Terry Pratchett: Monstrous Regiment

Hi

Monstrous Regiment was the next Discworld-novel waiting in line to be read by me.
My copy has 494 pages.
You can find my other reviews of Terry Pratchett’s novels here.

“It began as a sudden strange fancy …
Polly Perks has to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time...
And now she's enlisted in the army and is searching for her lost brother.
But there's a war on. There's always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them.
All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a vampire with a lust for coffee. Well...they have the Secret. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of...the Monstrous Regiment.”

I loved this one. LOVED it.

The Monstrous Regiment is not only a parody of life in the army; it is so much more. It is a critique on racism, patriotism, prejudice, equal rights and sexism.
It is a novel full of subtleties and laugh-out-loud humor at the same time. It’s witty and clever, but it’s also sad at times.
Every character has his/her own story with its own distinctive voice. I had no trouble whatsoever keeping them all apart. There’s another Igor, a coffee addicted vampire and a troll. Every single one of them has their own well-rounded character.
TP’s genius really shines throughout this novel.

This is a perfect stand-alone novel. Some old characters make a short appearance, but you don’t have to know about them to enjoy Monstrous Regiment.

I hope you enjoyed this review.
Helena