DVDVRBC MONSTROUS REGIMENT by Terry Pratchett

[Matt D]

I finished the book this morning. Work is nuts. Comments to come.

[JRGoldman]

One more thought I had a work today: Does anyone else feel as though Pratchett's prose style and pacing is more indebted to C.S. Lewis than it is to Tolkien or any of the other major fantasy authors? Perhaps it's just this book, but I feel like the narrator, especially when he speaks to the reader, has a very Lewis vibe. Is that prominent throughout the rest of Pratchett's work, or am I way off base?

 

Also, Jingus: to speak to the stories that you are trying to write, I think often times the "strange bedfellows" trope in fantasy has the propensity to come across as dungeons and dragons adventure more than any other style of story, if that makes sense. There always seems to be a push in pen and paper RPGs to not have two characters be similar, which obviously serves a balance purpose in game form, but when it is presented as a novel, I think it only lends itself to pitfalls for the writer and cliche for the story. Often, pace of story is thrown way out of whack because an author is trying his or her damndest to make sure we as readers know exactly how different these people are. Other times, despite being told how Orcs and Elves are not the same thing and hate each other, the strangely end up saying the exact same things, just with different intonation. I think Pratchett avoids this masterfully in this by not giving in and having things like everyone being surprised by the troll being secretly wise this whole time and what have you. Really, it just strikes me that often, when a writer approaches a story from the stand point of having this rag tag team of heroes from different upbringings, the reader is more inclined to check out at the slightest sign of trope from the overall plot. Does that make any sense? I hope I'm not just rambling, it's all very clear in my head, and I'm trying to help. 

[Liam]

It would be remiss of me not to say that the two books I've read by Pratchett have made me laugh at points. He can be very funny with some of the one liners and jokes.

[Matt D]

Alright,

 

I've read a good number of Terry Pratchett books. I think a big mistake with them is starting in chronological order, because those early Rincewind ones are just hard to read. I had much better success with the Mort series and I think my favorite of the bunch is Small Gods. This wasn't far off from Small Gods, so if you liked this a lot, I'd go track that down. It just focuses a bit more on religion and church hierarchy instead of the military. 

 

This was good and it was entertaining, but I'm with everyone else in that the joke went on just a little too far. In fact, that's a big problem I have with Pratchett and Peter David, who has a few books that aren't far off from Pratchett. It just goes too far. It goes too far into puns. It goes too far into the satire that the fact he's actually quite good at SAYING something is lost in the general silliness. There are jokes that aren't consistent with the world, that feel like Piers Anthony level stuff. Maladict's "CHARLIE!" shout was particularly bad. He's created a very rich world so it's a shame that he feels the need to pull in elements from outside his world to the extent that he does.

 

My only problem with the pacing is that i would have liked to see a bit more of the werewolf earlier on, even if only as a presence. In general it did move along well, with a reveal or an action piece. I had to look up to make sure he hadn't been in the military at some point because the earnestness he presents it was is pretty absolute. he wasn't, but he was a journalist, and that might be why that element feels so genuine as well.

 

Anyway, I'm glad I read it but a little restraint would have gone a long way.

 

Was there a continuation of this? I would have like to see where it went, because in a lot of ways, the destination was a lot more interesting than the journey to me. 

[Jingus]

My only problem with the pacing is that i would have liked to see a bit more of the werewolf earlier on, even if only as a presence.

 

Was there a continuation of this? I would have like to see where it went, because in a lot of ways, the destination was a lot more interesting than the journey to me. 

Sadly no, this was one of the more recent books and Pratchett frequently does this thing where he'll write a whole book around fascinating characters and then never mention them again.  Polly and all the other Borogravians have't so much as been vaguely referenced in any of the following books, as far as I can remember.  But if you want to see more of the werewolf, Angua is in most of the Night Watch books as a main character and occasionally shows up in other small cameos like this one in various others.  The Fifth Elephant is especially centered around her.  

[Matt D]

Yeah, if I ever hit more Pratchett, it'd definitely be the Night Watch books. 

[Red is Dead]

Sam Vimes is the fucking man.

[Ace]

The Watch books are generally my favorite of the Discworld books. 

[Jingus]

They're pretty awesome.  When I was first reading the series I was a little annoyed at how Night Watch-centric the series becomes in the later books, while many other characters like Rincewind, the witches, Death and Susan, and tons of one-off cases like the Monstrous Regiment themselves are either neglected or abandoned.  But I've come around just because of how damn fun the books and these characters are.  

 

You don't HAVE to read them in chronological order; as you've seen, pretty much any of the Discworld books can easily be read as a standalone.  But anyway, here's a short list and summary of 'em: 

 

GUARDS! GUARDS!: the Watch origin story, more or less.  Introduces Sam Vimes, Nobby, and Colon back when they were the only members of the Night Watch, which was considered an impotent laughingstock of the city (and Vimes is a not-really-functioning alcoholic at this point, too).  All this starts to change with the arrival of Carrot, who first arrives in the city, joins the Watch, and begins to inspire everyone else by... well, by just being Carrot.  And he's got good timing, because the city is being terrorized by a giant fire-breathing dragon.  This is also the first book where we really get to know Lord Vetinari, who's only appeared in brief cameos before. 

