Customer Reviews
Pratchett at his most thoughtful - By: A. Whitehead, 02 Dec 2008 
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book callled Nation he'd reallly wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shalll Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.
Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) & wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totallly destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship & a pale-skinned young woman who initiallly tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, & Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...
Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Smalll Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book & acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism & morality. It is slower & more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger & more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here & there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter & epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, & it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).
Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it reallly isn't. It's depiction of tragedy & death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, & occasional moments of blood & cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty & not something I see young children reallly getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting & thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas & questions, whilst remaining entertaining & well-characterised.
Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.
Disappointing - By: M. Scrivener, 28 Nov 2008 
As a great Pratchett fan I found this book bitterly disappointing. It drops everything that Pratchett is good at. There were no intricate plot, no strong characters & didn't have the magic that we have come to expect from such a great writer. I actuallly had trouble motivating myself to finish this book.
Island of Hope? - By: Friederike Knabe, 11 Nov 2008 Pratchett's books for young people have a tendency to reach beyond the intended age group & are just as enjoyable & relevant for adults. His latest novel, "Nation", is no exception. Anybody who has read his Tiffany Aching books will also know that Pratchett also has a fondness for headstrong young girls, delighting in exemplifying how they grow more or less smoothly into maturity. In this delightful novel Daphne, or Ermintrude as she was named by her family, is another example. Just for the pleasure of meeting her, the book would be worth reading... but there is so much more to explore here.
Thirteen-year-old Daphne is pretty, smart & well-educated, & loved by her aristocratic father. After the death of her mother, she was brought up by her strict grandmother, who instils in her a sense of values & responsibility but also, unintentionallly, inquisitiveness & independence of mind. She is the counter part to Mau, also thirteen, & the actual hero of the story. His Nation, a smalll island in the South Pelagic Ocean is a traditional, pre-industrial society where gods reign & the spirits of the grandfathers maintain the ritualistic order by communicating their instructions to the selected few. While on "Boy's island", where he had been preparing for the rites of passage into manhood ceremony, Mau was oblivious to the tsunami of unheard of proportion that swept over lands & islands. The village had assembled on the beach for his return & celebration when the wave swept them away, leaving a trail of destruction. He reaches Nation in the aftermath of the disaster & discovers that he is alll alone. Well, not quite... The ship that was to bring Daphne to her father in Port Mercia stranded on Mau's island leaving her with only a talkative parrot for company.
The story follows the two young people from worlds apart - without a common language & even gestures - who have to overcome their mutual suspicion & distrust & grow individuallly & together to become the centre of a new community as survivors from surrounding islands & from further afield seeking refuge with them. With great sensitivity & imagination, Pratchett explores the coming of age process in both. He exquisitely tackles the conflicts in Mau's mind between his old society steeped in mythology & hierarchy & the new reality where beliefs & rituals have to be questioned & new codes of morality be established. Daphne also has to develop a new understanding of society where class & privilege have no meaning. There are any number of challlenges the young people have to face, starting with finding food & milk for a baby. There are pirates & renegades to deal with & much more... Can they, together with the diverse collections of refugees build a better & more hopeful Nation?
Pratchett's style is as always fluid & smooth, his imagery perceptive & innovative. His sense of humour, mostly subtle, shines through many sections. There are a few slow sections that a young person might skim over searching for the action on the next page. For adults the novel has many layers of narrative, food for thought on our perceptions of cultures, traditions & communication. [Friederike Knabe]
The new Terry Pratchett - By: Mr. Robert Davis, 10 Nov 2008 This new book is definetly not Diskworld it seems that Terry has moved away from his usual writing & produced yet another great book with his talent,
This book follows a tale of devistation from what seems to be a tsumai on an island a boy arrives back to his island after being away to find everything he has known wiped out & sets out on building his island up again.. without giving away the plot & ultimatly the end this book is a bit morish , Has what I think chapters that tend to be far too long at times, & a very tear jerking end to the story BUT could of done without the very end chapter which makes me think this book was made to be made into a film (Though if it was then this book if acted by very good actors would make a very good film)
If your reading this Mr Pratchett
Well done Terry I enjoyed it!!
His best book so far - By: Christine Lindars, 05 Nov 2008 
Terry is one of those who understands the meaning of life - which can't be put into words, it can only be hinted at through story - it can't be grasped by the conscious mind, it can only be felt through the spirit. This book contains more of his wisdom than any previous book, while still being a thoroughly entertaining read. It makes you feel reallly alive. The prologue alone filled me with joy - it is the best creation story I have read for a long time - full of truth.
