Jingo (Mass Market Paperback)

by Terry Pratchett (Author) "It was a moonless night, which was good for the purposes of Solid Jackson..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sergeant Colon, Lord Vetinari, Lord Rust (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Terry Pratchett is a phenomenon unto himself. Never read a Discworld book? The closest comparison might be Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with its uniquely British sense of the absurd, and side-splitting, smart humor. Jingo is the 20th of Pratchett's Discworld novels, and the fourth to feature the City Guard of Ankh-Morpork. As Jingo begins, an island suddenly rises between Ankh-Morpork and Al-Khali, capital of Klatch. Both cities claim it. Lord Vetinari, the Patrician, has failed to convince the Ruling Council that force is a bad idea, despite reminding them that they have no army, and "I believe one of those is generally considered vital to the successful prosecution of a war." Samuel Vimes, Commander of the City Watch, has to find out who shot the Klatchian envoy, Prince Khufurah, and set fire to their embassy, before war breaks out.

Pratchett's characters are both sympathetic and outrageously entertaining, from Captain Carrot, who always finds the best in people and puts it to work playing football, to Sergeant Colon and his sidekick, Corporal Nobbs, who have "an ability to get out of their depth on a wet pavement." Then there is the mysterious D'reg, 71-hour Ahmed. What is his part in all this, and why 71 hours? Anyone who doesn't mind laughing themselves silly at the idiocy of people in general and governments in particular will enjoy Jingo. --Nona Vero --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-Jingo, the twentieth Discworld novel to be published in the United States, is a worthy addition to the series. It's a quiet night. Maybe too quiet. Solid Jackson and his son are fishing the waters between Ankh-Morpork and Al-Khali when their boat runs aground. To their amazement, an iron chicken rises out of the water, followed shortly by the island of Leshp. Solid Jackson immediately claims the island as Ankh-Morpork territory. There's only one problem. Greasy Arif and his son are also fishing for Curious Squid, and Arif swears that the island belongs to Al-Khali. Both cities are determined to annex it. By jingo, this means war. Ankh-Morpork is outgunned and out-manned but the city's nobles don't plan to let that stop them from carrying on the noble traditions of chivalry and showing those Klatchians what's what. This book is just as funny, clever, and unpredictable as the previous titles. Pratchett fans will not be disappointed, and new readers will not be confused. Jingo expands upon the lives of characters from titles in the series, but readers don't need to be familiar with them to enjoy this one. It's fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns, unexpected events, and football.
Susan Salpini, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (February 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061059064
• ISBN-13: 978-0061059063
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,398 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 21 in The Discworld Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A standard outing, February 25, 2000

By	Raistlin Wakefield (Florida) - See all my reviews

This is by no means the best of the Watch novels ... but even an average Pratchett novel is a thing of beauty. By turns deadly serious and laugh-out-loud funny, the book has only three weaknesses (which other reviewers have touched upon).

First, most of the Watch characters get barely anything to do. Second, the Patrician is way out of character. And finally, the ending is pretty weak.

Nevertheless, this is a still a great and very entertaining read. I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point, though, as Guards! Guards! is a better introduction, Men at Arms is funnier, and Feet of Clay is a better mystery.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I rate it 5 stars because it's the most I'm allowed..., October 15, 1999

By A Customer

Simply stated, this is one of Pratchett's best. He brilliantly skewers politics, warmongering, racism, engineering, time management, navigational terms, police work, and foreign customs, for a start. He then manages to poke fun at (as opposed to ridiculing) humans, werewolves, dwarves, trolls, gnomes, Curious Squid, and the odd orangutang. His treatment of the temperature-sensitive intelligence of Corporal Detritus is well done, and the habit he gives of Commander Vimes returning to his old habits as a street copper even in the middle of ceremonial events had me rolling on the floor.

The demonic organizer and the temporal slip-up was a very nice touch... although the reeling off of the appointments in the alternative final defense (which I shall skip for those who haven't read this yet - I envy you people! <grin>) I found honestly to be as chilling as anything Stephen King ever wrote.

I don't believe I've ever read a bad book of his. Some may have been better than others, but not one of them have I put down and said, "My God, why did I read this?" Pratchett writes with a compassionate eye to his characters, keeping them comical without making them ridiculous.

These are books that I'll still be re-reading 20 years from now, and I'll wager I'll still find something new to laugh at each time.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An OK book, February 9, 2001

By	"the_halberdier" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

I have to confess that I find this one of Pratchett's weaker efforts, although it is still a good read. Although he always has some fairly deep and philosophical messages in his writing, they are usually so well hidden by the humour that you don't realise they are there. In "Jingo", I found there to be a bit less humour than normal and, as a result, the political undertones to the book rather stood out sometimes.

Don't get me wrong -- Pratchett's message (at its most basic level, without spoiling any of the plot, that war is silly) is quite profound, but it is rather jarring when it appears, uncovered, in parts of a book that is ostensibly a comedy. I usually love the Guards series of books the most ("Guards, Guards" is possibly one of his best books), but I feel that this is probably the weakest of them. It is most like "Feet of Clay" but does not have as much suspense.

Still, a worthwhile read and a good book for a rainy day.