Product Description

World War breaks out on the Discworld.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1601 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-05
• Binding: Paperback
• 413 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
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--"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

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.

From the Back Cover
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.

Customer Reviews

So well written, you'll never notice how clever it is
Our world has islands that sink; Discworld has an island that rises slowly back from the sea, "like a cat that's been away for a few days and knows you've been worried". And because the citizens of Ankh-Morpork have a fine, entrepreneurial spirit, and the people of Klatch are ruthless and greedy, with an eye for the main chance (or is that the other way around?), blows are soon struck, and, despite its lack of an army, Ankh-Morpork goes to war.

The resulting farce is one of the best things that Terry Prachett has ever written. Sam Vimes as a character goes from strength to strength, ably offset by the just-too-good Captain Carrot and the exceedlingly human werwolf Angua. Perhaps best of all, we get Vetinari out of the Oblong Office and at his scheming, magnificent Macchiavellian best (he'll be Alan Rickman in the film, I know it). And while the book has much to say about war and its pointlessness, honour and justice and the nature of imprisonment, these thoughts are so inextricably woven into the comedy that you'd never notice you were thinking at all. Magnificent.

Jingo review.
Jingo is a political thriller.In Jingo a new continent has risen from the ocean mid-way between Ankh-Morpokian and Klatchian waters and now Sam Vimes as well as the assorted species of the night watch including new constables Shoe and Swires have to stop a crime so big that there are no laws against it:war.If you like reading sci-fi,fantasy then read Jingo by terry pratchett.If you enjoy this book then read books 8,15,19,24,27 and 32.

War - what is it good for?
'Jingo' is Terry Prathett's 21st Discworld novel, and the 4th to feature Sam Vimes and the City Watch as lead characters. The 3 previous City Watch novels - 'Guards! Guards!', 'Men At Arms' and 'Feet Of Clay' ranked amongst the very best of the Discworld novels, but sadly 'Jingo' is a more middling Pratchett work. It's by no means a bad book as such, and contains plenty of good jokes along the way, but compared to the depth of 'Feet of Clay' in terms of plot construction, character building and underlying themes 'Jingo' this is very much a straight-forward romp. The central message of 'Jingo' that racism is bad is a very obvious one, and Pratchett handles it with all the subtlety of a brick, while the plot is basic and uninvolving. Pratchett also goes to great pains to invoke Lovecrafts' 'The Call of Cthulhu' with a story featuring an ancient island raised from the sea complete with weird angles and monstrous octopi murals, then oddly fails to follow through an actually deliver the monster. Read it for the jokes, and some business with Nobby going in drag, but despite it's nautical nature 'Jingo' is a very shallow novel, and something of a disappointment compared to previous delights.