Jingo (Discworld Novels (Audio))

Rating:
Summary: Deft and Humorous Critique of Invasion as Diplomacy
Review: A mysterious island appearing in the sea is claimed by both Ankh-Morpork and Al-Khali, capital of Klatch. Features an assasination, investigation by Carrot and Angua, a really annoying Palm Pilot, and a parody of Leonardo da Vinci. Makes good use of the minor Watch characters like Nobby, and includes a a lot of silliness blended with deft touches of anti-war sentiment (this could easily have become heavy-handed and unpleasant to wade through). On the down side, there are too many simultaneous plot lines, and it will not work well if you haven't read at least one or two of the other books in this sequence.

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Summary: War comes to Discworld!
Review: Jingo is yet another book that takes place in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It's the fourth book to feature the City Watch, which is the police force of Ankh-Morpork, a city on the Disc. It's also one of the best. The City Watch, in its initial incarnation, was an homage to those no-name soldiers, troopers and other various cannon-fodder that inhabit adventure and sci-fi movies. They're usually hapless, the hero runs right over them, and their survival rate is fairly low. Originally, it consisted of three people, Samuel Vimes, Nobby Nobs, and Sergeant Colon.

This was until Carrot joined. Carrot is a human who was raised by dwarves, thus he considers himself a dwarf. He's the ultimate innocent, but yet he has a way of getting people to listen to him and follow him. By the time of Jingo, he's been raised to Captain (no comic book jokes, please). This all happened in the first City Watch book, Guards Guards. In subsequent books, the Watch has grown almost exponentially. It now has over 50 members, with more joining all the time. In fact, Jingo jokes a couple of times about how Vimes, the commander of the Watch, doesn't know that somebody's joined. It's very common for him to say "Who's that?" and be told that he signed the paperwork.

Jingo involves an island that has suddenly appeared between Ankh-Morpork and the land of Klatch. Klatch is based on the Arab countries of our world, and there are quite a few jokes about how something that was supposedly invented in Ankh-Morpork has been used in Klatch for years. The people of Ankh-Morpork have a lot of the same stereotypes of Klatchians as exist in the real world about Arabs as well. Pratchett goes to great lengths to show just how stupid this is. He portrays the actual Klatchians very well, with no actual stereotypes that I saw.

Anyway, both Ankh-Morpork and Klatch lay claim to this island, and thus talk of war begins. There's an attempt on the life of a Klatchian prince and other sorts of violence start to break out in the city. Samuel Vimes is trying to deal with all of this. He's a simple cop who just wants to solve crimes, but sometimes the crimes are too big for one man to solve. Events start to spiral out of control and Vimes and some of his troops find themselves in Klatch trying to stop things before the war gets out of hand.

There are so many wonderful characters in these City Watch books, and this one even adds some more. The main new character is 71-hour Ahmed, a Klatchian who's more than what he seems. Vimes has to deal with him a lot, and while he starts out seeming stereotypical, but he eventually develops into a well-rounded character. There's Reg Shoe, who I understand is introduced in a non-City Watch book, but becomes a member of the Watch in this book. He's a zombie. Then there are the regulars, such as Carrot, Detritus (a troll), Constable Visit, Colon, Nobs, the Patrician (who, uncharacteristically, takes an active role in events after he's deposed from power), and finally Vimes himself. There are just too many of them to describe them all, but they all have their hilarious moments.

Vimes is who the books are essentially about, and he gets the most character development. He used to be a drunk who barely got by, and didn't have to do anything in his job. He wasn't required to, because nobody gave the Watch any respect anyway. Carrot gave him a sense of duty, though, and he's progressed well since then. Jingo continues this progression, as he tries to stop the madness. Vimes is always an interesting person to read about. He's not a violent man, and he's trapped in a violent circumstance. Watching him get out of it is very entertaining.

Discworld is known for it's humour, and this is a very funny book. Pratchett usually cloaks his philosophical points in the laughs. This book isn't quite as funny as the previous ones, though, and the philosophy sticks out even more in this one because of it. It basically points out the pointlessness of mindless militarism, nationalism and patriotism. The closest thing it is a parody of is the Falklands conflict, with a war over a worthless piece of land that nobody in their right mind would want anyway. Along the way, though, many jokes are cracked. The best thing about the City Watch books is that the humour seems to come from within the characters, which makes for very zany, yet almost believable, events. That's why I prefer them.

