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A review by bwandyn
Jingo by Terry Pratchett
5.0
Until I reach the fan-favorite Night Watch, this is the best City Watch novel. Thus making it the best Discworld novel. Thus making it the best Terry Pratchett novel. Thus making it one of the greatest British works in history. Suck it, Banksy. Try real art.
It’s the same sort of murder mystery / detective work as its proceeding novels, but the expanded scale of solving a war effort against a foreign power makes it that much sillier. Similar to how the previous book pulls its climax from Terminator 2, Jingo happens to share a lot with Lawrence of Arabia. Xenophobia also gets introduced in the Discworld, with mostly positive results!
There’s not much in the way of character development, which might benefit the reputation these books have as “readable in any order”. Corporal Nobbs crossdresses a little and gets in touch with his feminine side, but this is just a long gag. It wraps very near to how it starts, but it’s more about the journey than the destination. It’s about seeing these established characters on a proper adventure, and watching the chemistry that bubbles up when they’re challenged. Even when the plot moves in predictable patterns, it’s the dialogue that carries it. It’s absolutely the funniest book throughout. The last dozen or so chapters kept me grinning all the way to the end.
Jingo is a masterclass in world-building, wartime storytelling, and satirized racism. An absolute highlight of this series.
It’s the same sort of murder mystery / detective work as its proceeding novels, but the expanded scale of solving a war effort against a foreign power makes it that much sillier. Similar to how the previous book pulls its climax from Terminator 2, Jingo happens to share a lot with Lawrence of Arabia. Xenophobia also gets introduced in the Discworld, with mostly positive results!
There’s not much in the way of character development, which might benefit the reputation these books have as “readable in any order”. Corporal Nobbs crossdresses a little and gets in touch with his feminine side, but this is just a long gag. It wraps very near to how it starts, but it’s more about the journey than the destination. It’s about seeing these established characters on a proper adventure, and watching the chemistry that bubbles up when they’re challenged. Even when the plot moves in predictable patterns, it’s the dialogue that carries it. It’s absolutely the funniest book throughout. The last dozen or so chapters kept me grinning all the way to the end.
Jingo is a masterclass in world-building, wartime storytelling, and satirized racism. An absolute highlight of this series.