Synopses & Reviews
War has come to Discworld . . . again.
And, to no one's great surprise, the conflict centers on the small, insufferably arrogant, strictly fundamentalist duchy of Borogravia, which has long prided itself on it's ability to beat up on its neighbors for even the tiniest imagined slight. This time, however, it's Borogravia that's getting its long overdue comeuppance, which has left the country severely drained of young men.
Ever since her brother Paul marched off to battle a year ago, Polly Perks has been running The Duchess,her family's inn -- even though the revered national deity Nuggan has decreed that female ownership of a business is an Abomination (with, among others, oysters, rocks, and the color blue). To keep The Duchess in the family, Polly must find her missing sibling. So she cuts off her hair, dons masculine garb, and sets out to join him in this man's army.
Despite her rapid mastery of belching, scratching, and other macho habits (and aided by a well-placed pair of socks), Polly is afraid that someone will immediately see through her disguise; a fear that proves groundless when the recruiting officer, the legendary and seemingly ageless Sergeant Jackrum, accepts her without question. Or perhaps the sergeant is simply too desperate for fresh cannon fodder to discriminate -- which would explain why a vampire, a troll, a zombie, a religious fanatic, and two uncommonly close "friends" are also eagerly welcomed into the fighting fold. But marching off with little (read: no) training, Polly (now called "Oliver") finds herself wondering about the myriad peculiarities of her new brothers-in-arms. It would appear that Polly "Ozzer" Perks is not the only grunt with a secret. There is no time to dwell on such matters, however.Duty calls. The battlefield beckons. There's a tide to be turned.
And sometimes -- in war as in everything else -- the best man for the job is a woman.
Review
"Surprisingly meaningful but never short of hilarious: a monstrous success for Pratchett." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Monstrous Regiment is most often spirited and shambolic, but it has some serious heft. Pratchett is on the side of those who make very little fuss, which means he gets to shiv those who do." Kerry Fried, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Pratchett flexes his satirical muscles again, with the follies of war his theme....Thoroughly funny and surprisingly insightful." Regina Schroeder, Booklist
Review
"Pratchett takes full and unfairly hilarious advantage of the opportunity to skewer everything from military court martials to male swagger." Jennifer Howard, The Washington Post Book World
Synopsis
A splendid send-up of the art of war in all its glory and the brave women who wage it.
Synopsis
"Wickedly satirical . . . nothing short of brilliant." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The 31st entry in Terry Pratchett's internationally bestselling Discworld series about the art of war and the brave women who wage it.
War has come to Discworld. The homes and businesses throughout the duchy of Borogravia limp along, doing the best they can without their men, sent to fight their age-old enemy. Polly has taken over the lion's share of responsibility for the running of her family's humble inn, The Duchess. Her beloved brother Paul marched off to war almost a year ago, but it has been more than two months since his last letter home, and the news from the front is bad: the fighting has reached the border, supplies are dwindling, and the brave Borogravians are losing precious ground. So the resourceful Polly cuts off her hair and joins the army as a young man named Oliver. As Polly closely guards her secret, she notices that her fellow recruits seem to be guarding secrets of their own.
A novel that explores the inanity of war, the ins and outs of sexual politics, and why often the best man for the job is a woman, Monstrous Regiment is vintage Pratchett in top form.
Synopsis
The 29th entry in Pratchett's internationally bestselling "Discworld" series explores the art of war and the brave women who wage it.
About the Author
With sales of over 30 million copies, Terry Pratchett's brilliantly funny and subtly wise books have been translated into more than 25 languages.
In addition to his novels about the fantastic flat planet Discworld, Mr. Pratchett has written several children's books, including The Bromeliad Trilogy and the books about Johnny Maxwell: Only You Can Save Mankind, Johnny and the Bomb, and Johnny and the Dead.
Mr. Pratchett won the Carnegie Medal for his first young adult novel set in Discworld, the amazing maurice and his educated rodents, which was also named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, one of the New York Public Library's 100 Books for Reading and Sharing, and a Bank Street College Children's Book Committee Book of Outstanding Merit.
Mr. Pratchett lives in the English chalk country.
Reading Group Guide
1. Polly and her fellow comrades are forced to disguise themselves as boys because of the law forbidding female participation in the armed services. However, their female regiment succeeds where all men before them have failed. What is it about these girls that make them so successful?
2. The national deity, Nuggan, and his "Abominations" strictly control the lives of the people of Borogravia. What do you think Pratchett is trying to say about the integration of religion and government?
3. Polly feels that her regiment ends up being viewed as mascots instead of true soldiers, and is angered by this. Do you agree with her opinion or do you feel that they did, in fact, initiate change?
4. Do you think that Polly and the rest of her regiment will succeed as soldiers as they head off to war, yet again, at the end of the novel?