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Although the majority of the Discworld novels are self contained and can be happily read without the need to read any of the others, I have found that it is better to start with the first (The Colour of Magic) and work from there in sequence as this will allow the more dedicated fan the ... Read review
TheMonstrous Regimentin question is made up of a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of ... more
misfits and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army. Here you have the characteristically charming novel by Terry Pratchett.Polly ...
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The Monstrous Regiment in question is made up of a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of ... more
misfits and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army. Here you have the characteristically charming novel by Terry Pratchett. Pol...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
TheMonstrous Regimentin question is made up of a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of ... more
misfits and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army. Here you have the characteristically charming novel by Terry Pratchett.Polly ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The Monstrous Regiment in question is made up of a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of ... more
misfits and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army. Here you have the characteristically charming novel by Terry Pratchett. Pol...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The Monstrous Regiment in question is made up of a vampire (reformed and off the blood, ... more
thank you), a troll, Igor (who is only too happy to sew you a new leg if you aren't too particular about previous ownership), a collection of misfits and a young woman discovers that a pair of socks shoved down her pants is a good way to open up doors.
All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a vampire with a ... more
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.
It began as a sudden strange fancy... Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry... and ... more
now she's enlisted in the army, and searching for her lost brother. But there's a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them. They have to use the resources of... the Monstrous Regiment.
It was a sudden strange fancy, and now Polly Perks, in her brother's clothes and her hair ... more
cut off, has joined up to fight for her country. But who is the enemy? What is she really fighting for? War teaches you a lot, she finds, when it turns out that you joined the Monstrous Regiment.
The Monstrous Regiment in question is made up of a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of ... more
misfits and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army. Here you have 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, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The Monstrous Regiment in question is made up of a vampire, a troll, Igor, a collection of ... more
misfits and a young woman who shoves a pair of socks down her pants to join the army. Here you have 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, Amazon.com
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: It's written by Terry Pratchet, engaging characters, excellent twist at the end Disadvantages: Not the funniest of the discworld but that still makes it funnier than most other books on the market
...like organisation we find in Monstrous Regiment). However this need not deter the first time Pratchett reader from picking up Monstrous Regiment as the action, by and large, does not involve any of the major characters from previous books.
Monstrous Regiment centres around the adventures of a bunch of new recruits, drafted into the tiny army of Bogravia to help repel the invasion of their bitter rivals the Zlobenians. These include ... ...into the larger Discworld universe. Monstrous Regiment isn’t the laugh out loud funniest of Pratchett’s books but it still has the requisite amount of his particular dry sarcastic wit. The pacing is just right in my opinion and the only point the story maybe lags a little is in the closing stages but the twist at the end more than makes up for this. Overall this is a fabulous addition to any Discworld collection and I heartily recommend it.
... more
Terry Pratchett is by and large a criminally underrated author. The problem has always been his choice of genre. Fantasy always has the unfortunate effect of making people think of anorak adorned, acne ridden computer programmers and physicists shouting things like “ I am Zagor the Slightly Mean, kneel before the might of my 2HB pencil!” Add the word comic and suddenly you are dealing with spotty anorak wearers who snigger at women in skimpy armour plated bras with large bosoms. Which is a shame, because Pratchett really doesn’t write Fantasy books, but satires on modern life. The joy of reading a Pratchett novel is recognising someone you know or have seen, they just happen to be surrounded by Vampires who don’t suck blood (although they really like strong coffee) and trolls who’s idea of flirting involves a large rock and several hours in casualty. The recent success of The Lord of the Rings movies and Harry Potter have opened up the fantasy genre to greater examination by the mainstream so I would encourage novices to pick up a Pratchett novel as a good intermediary. In his 31 books in the Discworld series you will find Detective stories, Romance, War stories, Travelogues, Adventure yarns and much more, they just all happen to take place in a fantasy landscape.