This book is definitely worth a read. You could start with it, but I would suggest that you read the first three: Guards Guards, Men at Arms, and Feet of Clay. There is a progression of character that you will miss if you start with Jingo. But don't miss this one. It's a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: Pratchett scores again
Review: Of all the series-within-a-series that the Discworld books include (Death, Rincewind, Granny Weatherwax, etc.), my favorite has to be the tales of Captain Vimes and the Ankh-Morpork Watch. "Jingo" continues their tales with an adventure that begins with a lost island arising from the sea. This, naturally, edges the city of Ankh-Morpork to the brink of war with Klatch for no apparent reason.

One of the things that made this book stand out, even from the other Watch books, is how Pratchett got to shine a spotlight on some lesser-used characters. Corporal Nobbs ("Nobby") gets a great, brilliantly funny subplot that starts with him wanting to find a nice girl and concludes someplace so wonderfully absurd I refuse to spoil it for you. Vimes is the level-headed leader of men we've come to expect. Even Lord Vetinari gets a chance to shine in this book like he hasn't in the earlier volumes. My personal favorite character, Captain Carrot, is pushed a bit to the background this time out, but he gets so much development in the other books it's hard to complain. Even here there are a few moments that show exactly how superhumanly rational Carrot is, rounding him out quite nicely.

Pratchett can blend satire, comedy and adventure in a way no one else can. If the day ever comes where I tire of the Discworld, you'll have to roll me away under a tarp.

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Summary: one of his best!
Review: This is one of my favorite Pratchett books! If you've never read Terry Pratchett before: Welcome to a thinly veiled version of London in which social classes and races are represented by various fanatic creatures: gargoyles, humans, trolls, dwarves, etc.-all trying to live together and get along. Uberwald is Germany. Klatch is something like the near east. You'll recognize other places. Disc World is basically earth with London at the center and a few weird twists.

For those who are familier with Pratchett: This is one of the books featuring the Night Watch, but it's a somewhat mixed media performance with a lot from the Patrician (who is my favorite) and Lenard of Querm, also a bit from the wizards. A mysteries island rises out of the sea and both Klatch and Ank-morpork claim ownership. Some people in each country are willing to go to war over the island...but do they have ulterior motives?

In the confusion of a visit from the Klachian prince, Angua is kidnapped (want to know how to kidnap a werewolf? Read the book!) and the whole Watch sets off after her to Klatch, where they unravel a cunning conspiracy. The book has plenty of depth, makes a number of valid points about war, politics, racial prejudice (both prejudice against a minority race AND prejudice in favor of a minority race), and is just superior all-round storytelling. This is one of the few Pratchett's I've read twice.

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Summary: The difference between soldiers and coppers is...
Review: This was the novel that got me hooked on the Discworld and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. It's very very funny and also wickedly intelligent. Someone here pointed out that Terry Pratchett is actually a philosopher masquerading as a funny man. Perhaps the reason why some people don't like "Jingo" is that the philosophy is a bit more overt here than in other Discworld offerings.

Those of us who were around when Maggie (excuse me, Baroness Thatcher) launched her little homage to the 19th century in the Falklands/Malvinas will probably enjoy "Jingo" a little more than others I suspect, but the book itself rings true on so many different levels that it transcends such a particular interpretation. This is Pratchett on the subject of nationalism, militarism and racism with Sam Vimes as usual cast in the role of ironic observer and moral center.

I actually liked seeing Vetinari out and about more, and it's clear that this novel marks the beginning of a more three-D presence in the Discworld universe for both Sergeant Colon and the ambiguously human Corporal Nobbs. Leonard of Quirm needs more work though. Once you got the initial conceit, he became tiresome quite quickly.

Captain Carrot, Sergeant Angua and Corporal Detritus do their usual sterling service. I had hoped for more from Constable Visit-the-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets given that the conflict between Klatch and Ankh-Morpork was partly a religious one, but you can't have everything.

Perhaps my favorite things in the novel were the face-off between the city nobles and Vimes, the Demon Pocket Organizer, and Vimes' precise and beautifully-articulated exposition of the differences between soldiers and policemen. Vimes, I suspect is an old-fashioned copper who believes in justice, rather than merely protecting and serving the law. Too bad the LAPD doesn't read Terry Pratchett.