What makes your Nation? (Nation - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: Poison_kitty

Product:	Nation - Terry Pratchett
Date:	15/10/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to read and enough twists to keep you interested

Disadvantages: Similar theme to a lot of current films and books

I'm not normally a fan of Terry's writing outside of Discworld, however this book peaked my curiosity and when Waterstones had a half-price offer on, I picked it up and brought it home. For a book I wasn't expecting to be so impressed with, I read it in just over a week of bedtime reading!



For those that don't read Pratchett, he created the Discworld, which is a parallel of our own world except with magic and trolls and Corporal Nobby Nobbs. Most of his books have been set there, and a few of those books have reached a broader audience as movies made and broadcast by SkyTV. One of his non-Discworld books, Johnny and the bomb, was also made into a mini-series shown on the BBC.



Nation is set in a somewhat historically fictional nineteenth century archipelago of the Pacific Ocean. A community of people, referred to as "The Nation", is washed away by a tsunami leaving only a handful of Survivors. The main character is Mau, who is midway through a manhood ritual when the wave strikes and is nicknamed Demon Boy by some of the other survivors. Ermintrude, daughter of a British Noble and one hundred and forty first in line to the throne, is on a voyage to visit her father when the wave hits and is shipwrecked on Mau's island. Attracting more survivors to the island, they forge a new nation, and discover the history of the island and it's culture leaving lasting imprints well into the twenty-first century.



While there is no mistaking the book is a work of fiction, it reminds the reader what little is needed to almost wipe out a civilization - a fact I'm unfortunately reminded about every time i switch on the TV or read a newspaper. I'm referring to the fact that Armageddon appears to be the current theme for a lot of films and documentaries, making me feel this book is just one of a crowd with nothing to really make it stand out except for an easy to read narrative and enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested in what is on the next page.



What I'd really like to see is the next Discworld book, please!

Summary: A good read, but I prefer discworld!