Skip to main content
Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett
Discworld Series, book 31
My rating: 8/10

When Polly Perks' brother goes missing, presumably captured in the war between Zlobenia and Borogravia, Polly must cut her hair and leave her work as a barmaid to find him. Pretending to be a man, she joins the army and is added to a small regiment called "the Ins-and-Outs", in which she soon discovers there are more secrets than hers alone.

The main reason this story has such a high rating is the strong female leads. Although he has some strong female characters, like Tiffany Aching, Susan Death, and the witches, he is not famed for all the women he writes. The writing in this book is also done very well, incorporating his trademark humour into the writing without letting it overly influence the plot. 
That said, there are things that still need work. 
I did not give this book a 10/10. He still includes some stereotypes about women, and though I would include an example, it would be a spoiler. It's some of his better work, but in my opinion not the best.

Aside from that, it was a good book (still not a 10/10) and the good far outweighs the bad.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I love the Discworld, as you may have gathered from my four posts about it. I have read thirty six of the forty one so far, and I decided that right before the end was as good a place as any to stop and reflect on the Discworld and what makes (most of) the books such compelling reads. The first thing that I have to mention is, of course, the creativity. How could I not, with a picture of the Great A'tuin, the massive turtle that swims through space, carrying the four giant elephants that hold the Disc on their back, right here? From all of this to the Rimbow and the Circumfence to the cities and countries, the whole world is stunningly creative. All of the characters are also very well done, including Death, the Gods, the witches, and the wizards of the Unseen University. You have to give him kudos for  over forty  creative, funny, and original books on the Discworld. I also love the writing. His trademark humour is hilarious, but underneath it run deeper currents of actua...
Making Money,  by Terry Pratchett Discworld Series, book 36 My rating: 7/10 Ever since Moist Von Lipwig fixed the Post Office, he's been bored, but is the job of fixing the derelict and mismanaged Royal Mint really what he wants? Plunged headfirst into the fortune and danger of the world of economics, he must keep the bank out of the wrong hands--or his own life will be on the line. First of all, I'm going to call the main character, Moist Von Lipwig, "John", because those words should never-- ever --be a name. With that out of the way, let's take this apart. The books about John are always fun, with excitement and mystery and races against all odds, and I loved the premise. I also loved the end, which has the perfect twist right before the last bit. If I were just judging by these things, this book was definitely a ten. Now, the name. Pratchett is normally very good with naming, keeping the names normal and the humour in its proper place- the writing!- bu...
Flash Fiction Forward,  by James Thomas and Robert Shapard My rating: 6/10 This collection of vivid, minimalistic stories tells many creative ideas and theories. From a date with a neanderthal to a phone scamming operation to a mesmerist, these flash fiction pieces will have you hooked. While it's true that flash fiction can sometimes be hard to engage with, and it's certainly not for everyone, I did enjoy this book. If you're not looking to read the whole book straight through, some of the best stories are Sashimi Cashmere, Traditional Indian Style Garage, Fruit Series, Travelling Alone, Quill, and Three Soldiers. My all time favorite from  Flash Fiction Forward  is a tie between The Orange and The Death of the Short Story. They were both very creative and well written, as well as poignant and balanced. However, not all the stories were as good as those ones, and I have to say that most of them seemed to end the same way: with depression about life, or death. ...