Monstrous Regiment: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett (MOBI)

Description

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.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐”Monstrous Regiment” shouldn’t work. The mix of fantasy, humor, war novel, social commentary (especially regarding the place of women in society), tying it in to the larger overarching storylines that have developed in the Discworld novels and creating a new setting and mostly brand new cast should have been a mess.It shouldn’t have worked, but it did.Borogravia is a small isolated backwater of a nation, with its only natural resources apparently being an infinitely deep well of hostility for its neighbors, flavored with the worship of a pugnacious (and increasingly strange) god and the cult of personality surrounding a ruler who has not been seen in decades and who never produced an heir.And like all nations that can least afford a war, Borogravia is endlessly involved in them, typically as the aggressor. The nation is being steadily depopulated of men with all their limbs. Finally, Polly Perks has decided she’s had enough — her slow-witted brother has been taken off to war, and she has no idea whether he’s alive or dead, and she’s determined to find him and bring him back to the family inn. So Polly cuts her hair, disguises herself as a man (simple in a country where all women wear skirts or dresses, especially for a girl with a somewhat boyish figure) and joins the military.Of course, it’s never quite that simple. This is war, after all, and a war that Borogravia has not just lost, but is apparently about to lose decisively, once and for all. Fortunatelly, Borogravians are both ignorant and pugnacious, and fighting for their horrible little country, because it’s THEIR horrible little country is what comes naturally. Despite overwhelming odds, including a massive coalition of foreign governments sick to the back teeth of the little country, Polly’s unit — which hides more secrets than just hers — blunders its way into history, fame and the possibility of transforming Borogravia forever.In addition to telling a gripping adventure story of Polly’s unit roaming the wasteland that was once Borogravia, pursued by a very angry prince and his crack troops, and heading towards an impregnable castle that they have no chance to break into, let alone take, Pratchett is also making a very real examination of military life (one decidedly slanted in favor of the enlisted units, in Pratchett’s typical populist style) and, more importantly, what it means to be a woman in society and in the military. This is a lot for a little novel to be packed with, and it doesn’t always work — the Vietnam movie jokes that are tossed in are only mildly cute and probably should have been cut — and there’s probably too many interesting characters in her unit — as neat as trolls, Igors and the Discworld vampires are, we don’t need them in this novel, and certainly not both of them.But overall, the book works, and works well, as an adventure novel, a military novel and even a novel that, in its own way, is an examination of modern female roles. In a lot of ways, its ambition helps elevate it — instead of just being a romp through the streets of Ankh-Morporkh (as fun as those may be), “Monstrous Regiment” is elevated to the level of “Small Gods” (with which it shares a bit of cosmology) and other “deeper” Discworld novels.Strongly recommended for Discworld fans, and generally recommended for readers of military fantasy novels, including “The Black Company” and “A Song of Ice and Fire.” It’s surprising how much of a commentary “Monstrous Regiment” appears to be of those darker, more “adult” novels at times.

⭐Monstrous Regiment is one of my favorite Discworld novels, and I got a second copy for a friend. Polly wants to find/save her brother after he has gone off to fight in the Borogravian army, which is facing a large opposition from several nations, including Ankh-Morpork, But due to the backward religion/laws of her country, women cannot fight and so she must disguise herself as a boy to get into the army. This leads to some interesting developments/adaptations for Polly, calling herself Oliver, to act and appear as a boy as she manages to get into one of the smallest, poorest, ragtag regiments of her country’s army, including some ‘monsters’ like a vampire, troll, and an Igor. But what Polly learns about her regiment, army life, and the real conditions of her country’s war changes her perspective as well. And then things get strange, as they tend to do in Discworld.

⭐SPOILER ALERT ! ! !Read no further if you wish to be surprised.You were warned.A satire on the military in which the only effective soldiers turn out to be women (an abomination in the country). Pratchett takes many of the cliches of military fiction and turns them in to a funny story. Sir Terry was never a fan of war or the army. That is quite clear in this and some of his other stories.The country fighting is one of random, persistent repression that has managed to declare war on all of its neighbors and some distant countries as well. The war is prompted by many statements from their god who hates everything from women in men’s clothing to small stones.A delightful ending.

