Jingo, by Terry Pratchett

[sophia_sol]

For inexplicable reasons (no really I have no clue why) this was the Pratchett book I reread the most often as a teenager. As such, rereading it was a deeply familiar experience. So it's hard to be objective about a lot of it? Because it has been a part of me for so long!

One major difference this reread is that I have since read a whole bunch of meticulously researched Age of Sail novels (thank you Patrick O'Brian) and thus have an entirely new sense of UTTER HORROR at Vimes's behaviour on that boat. AUGH VIMES NO.

Also I've never been fond of Colon-and-Nobby storylines and that's only gotten worse as I've gotten older. I ended up skimming or skipping over those scenes this time.

But overall the reading experience was just nice nostalgia. (and also a creeping realization of how utterly bone-deep familiar Pratchett's narrative voice is for me. I read SO MUCH PRATCHETT as a teenager! I guess it was kind of inevitable!)

Comments

[reconditarmonia.livejournal.com]

Jingo is one of my favorite Pratchett novels, even considering that the Watch is already my favorite subseries. I love the reveal with 71-hour Ahmed (not what he did per se, but the fact that he's Vimes's opposite number), the split Dis-Organizer seems to me to be such a great demonstration of what fantasy can bring to this sort of storyline, Willikins (is this the first book where we experience war!Willikins?)

[sophia-sol.livejournal.com]

yes, all of the things you mention are things I particularly love about this book too! It really is a great one.

[reconditarmonia.livejournal.com]

Doesn't top Night Watch, but it's up there. :)