Monstrous Regiment: Discworld Novel 31 (Discworld Novels) - Softcover

Pratchett, Terry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552167673 ISBN 13: 9780552167673

Publisher: Corgi, 2014

Synopsis

In the thirty-first Discworld novel the Discworld goes to war.

'Trousers. That's the secret... Put on trousers and the world changes. We walk different. We act different. I see these girls and I think: idiots! Get yourself some trousers!'

Women belong in the kitchen -- everyone knows that. Not in jobs, pubs or indeed trousers, and certainly not on the front line, braving enemy forces in defence of their country. Then again, there's always a war on somewhere, even if no-one really knows what it's about. And when money and enthusiasm for it are running very low, it might be time to let women make a stand, on the battlefield and for their rights.

About this title

Review:

What do you get when you cross a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of misfits, and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army? The answer's simple. You have Monstrous Regiment, the characteristically charming novel by Terry Pratchett.

Polly becomes Private Oliver Perks, who is on a quest to find her older brother, who's recently MIA in one of the innumerable wars the tiny nation of Borogravia has a habit of starting with its neighbors. This peevish tendency has all but expended Borogravia's ranks of cannon fodder. Whether Sergeant Jackrum knows her secret or not, he can't afford to be choosy, as Perks and her/his comrades are among the last able-bodied recruits left in Borogravia. This collection of misfits includes the aforementioned vampire (reformed and off the blood, thank you), troll, and macabre Igor, who is only too happy to sew you a new leg if you aren't too particular about previous ownership. Off to war, Polly/Oliver learns that having a pair of, um, socks is a good way to open up doors in this man's army.

For those who haven't made this underrated author's acquaintance, Monstrous Regiment is as good a place to start as any. Readers will encounter Pratchett's subtle and disarming wit, his trademark footnoted asides along with a not-too-shabby tale of honor, courage, and duty in the face of absurd circumstances. --Jeremy Pugh

From the Inside Flap:

A sudden burst of nationalism has swept over Polly Perks causing her to cut off her hair, don her brother's clothes and join the local regiment so she can fight for her country. But there's only one problem -- she has no idea who she'll be fighting or what she is really fighting for. And why do they want her to have a rolled-up pair of socks anyway? War teaches you a lot, she finds, when it turns out that you joined -- the Monstrous Regiment.

About this edition

• Publisher: Corgi
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0552167673
• ISBN 13: 9780552167673
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480