Rating: 8/10
How do you build or in this case rebuild a nation ? Is there more than one way to do it ? What do you need ? How do you deal with the voices from the past (aka tradition) ? This and much more you will find out in Terry Pratchett‘s latest novel, Nation. This review contains no spoilers or at least a lot less than you will find in other reviews on forums, blogs, online bookshops and newspapers.
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Nation
I hadn’t paid much attention to any reviews before buying this book, so when I opened it, immediately after delivery, and saw the map I was a bit disappointed, but that didn’t last long. It showed a map of roundworld, not exactly our roundworld, but one set in a parallel universe in something that could pass for the 19th century. So no discworld, no turtle, no elephants, no Unseen University, no Ankh-Morpork, … 
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The book starts with 2 disasters: a tsunami strikes a group of islands in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean and Mau, a boy on the brink of manhood, is the sole survivor on his island and the Russian influenza strikes England and the King and his 138 successors die. The next successor in line is the Governor of a trading post in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean, whose daughter is the sole survivor of a shipwreck and is marooned on … Mau’s island. Between the 2 of them, they have to rebuild a nation and no hanky-panky.
Review
It is definitely not a discworld novel (no witches, no dwarfs, no trolls, …) and yet it has many things in common with it. Even if the name of the author would have been removed or replaced with an alias, you could never doubt that this is a Terry Pratchett book. According to Amazon, the reading level is for young adults, well I tend to agree for any given value of young.
Like other Terry Pratchett novels, this book can be read on more than one level. As a funny fantasy novel, as a satirical view on contemporary society and history or as a deeply philosophical work on leadership, religion, patriotism, traditions, culture, relationships, … or all in one.
What else can be said to describe this novel without spoiling the fun; it’s funny, witty, a coming-of-age, a touch of Robinson Crusoe, satirical, … As I thought on how to describe the differences between this novel and the average discworld novel, without stating the obvious ones, the word fairy-tale came to mind. It doesn’t have the obligatorily ‘Once upon a time‘ in the beginning or, you know, the other phrase at the end, but that’s just some words that are missing. In a way, they are there, even the ending … for a certain value of ever after.
Conclusion
Don’t let the 8/10 rating put you off. I hadn’t read any reviews before buying it and was expecting a discworld novel. The last couple of years we have been really spoiled with fantastic discworld novels like Going Postal, Making Money, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, Thud! and before that, the Monstrous Regiment, The Last Continent, Thief of Time, … Books that I would rate 9 or even 10/10. Is this one book about Mau and Ermintrude Daphne really a match for the funny, fast-paced, witty Moist von Lipwig-series or Tiffany Aching-series ? No, so I cannot give it a 9/10 and I don’t want to start using decimals, like the first time I read it I gave it a 8.4/10, but after the second read I decided it was worth 8.6/10. OK, I go as far as 8+.
As this is a stand-alone book, it is an ideal starting point for people who are not yet familiar with Terry Pratchett’s work.
| Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong. |
| Terry Pratchett |
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