Monstrous Regiment (Hardcover)

The plot of the book can be read above so we can dispense with any sort of summary, and proceed to go for the 'cheese' (because kisses never last! - read the book you'll get it)..

Terry manages to inspire a great deal of emotion with this new book, you are introduced to a group of young soldiers each with their own background and story as the turn of events progress you are given to sadness, joy and laughter.. Without much in the way of a detailed description Terry manages to inspire your imagination to fill in a lot of each location and scene. A good example of this is near the beginning of the book when one of the main characters are ministering to the wounded and although no real detail was given regarding the severity of their injuries your imagination is prompted to fill in the blanks based on the actions and responses of the characters. Not an easy thing to do but one that is accomplished through out the book flawlessly.

The story itself is very well articulated and played out, once again there are very few faults, beyond wishing it was twice the size! The characters are clearly defined and complement the narrative of the plot perfectly, it would have been nice to some extra detail and involvement with some of the main characters - in particular the character of Maladict seemed a little neglected, and felt as though there was an amazing opportunity to develop and detail this quite extraordinary person if only there were a few dozen more pages, however when the book ends you feel as though you wish you'd been there to ask more questions!

As far as the writing is concerned this was the only little gripe, and certainly isn't worth loosing a star for.. The reason I'm giving it 4 out of 5 is that Doubleday have done a particularly bad job of the layout of this book, I've managed to find several typographic errors in the book where possibly a phrase was changed but not corrected properly and the inclusion of bonus things like the 'business card' would have worked better if the little nuances of the card that the narrative described had been added to the card graphic in the book.. All in all it seems like the publisher wasn't really paying attention because they know that any Terry Pratchett book sells by the cartload (fair play to them I guess). It does nothing to spoil the story in any way but was a little disappointing.

In conclusion, an excellent story with appealing characters and a gloriously emotional and compelling narrative, if let down only very slightly by the proof read.

Its a good read, mostly set in a 'new' environment, although there are cameo roles for Sam Vimes, Angua, Rust and the gentlemen from the 'Ankh-Morpork Times'. Of course everyone should buy it, but in my view its not quite at the level of some of Terry's recent books such as 'Fifth Elephant', 'Thief of Time' or 'Nightwatch', but on the other hand those are among the best books ever written.