Monday, August 6, 2012

Jingo

The twenty-first book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett was published in 1997. The books in the series are not necessarily sequential and often deal with different sets of characters. The characters featured in Jingo are primarily from the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, the city's force against crime. Included in this group is Sir Sam Vimes, commander of the Watch, Captain Carrot who is six foot but was raised by dwarfs, Detritus, a troll, Corporal Angua, a werewolf and Reg, a zombie - not your normal police force.

The story begins when an island appears between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch with both countries wanting to lay claim to the new land even to the extent of going to war over the ownership of Leshp. Only Sam Vimes and the Patrician Vetinari voice their opposition to the proposed battle and outlawed they strive against the odds to stop the inevitable disaster.

Pratchett has created a fantasy world populated with an assortment of zany characters to not only entertain but in this case to also underline the futility of war and its effect on the people involved.

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