 

MEN AT ARMS: the Watch is finally growing into an organization worth talking about.  Detritus and Angua join the cast, just in time to help solve a murder mystery when someone discovers Discworld's first gun and starts sniping people.  

 

FEET OF CLAY: another murder mystery, this time centering around the Golems, who kinda function as the Discworld's metaphor for sentient robots.  Meanwhile, there's also a locked-door mystery about continual attempts to assassinate Vetinari.  

 

JINGO: an Atlantis-like island suddenly rises in the ocean... equidistant between Ankh-Morpork and the pseudo-Arabian country of Klatch, who both promptly try to claim it as their property.  Attempts at peaceful negotiations quickly go to hell after a JFK-like assassination attempt, leaving the Watch to desperately try to solve things and avoid a full-scale war.  Introduces the zombie officer Reginald Shoe and gnome officer Buggy Swires.  

 

THE FIFTH ELEPHANT: Vimes is forced into reluctantly playing ambassador, and sent on a trip to Uberwald to solve the disappearance of the holy throne of the Dwarf King.  He also has to deal with ambiguous vampires, as well as bloodthirsty werewolves (Angua's family, of which she's pretty much the only non-evil member).  Meanwhile back home, Colon is made acting Captain of the Watch, which goes just as horribly as you'd expect; also introduces the Clacks for the first time, which work as a metaphor for the telegraph and various other communications technologies.  

 

NIGHT WATCH: a cross between Les Miserables and Time After Time.  Vimes is pursuing a serial killer when a magical accident send them both back twenty years in time, before GUARDS! GUARDS! when a young Sam Vimes had just joined the Watch for the first time.  Old Vimes inadvertently becomes his young self's mentor, just in time for a bloody civil war in Ankh-Morpork (complete with barricades) as the city population rebels against its tyrannical leaders and their Gestapo-like secret police henchmen.  BTW, this is my favorite Watch book, it's just fucking awesome and one of the greatest books in the whole series.  

 

THUD!: a series of murders and riots put the Watch in the middle of trying to stop the long-simmering war between the dwarves and the trolls before it threatens to wreck the whole city.  Meanwhile, a cold war simmers in the Watch itself when Angua is forced to partner with their newest recruit, a way-too-perfect-to-be-true vampire (and vampires and werewolves get along just about as well as dwarves and trolls).  

 

SNUFF: Vimes goes on vacation to the countryside.  The city boy is deeply uncomfortable in the rural manor-house, so he's both exasperated and delighted to quickly stumble over a local criminal conspiracy involving the provincial humans and the nearby goblins who live in squalid caves in the wilderness.  

 

And finally, Vimes & the rest of the Watch have particularly large supporting roles THE TRUTH (introduces journalist William de Worde and Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper) and all three Moist Von Lipwig books, especially the recent RAISING STEAM about the Discworld's first locomotive train.  Although with this one, I strongly recommend you first read the previous books GOING POSTAL (professional thief and con man Moist is given an offer he can't refuse when Vetinari puts him in charge of the ailing Post Office) and MAKING MONEY (Moist gets another irrefusable offer from Vetinari, this time to take control of Ankh-Morpork's government bank and mint) in order to really understand what's going on because this particular sub-series relies harder on foreknowledge of the continuity.  The Watch also have at least short cameos in practically every other novel which is mainly set in Ankh-Morpork, although some of the books set in other places like the witchy country of Lancre don't feature them at all.  

[Kuetsar]

One annoying trend in some of the recent books are the brief chapter summaries at the start of chapters. Acts as a bit of a spoiler. Second the love for Night Watch., and the Rincewind books do get better.  I really can't pimp the Hogfather enough, especially with Christmas coming up. Do yourself a favor at holiday time and rent/buy the movie. Its a fabulous watch.

[username]

Disregarded everyone's advice and started up The Color of Magic as I apparently bought it on a daily Kindle deal for like $2 a couple years back and completely forgot about it.  It lacks the "pop" of Monstrous Regiment but it is more or less a short story collection so it is easy to get in and out.  Beyond that it is decent enough fun, a bit simple but nothing objectionable.

[Jingus]

Pratchett tends to get better in a chronological fashion, for what it's worth.  The early books are relatively crude trifles compared to the fluffier masterpieces he eventually starts cranking out.  

[Zenjo]

I've not read this since it was released. As I remember the whole point of all the reveals was that Polly thought she was the only female in the regiment. It turns out that only one person in the regiment was actually male instead. No wonder they were so rubbish! This is one of my favourite Prattchet stories, along with the one where he dedicated a good portion of the book to explaining how unfunny clowns are.