Nation

click here for more details, find new or used items	Terry Pratchett Our price £4.55 (£6.99) New from £1.69 Used from £0.66 Pages: 300 (Paperback) ISBN: 055255779X Pub: Corgi Childrens Pub date: 2009-10-08 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 820

Reader Reviews:

Poignant and funny (0/0 people found this helpful)

Not as laugh out loud funny as his discworld series but plenty of quiet chuckles. Was quite startled with the bleak start but found the general fight against the odds cheering in the end. A departure from his usual plotlines.

Not his best, but a good stand alone... (0/0 people found this helpful)

As a die-hard Terry Pratchett fan, who ran to the shops the day Nation was released, then I am of course hoping that either this or the Ask and the Answer will win. Nation, like lots of Terry Pratchett books, gives you a new way of looking at the world around you and the human race. I liked the idea of building a whole nation out of people who are stranded, and the start, with Daphne and Mau first meeting, was very funny. What I liked the most, however, was the idea that another civilisation, one that exists thousands of miles away, had discovered things like how the world was round, and had made many similar scientific discoveries, which had then been lost in legend. The book also draws attention that we always want to be the first to find things out, and that we will instantly scorn at anyone who has actually discovered things first. Although the book lacked some of the comedy that is Terry Pratchett's trademark, it still retained the feeling of parody, though not in the sense of some of his other books, for example Wyrd Sisters. In Nation, then it is a parody of human nature. The one major letdown in this book was when Daphne's father arrives, announcing that 137 (I think that's right) people in line to the throne had died, leaving him as King. This took Terry Pratchett's idea of the million-to-one-chance happening nine times out of ten a bit too far. It would have made more sense in a Discworld novel, but not in this one. At first, I was disappointed with Mau and Daphne's parting, and the lack of romance between them. But having looked back, this is a trademark of Terry Pratchett's (for example, the Fifth Elephant, and Wintersmith), and in some ways works better, because, in real life, then the hero and heroine don't always have a parting kiss, and it makes the whole book more believable. I then liked the final chapter, with the man telling the story. I liked the idea that the Nation had carried on past Mau and Daphne, and that traditions were still being upheld, with the girl standing watch where Mau had once stood watch. I thought that the idea of the dead becoming dolphins was very nice, and also played of the human trait of creating legends.
Overall, I think that this is a very well written book, and would be a deserving winner.

Enjoyable read (0/0 people found this helpful)

I'm a Terry Pratchett fan and really enjoyed this book. Don't expect it to read like a discworld book because it doesn't. It reads much more like an everyday book, with yes, some slightly predictable parts. As usual his characterisation is brilliant - all the characters are so easy to remember with their individual traits. It's not a 'book you can't put down', it's an enjoyable light read that's really nice to read for an hour before bed and you can easily pause as the chapters are frequent.

Reminiscent of Tiffany Aching. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Coming back in his canoe from the Boys' Island, ready for his coming-of-age ritual, young Mau is hit by a huge wave. Stunned and a little disoriented, he finally arrives, only to find his home devastated, his family and friends dead.

There's also a long trench in the forest and at the end of it, the wreck of the Sweet Judy and a strange girl who tries to shoot him. But soon this little misunderstanding is over, and they start communicating.

Together they'll help the refugees arriving from nearby islands and start rebuilding a civilization, explore the lagoon and the Grandfathers' Cave and find ancient statues and hidden treasures, defend their Nation against the Raiders.

Even though Nation is not as witty and funny as the usual Pratchett novel, I really enjoyed seeing Mau and Daphne's relationship become deeper, and found their discovery expeditions very exciting. Daphne reminded me much of Terry Pratchett's other teenage heroin, Tiffany Aching. The novel itself is also full of philosophy in disguise, which makes it instructing to boot, although it contained slightly too much religion to my liking.

Nation (0/0 people found this helpful)

Much enjoyed - thoughtful, caring - almost tender, and a blip that the real world might aspire to.
Not a discworld novel but maybe all the better for it. Even learnt a few things in follow-up research. Nice one Sir Terry.

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