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 Polly Perks is confronted with a dilemma. She's very bright and her mother has taught her how to read and write, which has become an Abomination Unto Nuggan, the local god. She tends her father's bar and understands the business, but in Borogravia --- ruled by the tyrannical god Nuggan and his human counterpart, The Duchess --- no woman can actually operate a business because that too is an Abomination Unto Nuggan. Art, music, jigsaw puzzles and rocks have also recently been declared as Abominations in a rapidly deteriorating country that is losing its war.The trouble is that her brother Paul, the only legal heir to the lucrative pub, is off to the wars with neighboring Ankh-Morpork, who has been captured or is perhaps dead, so Polly's future looks rather bleak. Paul is a gentle soul by nature, an artist who of course can't practice his craft due to Nugganism and has no head for business. With him installed as legal owner ý well, you see Polly's problem. She needs to find Paul, bring him home, and set him up as owner so she can secure her future --- or else it's the Workhouse (or worse) for Polly. So she crops her hair, dresses up like a boy, and runs off to join the regiment. This is of course an Abomination Unto Nuggan, but Polly is nothing if not resourceful and with the quiet help of someone who whispers helpfully from behind a wall when she's relieving herself in the privy that a carefully placed pair of socks might fool the casual onlooker, Polly becomes Oliver Perks and her adventures begin. Polly, becomes Oliver, takes her duties as a private seriously. When she finds herself feeling aggressive and even belligerent, she blames it on the socks. In fact, after cursing or belching she often thinks to herself, "It's the socks talking, there." Her fellow soldiers in the Monstrous Regiment consist of (remember this is Discworld) a motley assortment of what's left of Borogravian young manhood: a Troll, a vampire, an Igor (Igors are a special class of being on Discworld --- they make excellent field medics because of their skills in stitchery and, er, recycling body parts). Also enlisted are three other young lads, all under the eagle eye of Sergeant Jackrum, veteran of legendary battles and the stuff folk songs are made of. This extraordinarily amusing book is a homage to Terry Pratchett's huge following of well-educated women, which make up a surprising majority of his vast readership. In fact, until J. K. Rowling came along, Pratchett held something of a record in book sales in Great Britain, acquiring an O.B.E. in literature from the Queen. He has caught on in a big way with American readers who enjoy his droll satire. Only a few of the books in the 28 volume-series on Discworld feature women. The Wyrd Sisters (a group of erstwhile Witches), Angua (a female werewolf in Ankh Morpork's Watch) and Commander Vimes's wife are among the few female protagonists. With MONSTROUS REGIMENT, we are introduced not only to Polly Perks but also to some other rather astonishing heroines. Elaborating on them though would spoil the tale. Pratchett has outdone himself with MONSTROUS REGIMENT --- a feat that might be hard to imagine after so many books. It is fresh, witty as ever, and brings a whole new look to Ankh Morpork. One might be tempted to compare this tale to our conflict in the Middle East, if one was of a mind to take Pratchett with more than a grain of salt. --- Reviewed by Roz Shea
It is less humerous than some of the others - though still with several wry grins and a couple of laugh-out-loud in public moments. The characters are interesting, but not quite as sharply drawn as in other books. Part of the problem is that it is drawn from a culture that his readers are less familiar with, so some of the Jokes I'm absolutely certain, have gone right over my head and that of some of the other reviewers here, too I suspect. I had the same problem with "The Last Continent" where several Australian folk references and heroes were drawn into the plot which I entirely failed to recognize until they got annotated. Terry is nothing if not a meticulous researcher and I have a strange suspicion that this is one of those I'm going to end up reading more often. This is a great book by any measure except those jaded from higher expectations of this author.
Pratchett seems to admire and respect human spirituality and the kind of deep faith that can move mountains. He feels the same way about courage and endurance in the face of insurmountable obstacles. And he despises the way the institutional church and national governments exploit these in favor of organized religion, warfare, and political advantage. He devotes "Small Gods" and "Jingo" to this very theme, and he does it brilliantly; those are two of his best. "Monstrous Regiment," looks at these issues, plus another Pratchett theme, the way societies work out their sexuality and gender-role issues. Unfortunately, it doesn't do quite as well. The story is of a war between Borogravia and a neighbor. The basic plot outline is Jeanne d'Arc and the siege of Orleans. It is told from the point of view of Polly, who cuts her hair and dresses like a boy and joins the army to fight the foes of her homeland. We get some cameos from Vimes, Angua, Reg Shoe, Buggy, Death, William de Worde and Chriek, even Lord Rust, but the main characters and the setting are all new. Polly has many adventures, see many new sights, learns many new things, and comes home safe. Hard to say what the problem is. It almost seems like the author isn't giving it his full attention. The footnotes are intermittent and half-hearted, rather than pointed and hilarious. The cameos seem, mostly, aimless: if you're not going to use Death, why bother having him at all? de Worde and Vimes actually serve the plot, but they seem to be going through the motions rather than enhancing the story. More troubling is the main characters themselves. Partly, the book is one long shaggy-dog joke (cf. John Knox's essay, or at least the title of it), and it becomes obvious pretty early what the punchline is. But, worse, none of the lead characters thrill, none of the humor lifts off the page and makes you guffaw. The satire is often blunt where it should be sharp, the sadness never reaches very deeply. Some of the main characters are never fully explained or developed, especially the Jeanne d'Arc character and Lt. Bounce; but even Jackrum remains flat (no pun intended). As an empowered woman, Polly doesn't come close to Angua or Miss Susan. Despite the constant references to the weird local religion, there is no religious fanatic like Vorbis, no believer to compare with Brother Brutha. Nor is there a real villain. There are various villainous characters who appear and disappear and reappear, but no single bad guy to keep your eye on, to represent an always dangerous threat to our heroes, and that may be the greatest weakness of the whole book.
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I love Terry Pratchett's work and this is a fine example of it. It is, however, a little less than some of the others. Pratchett's work runs about half the gamut; being from very good to inconceivably, rip snortingly wonderful and by his standards this would fall somewhere near the middle.