Discworld, I suppose that needs explaining to the Pratchett novice. OK here goes. The Discworld is a large “geological pizza without the anchovies”. That is, a large disc that gently rotates (causing minor skin abrasion) on the back of the four giant elephants (Berilia, Jerakeen, Tubul and Great T'phon), who in turn stand on the back of Great A’Tuin, “The great star turtle who carries the Discworld on its back. Ten thousand miles long (sex unknown). It is as large as worlds. As patient as a brick. Great A'Tuin is the only creature in the entire universe that knows exactly where it is going.” It has various continents and countries, populated by varied characters and people, all of which seem strangely familiar (although any similarity to any places or persons (living, dead or on holiday) is purely intentional). For a greater bit of detail I suggest the brief Discworld travel guide over on
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/discworld.
Although the majority of the Discworld novels are self contained and can be happily read without the need to read any of the others, I have found that it is better to start with the first (The Colour of Magic) and work from there in sequence as this will allow the more dedicated fan the opportunity to see how the Discworld as a whole develops (for example the formation of the Ankh Morpork city watch in Guards! Guards! and its subsequent growth into the almost Interpol like organisation we find in Monstrous Regiment). However this need not deter the first time Pratchett reader from picking up Monstrous Regiment as the action, by and large, does not involve any of the major characters from previous books.
Monstrous Regiment centres around the adventures of a bunch of new recruits, drafted into the tiny army of Bogravia to help repel the invasion of their bitter rivals the Zlobenians. These include Polly, the central heroine, disguised as Oliver Perks (amazing what a pair of carefully positioned socks and the correct amount of flatulence can achieve) in order to enlist and find her brother Paul, Maladict, a vampire who has sworn off blood but does need quite a lot of strong coffee, Igor - always useful to have around if you need an extra pair of hands (normally from someone who doesn’t need them anymore) and of course Sergeant Jackrum, a man “steeped in deviousness, cunning and casual criminality” the perfect Sergeant in other words. This unlikely group quickly discover that they are the only members of the army left uncaptured and so it is up to them to try and make it to central command and save the day. Needless to say it is not quite so straightforward as that and they have to overcome various obstacle along the way, not least treacherous corporals, sleazy princes, religious nutters and where is the damn coffee anyway?
Pratchett regulars will be delighted by this new set of characters (particularly Jackrum) and will glad to see cameos by old friends (Vimes who is I am sure Pratchett’s favourite these days). Newcomers will quickly slip into the way in which Pratchett tells his stories and as the fantastical elements are kept to a minimum it also will serve as a good way of easing themselves into the larger Discworld universe. Monstrous Regiment isn’t the laugh out loud funniest of Pratchett’s books but it still has the requisite amount of his particular dry sarcastic wit. The pacing is just right in my opinion and the only point the story maybe lags a little is in the closing stages but the twist at the end more than makes up for this. Overall this is a fabulous addition to any Discworld collection and I heartily recommend it.
For those looking for more information on Pratchett then I suggest looking at the web page mentioned above. Monstrous Regiment is currently available through Amazon.co.uk for £8.99.
For those wanting to read more Pratchett books then as I said earlier I would recommend starting with The Colour of Magic and then working from there. Particular highlights for me are the Rincewind novels Interesting Times and The Last Continent and those concerned with the City Guards and Sam Vimes (Guards! Guards!, Nightwatch etc). Pratchett has also written books for children set outside of the Discworld universe (The Carpet People trilogy) and in it (The Amazing Maurice and his Performing Rodents, The Wee Free Men) that can be enjoyed fully by adults as well (I almost wet myself reading the Wee Free Men, but then I am from Scotland). Try them and see what you think!
Advantages: Frivolous & fun, laced with political comment Disadvantages: Not the best of the series
...is stretching a point).
Monstrous Regiment is the 28th Discworld novel. It is inevitable therefore that certain features of the planet will be pass unremarked; that the in-jokes and the history can be taken as read. Those of you currently chuckling at memories of your own favourites at this point, please talk amongst yourselves while I bring the newcomers up to speed.
