Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5097 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-05
• Original language: English
• 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

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.

About the Author
Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie.

Customer Reviews

problem with this isis mp3 audio book
There is a problem with this audio cd - it does not play in order. ISIS have been informed of this so hopefully they will adjust the next releases.

The disc plays track 10, 11, 12, etc before it plays 1, 2, 3, and so on if playing on media player.

This has been caused by the naming of the tracks in each folder as:- track 1, track 2, etc, instead of track 01, track 02, etc.

This problem takes away two stars from the 5 star story.

Jingo (Discworld Novel) is a 5 star story about Sam Vimes, commander of the City Watch. Commander Vimes's obvious life-weary disbelief of all things political is a wonder to behold. This story follows Sam and his men into the war between Klatch and Ankh Morpork.

It is Mr Pratchett at his mercurial best - well worth reading and well worth listening to, in both the abridged version Jingo (Discworld Novels (Audio)) (read by, and enacted by, Tony Robinson) and this unabridged version (read by Nigel Planer). This unabridged version is also available in multidisc format (Jingo), but it is a lot more expensive.

Mr Robinson is my favourite reader of these books, Mr Planer is my least favourite, but has improved during his time reading these books and does an acceptable job on this one, but I still find him flat in comparison to Mr Robinson.

We have met the enemy and he is us
So said a character in a U.S. comic-strip about 50 years or so ago. And so says Terry Pratchett in his typically funny, absurd and thoughtful "JINGO" as he takes on the absurdity of war and those who have led us into war since time began.

Jingo features Commander Vimes and the men, women, dwarves, trolls and undead members of the Watch. Jingo opens with Ankh-Morpork on the brink of war. The small island of Leshp has risen miraculously from the Circle Sea. Although small and of little value to anyone the good citizens of Ankh-Morpork and their historical protagonists the Klatchcians each claim title to the land. Each claim ownership based on ancient claims of dubious origin. Sound familiar?

In very short order a Klatchian diplomatic mission arrives in Ankh-Morpork. However it it is clear that powerful forces of both nations are striving for the most efficient way to let loose the dogs of war. An assassination attempt is made, one in which Pratchett finds a way to evoke the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. The too simple solution, the "one arrow" theory is quickly lost in a swirl of conspiracy theories. The drums of war beat faster and a war council, led by a cast of characters each of whom could be played by Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove, assume control of war planning. In short order Commander Vimes find himsaelf and his men immersed in an invasion while at the same time the Patrician, Lord Vetinari seems bent on following his own secret course of action.

Of course a mere description of the plot of a Discworld book can never quite do it justice. It is impossible in a short review to reference the many asides, jokes, cynical observations and allusions to our own experience here. Captain Carrot find himself immersed in Klatchian culture, learns the language, adjusts to the desert culture (which seems clearly to be located in the Middle east) and ends up bearing a striking resemblance to Lawrence of Arabia. The Ankh-Morpork high command, led by gentlemen soldiers with little knowledge of military affairs and even less common sense reminded me of the British and French high command from WWI days. There are light moments throughout the book. Nobby goes undercover and discovers his softer side. The visual image one gets from that alone is worth the price of admission. Vimes meets his Klatchian counterpart in 71-hour Ahmed and their interplay forms the heart of Jingo. As events race (and events always race in a Discworld book) towards a conclusion we find a pensive Vimes realizing that he can deal with small crimes like murder, but wondering whether a meaningless war isn't the biggest crime of all and one in which his own nation bears as much responsibility for as its enemies:

"It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things."

Yes, Vimes like Pogo has met the enemy and has realized it is us. Towards the end of the the book 71-hour Ahmed turns to Vimes and says "there's plenty of reasons for fighting Ankh-Morpork. A lie isn't one of them." I'll leave it up to the reader to determine whether such a sentiment is one that has applicability outside of Discworld.

As with his other Discworld books, Pratchett makes you laugh so hard you don't even realize you're thnking and that is a wonderful feat.

Simply amazing...
I always wonder how Pratchett manages to become better with every bhook he writes. jingo is really one of the best novels i've ever read. Forget everything you know about Pratchett, forget the craziness of the first Discworld books, forget the fun, forget Discworld, cause this is serious stuff. Of course Pratchett is still funny, but that has become background. I wouldn't read Jingo because it's funny. Jingo (like Pratchett's other more mature novels) isn't only funny, but also much richer than the previous novels. The characters are now well-known and more developped, yet retaining the basic characteristics that define them. Vetinari, more obscure than ever, acts for the first time openly, instead of intriguing. Leonard da Quirm is the pèerfect counterbalance to Vetinari. The plot is a mix of crime novel (as all the Guard books, but this time even more misterious) and political satire. The island of Leshp actually refers to a small island that rose from the seas a few years ago in the Aegean sea, exactly between Greece and Turkey, and nearly drove those two countrys to war. Other examples are some small islands that China claims from Taiwan, or the Spratley islands in the South Chinese Sea, claimed by 7 countries or so. Pratchett never invents anything. He always takes from real life, mixes it up with Discworld logic, wraps it up in a clever story with characters more human than even humans (humans would never admit that they act like Discworld characters, but in fact they are even worse), puts a bit of philosophy into it, and voila your next masterpiece of the year. The book is so rich that everytime you read it, you find new elements in it. Pratchett is really the greatest english author since Shakespeare (really!).