Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Spotlight - Nation

One of my favourite authors, Terry Pratchett, brought out a new novel last month. Nation is about a young boy from an island in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean and a girl shipwrecked on the island who work together to reform the Nation after a tidal wave and which marooned the girl, destroyed the entire community on the Nation and its surrounding islands. Along the way, after some communication issues, they pick up additional survivors and learn some lessons (including how to make beer - by spitting in it and singing Baa, Baa Black Sheep sixteen times) as well as uncovering the shocking history of the Nation and a face-off with cannibals.

Despite not being one of Pratchett's famously witty Discworld novels, Nation more than holds its own in the satirical humour department as well as introducing the reader to some novel concepts and ideas. All in all, a really good read.

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