Jingo (Hardcover)

~ (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

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Eos; First Edition edition (May 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061050474
• ISBN-13: 978-0061050473
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #443,730 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 21 in The Discworld Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 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 review is from: Jingo (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

10 of 10 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

This review is from: Jingo (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The difference between soldiers and coppers is..., May 18, 2001

By	Christopher Fung (honolulu) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Jingo (Mass Market Paperback)

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.