⭐I read this book when it first came out and wrote a 3-star review for it. No sir – didn’t like it.I re-read it again recently and decided it really needs a different review and a better rating.The problem is that I went into it the first time expecting a standard Terry Pratchett Discworld book — light, airy, funny, witty; something I can just sit down and breeze through and have a good time reading it. I went from page to page mostly being disappointed that the funny was not commencing on the anticipated schedule.You can’t read this book like that. It still has Terry Pratchett’s wit and sometimes the humor, but the subject matter is, at its core, a good deal more serious, and the characters tend to be a bit darker and more serious than we are used to. It is, after all, a book about a war, and some war-related unpleasantness.So, get the book, take a deep breath, prepare yourself for a fairly serious topic and read it with that in mind. I think you’ll find it to be a much better read if you don’t go into it expecting the next iteration of “Guards! Guards!”(Incidentally, this book is a complete aside from any other Discworld books. There are a couple token appearances of known characters but the focal characters are completely new.)

⭐This is a good story with a feminist theme – or anti misogynist. It includes the misogyny that comes from other women as well. And as with many of his works, it’s a strapping good yarn as well. I liked it – a lot of new characters, too, which is nice.

⭐I think this book falls in the Light Fantasy genre. Though it does have some high fantasy elements.Well written. And though the book covers topics that aren’t really as much of a issue any more it covers them well and doesn’t feel outdated.Does have a little violence. Touches on sexual topics. Though there is no actual sex in the book. Gives me the sense that it is mostly a feel good read. Does contain messages of value and pertinent to current times.Very much worth reading. Especially if you like the Disc-World series of books.

⭐What happens when a country similar to some medieval eastern european ones in this universe pick fights with everyone, and almost all their soldiers are captured or killed? What happens if a group of people including a Vampire, a Troll, and various different types of human become the only people standing between the country and annihilation in the war? Even worse, what happens if most of those turn out to be females pretending to be males?This is the premise for yet another hysterical Pratchett novel, littered throughout with his unique style of comedy and astounding imagination – no idea how he came up with these concepts, but I am really glad that he did. There is nobody that can write like Terry Pratchett, he was one of a kind and is sorely missed.This book is well up to his usual standard, and well worth the money. Five stars almost seems miserly, but it is all I can give him!

⭐A later book that I warmed to along the way when I first read it in paperback, as was often the case Pratchett supported progress & that thread was demonstrated in many of his books, this go’s full hog in that it is a non witches book, about women (or Polly) & takes the known women joining the forces to follow their sweethearts further down the road, thoughtfully.I don’t wreck storylines so cannot divulge much, suffice to say this is a book that your daughters ought read in their early teens (or before, if avid readers).All I can say that if you follow the theme of inclusion & equality, it starts early on in the Guards series, introducing the short, the tall, the stone (or coprolite) the undead etc as “useful & capable” individuals …Angua being the likely most well known female hero character, Monstrous regiment is a big “shove” in the ultimate direction pratchett was driving at.As with all his books, punning, word play & silliness abound, .if you are not au fait with the alternate meaning of the title look it up! ..it pops up once you know of it ;)(Briefly: The phrase came into being following the publishing of a diatribe, titled The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regimen of Women. in a pamphlet in 1588 by Scottish Protestant reformer John Knox.Slow burner but a great book filled with “interesting” alternate characters within discworld not the regular offenders. (Nobby).

⭐Bless you Mr Pratchett which ever heaven you are in. Give death my regards. No more of your tales to be expected. Sad day you died but your legacy lives on and on immortalising sanity in a rather nuts world.Shame they let women join the armed forces in our universe.

⭐Discworld is probably my favourite fictional setting and this book is a superb example of Pratchetts skill. That said, there are very few of the regular Discworld characters within it – Sam Vimes makes a brief appearance as do one or two minor characters – Lord Rust for example. The whole story is brilliantly drawn and, if you like the Discworld novels, you’ll love this one.

⭐Usually love sir Terry’s work but this one just wasn’t for me. The story takes ages to get going and even when it does I didn’t really care for any of the characters anyway so didn’t feel engaged. Very little humour, and even that isn’t very funny. It really felt like he was just going through the motions with this one.

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