Rating: 
Summary: The difference between soldiers and coppers is...
Review: This was the novel that got me hooked on the Discworld and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. It's very very funny and also wickedly intelligent. Someone here pointed out that Terry Pratchett is actually a philosopher masquerading as a funny man. Perhaps the reason why some people don't like "Jingo" is that the philosophy is a bit more overt here than in other Discworld offerings. Those of us who were around when Maggie (excuse me, Baroness Thatcher) launched her little homage to the 19th century in the Falklands/Malvinas will probably enjoy "Jingo" a little more than others I suspect, but the book itself rings true on so many different levels that it transcends such a particular interpretation. This is Pratchett on the subject of nationalism, militarism and racism with Sam Vimes as usual cast in the role of ironic observer and moral center. I actually liked seeing Vetinari out and about more, and it's clear that this novel marks the beginning of a more three-D presence in the Discworld universe for both Sergeant Colon and the ambiguously human Corporal Nobbs. Leonard of Quirm needs more work though. Once you got the initial conceit, he became tiresome quite quickly. Captain Carrot, Sergeant Angua and Corporal Detritus do their usual sterling service. I had hoped for more from Constable Visit-the-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets given that the conflict between Klatch and Ankh-Morpork was partly a religious one, but you can't have everything. Perhaps my favorite things in the novel were the face-off between the city nobles and Vimes, the Demon Pocket Organizer, and Vimes' precise and beautifully-articulated exposition of the differences between soldiers and policemen. Vimes, I suspect is an old-fashioned copper who believes in justice, rather than merely protecting and serving the law. Too bad the LAPD doesn't read Terry Pratchett.
Rating: 
Summary: "Jingo" bingo!
Review: War with the Middle-East is about the unfunniest topic you can dredge up. Not just now in times of political turmoil, but anytime. Terry Pratchett gives it a comic spin in "Jingo," with a simple message (War is Stupid!) and plenty of hijinks from the Watch. A weathercock surfaces in the middle of the sea. Since weathercocks usually don't bob around by themselves, it turns out that it's attached to a new island that rises up out of the sea. Fishermen claim the island -- unfortunately, they are from two different lands: Ankh-Morpork and the desert land of Klatch. Soon both lands are at loggerheads over ownership of the new island, Leshp. (a sign in Ankh-Morpork: GREASY FORANE HANDS OFF LESHP) War is imminent, and unfortunately Vimes and his Watch are about to be dragged into it. Diplomacy takes a nasty turn when Vimes meets (in his official capacity as a duke) a Klatchian prince and the sinister-seeming 71-Hour Ahmed. Soon the prince is injured, and Klatch is furious. Now the war has gotten personal, and is no longer just about Leshp. Vimes and Co. have to enlist the help of the eccentric Leonard of Quirm, while the Patrician somehow ends up enlisting a pair of unlikely spies: Nobby and Colon. Any Discworld book that features the unattractive Nobby trying to do an exotic dance is worth checking out. But "Jingo" also has the advantage of lampooning just about everything connected with war: Racism, outdated ideas about how to make war, protests by stupid people, xenophobia foreign cultures (Vimes being offered the sheep's eyeball is a riot), politics, and those little time management computers (here called a "disorganizer"). Don't worry -- Pratchett's dryly goofy humor is quite intact despite the messages woven in. From the Prid of Ankh-Morpork to Nobby's deficient love life, he peppers the story with the strange and hilarious. However, at times it dips a little into slapstick (Nobby in drag, getting in touch with his feminine side), and some scenes are more sitcom than satire. His writing is, as always, spare and clear, not too descriptive, and Pratchett manages to avoid banging readers over the head with his messages. The crusty, hard-boiled Sam Vimes is back in full, here chafing at the idea of being a duke (especially if it means dressing up). Tough werewolf cop Angua gets to spread her wings a little, and supporting characters like 71-Hour Ahmed skim close to stereotypes, but just to make a point. Not to mention the hordes of weird recruits that the well-meaning, clueless Carrot manages to find. War satire is a hard thing to write. Usually it just displays a heavy hand and a big loud mouth. But Terry Pratchett dips into this with his usual deftness and humor. Recommended.
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