Monstrous Regiment

Starred review from September 8, 2003
War is hell anywhere but in Pratchett's latest hilarious fantasy, the 28th wickedly satirical Discworld installment (after 2002's Night Watch), which makes some astute comments on power, religious intolerance and sexual stereotyping. Polly Perks, an exuberantly determined Borogravian barmaid, decides to disguise herself as a man to infiltrate the Tenth Foot Light Infantry (aka the Ins-and-Outs) and find her missing soldier brother, Paul. Polly/Oliver/Ozzer kisses a portrait of Grand Duchess Annagovia and enlists under old war-horse Sergeant ("I look after my lads") Jackrum. Shockingly, she eventually discovers most of the ragtag recruits are also female, including some Bad Girls who've escaped from the Girls' Working School, a coffee-craving vampire sworn off blood, a troll and a medic, all under the command of the male but very green Lieutenant Blouse and all absurdly delightful. The touching portrait of Wazzer, an abused girl who becomes a religious fanatic/saint, as well as Pratchett's perceptive handling of a timely topic—countries fighting over a quarrel that began 1,000 years ago and quibbling over borders—may inspire some sighs as well as laughter. And the author's take on what it takes for Polly to become a man—socks, strategically placed ("Just one pair, mark you. Don't get ambitious")—is nothing short of brilliant. (Sept. 30)Forecast:A bestseller in his native Britain, Pratchett has drawn praise from such highbrow critics as A.S. Byatt and Michael Dirda. Despite a nine-city author tour, it may take a Discworld film adaptation to spark similar sales in the U.S.Correction: The ISBN for the trade edition of The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases (Forecasts, Aug. 18) is 1-892389-54-1, not 1-892389-53-3, which is for the limited edition.

June 15, 2003
When war hits Discworld, Polly joins the army dressed as a man.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2003
Pratchett flexes his satirical muscles again, with the follies of war his theme. Polly Oliver has disguised herself as a boy to join the army of Borogravia, which is always at war and bursting with patriotism, though the Borogravians are often less than clear on why they are fighting. But then, as followers of a god who believes that cats, babies, and cheese are abominations, they are used to contradictions; they mostly pray to their duchess, who may be dead. Their latest war has interfered with the commerce of Ankh-Morpork, which has dispatched Sam Vimes to bring matters to a "satisfactory" conclusion. But Sam still thinks more like the city watchman he was than the duke he now is, and this confuses people. Meanwhile, Polly's regiment, the Ins-and-Outs, has become quite high-profile, what with having, it is said, a vampire, a werewolf, and an Igor in its ranks, and with capturing, quite unexpectedly, the Zlobenian prince and his soldiers, an event publicized by Ankh-Morpork newspaperman William de Worde. Anyway, they're suddenly popular in Ankh-Morpork, and they subsequently turn the war upside down, so that it doesn't end the way the propagandists would have liked. No surprise, of course, to Sam Vimes. Polly concludes that it is, on some level, all about socks. Thoroughly funny and surprisingly insightful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)