Quick book note: Monstrous Regiment

[redbird]

I just read Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment. It's a good book, and I like Polly and Maledict and Sgt. Jackrum, but I'm wondering whether it's me or Pratchett who's changed: I only laughed out loud once, and that was at one of the footnotes.

This time out, we get a religion that's stupid even by Discworld standards, with a god whose list of Abominations includes the color blue, leading his followers to try not to look at the sky. Vimes and Angua turn up, briefly, but I get a feeling Pratchett may be tired of Ankh-Morpork.

Comments

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Pratchett. When he was talking about this book at the local signing for it, he mentioned that having the established world and fan base and all allows him to write some more serious books now -- still humor, but humor with a point, not just fluff. Something like that; I'm paraphrasing badly.

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

Pratchett. He as been slowly getting more serious and a bit darker through the entire series. And he may be getting tired of AM, as the last 3 stories have been set outside of the main settings with just brief connections to the earlier stories.

He also may be suffering a bit from what happened to Superman decades ago - he kept becoming more and more powerful, leading to more and more powerful villains to be credible threats, until it was difficult to come up with a real threat. The Watch has become larger, trained, and organized, Grannie Weatherwax has been showing increasing abilities to some extent as well. Real challenges for the old characters is getting more difficult.

AS for stupid religions, I think it is difficult to compare a new one to those you're familiar with, you're used to the stupidity of those you've been exposed to for years.

a whole unknown world

[cthulhia]

to fill out.

100s of characters that, for some of us, require no explanation, but still have to be briefly summed up in every new book. (although, DEATH was not properly introduced, so maybe he is working past that now.) Makes it easier to just use mostly new and unknown characters, until a story cries out for one of the existing cast.

I think that was

[(Anonymous)]

a senile religion, which is possible given the Small Gods setup; it's quite clear that the worshippers can drown out the worshiped.

I don't think he should have used that vehicle to say that with, but I may have entirely the wrong background on literary armies.

- Graydon

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

When I saw him at a signing for it last year he kept saying that it was good but not his best -- according to him Night Watch was his best.

Spoilers Ahead

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

I had mixed reactions to Monstrous Regiment. I thought Night Watch was spectacularly good, dark as it was, but this felt -- less compelling, less focused. Then I realized that that's a big part of the point of the book. It's a sideways look at what makes a Joan of Arc, or rather a look at the people who don't get to be famous and/or burned at the stake. It also has a sad, sympathetic god -- the Duchess changes from a symbol of patriotic madness to someone almost pitiable to a force for actual good. The final fifth of the book is just sheerly, painfully beautiful to me.

I loved Night Watch

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

but this one didn't trip my trigger.

[ailbhe]

He's been getting less and less hilarious and more and more... well, to me, good reading. There was a point about 3 or 4 books ago when I got sick of him and decided not to bother any more, but I liked NW and MR.