Kewl New Words...
Eructation : belching, burping, farting, and the like. Guttering : Flickering and dying. Here: a candle's flame. Palliasse : a mattress filled with sawdust, straw, etc. Gabble (vb) : to speak rapidly; to jabber or chatter. Nood : alt. spelling for "nude". Coppice : a dense growth of bushes.
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Excerpts...
There was always a war. Usually they were border disputes, the national equivalent of complaining that the neighbor was letting their hedge grow too big. Sometimes they were bigger. Borogravia was a peace-loving country in the midst of treacherous, devious, warlike enemies. They had to be treacherous, devious, and warlike, otherwise we wouldn't be fighting them, eh? There was always a war. (pg. 6)
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"We have a great respect for life, Polly," said Igorina solemnly. "It's easy to kill thomeone, and almost impossible to bring them back again."
"Almost?"
"Well, if you don't have a really good lightning rod. And even if you have, they're never quite the same. Cutlery tends to stick to them." (pg. 206)
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"There's a grill in the ceiling," said Shufti.
"Not big enough to climb through," said Polly.
"No, but we can hang ourselves before they do."
"I'm told it's a very painful way to die," said Polly.
"Who by?" said Tonker. (pg. 323)
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That's the trouble about the good guys and the bad guys! They're all guys! (pg. 327)
Monstrous Regiment doesn't have as many yuk-yuks as most Discworld books. That's not necessarily a bad thing. If you want to see Terry Pratchett present, say, the subject of war with a bunch of jokes and one-liners, I recommend Jingo.
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Instead, you get to see him use a subtler shade of humor here. For example, one of the Regiment "talks" to her god daily. This is usually an easy target for lampooning. Here, Pratchett makes you wonder if there might be something to it.
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Monstrous Regiment is a good book, but not Pratchett at his finest. With a troll, a vampire, a zombie, a couple of army grunts, and a bunch of new recruits all thrown together, I was expecting a bit more zaniness. 7½ stars.

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