Pratchett's characters are both sympathetic and outrageously entertaining, from Captain Carrot, who always finds the best in people and puts it to work playing football, to Sergeant Colon and his sidekick, Corporal Nobbs, who have "an ability to get out of their depth on a wet pavement." Then there is the mysterious D'reg, 71-hour Ahmed. What is his part in all this, and why 71 hours? Anyone who doesn't mind laughing themselves silly at the idiocy of people in general and governments in particular will enjoy Jingo. --Nona Vero
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The demonic organizer and the temporal slip-up was a very nice touch... although the reeling off of the appointments in the alternative final defense (which I shall skip for those who haven't read this yet - I envy you people! <grin>) I found honestly to be as chilling as anything Stephen King ever wrote.
I don't believe I've ever read a bad book of his. Some may have been better than others, but not one of them have I put down and said, "My God, why did I read this?" Pratchett writes with a compassionate eye to his characters, keeping them comical without making them ridiculous.
These are books that I'll still be re-reading 20 years from now, and I'll wager I'll still find something new to laugh at each time.
First, most of the Watch characters get barely anything to do. Second, the Patrician is way out of character. And finally, the ending is pretty weak.
Nevertheless, this is a still a great and very entertaining read. I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point, though, as Guards! Guards! is a better introduction, Men at Arms is funnier, and Feet of Clay is a better mystery.
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.
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