The Discworld is flat. It spins hubwise (clockwise as we’d say on earth) ... ...entirely.
So: back to Monstrous Regiment.
This one is: Joan of Arc meets The Dirty Dozen and Rides Again in 20th Century Balkans ~ or something similar. Polly is joining the army, so obviously there is a war on. Borogvia is a small country surrounded by big countries. It has fought all of them at some time or another. War is a way of life. Mostly for reasons lost in the mists of time, small reasons even then. It has a failing agrarian economy and ...
hiker 12.04.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: A new set of Pratchett characters to explore. Disadvantages: Politically serious at times
First of all. For those of you who don't know. The Discworld is a flat world carried on the back of four elephants which in turn are carried on the back of Great A'Tuin the sky turtle which swims through space. If your still with me then well done and welcome to Discworld!
In case you haven't guessed. Terry Pratchett writes fantasy novels which are, wait for it.........FICTION. Yep, the Discworld isn't real. However, don't disregard it as such as ... ...all of the Discworld series including this particular book.
Consider this fantasy fiction for adults.
"Monstrous Regiment" is a hefty novel for Pratchett at 351pages for the hardback edition (paperback not available as yet). As such official retail is a steep £17.99. However, many stores are doing it for discount at £12.99. THE PLOT
Set in the previously unexplored by Pratchett area of Borogravia (imagine communist Russia and you aint far off). ...
dididave 25.02.2004 (10.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: Skillful use of familiar characters and themes Disadvantages: New settig may not appeal to all fans
You will either enjoy this or put it down after a few pages. As an avid Terry Pratchett reader I approach each new book with a fresh pair of eyes - will it have my favourite characters in (especially the librarian). Will it be set in places I know?
This book does what the author does best, take an aspect of our modern life - in this case the act of war, and look at it from an entirely different angle. The main character is a young lady who sets ... ...a soldier. Her subsequent trials, tribulations and the people she meets en route (including the now familiar vampire 'black ribboner), are interesting enough to move the story along at a good pace. As ever, the author makes us interested enough in the characters in the book to continue reading.
I must confess that I spent most of an afternoon and evening with my nose buried in this book to see how it ended (no I'm not going to tell).
Aspects of ...
soupdragon10 04.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: Very Funny, worth reading again and again Disadvantages: Nothing that I can think of!
This is yet another brilliant book from the pen of one of the funniest authors in Britain.
It covers the adventures of Polly, a girl who dresses up as a boy to get into the Borogravian Army to rescue her brother Paul.
Along the way she slowly discovers that most of her squad are also female with their own reasons for joining the army.
This book is an interesting one because Mr Pratchett's last few books using Vimes have been based around him and ... ...that people go to war than the Discworld itself.
Don't get me wrong. This is still a very funny book and a complete departure from T.P's usual sphere...sorry, Disc of influence.
The characters are wonderfully realised and my favourite character is Maladict - the coffee addicted Vampire. At one point the vampire loses his coffee and goes over the edge. We see the Vietnam War intrude through his hallucinations!
All I can say is - READ THIS BOOK!!!! ...
ArwenGlowchild 25.01.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: Unbelievabely funny Disadvantages: A little pricy
What a hillarious book. Books usually become less and less good so to speak, with each one in the series an author writes. Pratchett does exactly the opposite. I don't have a lot of time for his old books... "colour of magic", "light fantastic" etc. But his more recent books I find absolutely amazing. And my two particular favourites of his at the moment are "Nightwatch", and the very book in question "monstrous regiment".
The storyline of this ... ...where a female character decides to join the army, and ends up in a small regiment, in both a ferocious battle against the enemy, and also a ferocious battle to cover the fact she is a woman. But slowley, as a sequence of events unfold, she discovers it is not such a problem after all. Or at least, isn't alone in the matter...
This book really is a good read. It contains some of the classic favourite characters from the City Watch books, such as ...
uncleharris 15.11.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
