Jingo by Terry Pratchett

Waterstone’s Synopsis:

Discworld goes to war, with armies of sardines, warriors, fishermen, squid and at least one very camp follower. As two armies march, Commander Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch faces unpleasant foes who are out to get him…and that’s just the people on his side. The enemy might be even worse. “Jingo”, the 21st in Terry Pratchett’s phenomenally successful “Discworld” series, makes the World Cup look like a friendly five-a-side.

This is book 21 in the Discworld series and features the Watch. After finding an unoccupied area of land, Ankh-Morpork finds itself at war to claim this land – even though it is deserted and not particularly impressive. Everyone seems to have their own agenda and different ways of conquering and taking the land as their own.

I much preferred this book to the previous Watch book, Feet of Clay. I found the storyline more gripping and the characters amused me a lot more. The Watch are an amusing group of individuals – not all human, and they have many different talents. Carrot, the human raised as a dwarf always cracks me up. He is so sensitive and literal, and Detritus the troll was hilarious. Listening to him going “I’m gunna be thick” just made me laugh. His approach to politics – intimidate to get results amused me a lot.

I found this book back to Pratchett’s high standard. His writing style whisked me off to the Discworld and took me on an adventure as the Watch fought for politics which I enjoyed. The book was funny, full of fantasy and adventure and an enjoyable read. I love this series and cannot get enough of it.

8/10