Monstrous Regiment: A Discworld Novel

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Despite her apprehensions regarding Strappi, she kisses the Duchess - that is, she kisses a painting of said noble - and by doing so, joins up. I joined t'see exciting forrin places and meet erotic people! declares Carborundum, a rumbling troll in search of adventure who probably means exotic people. The platoon also includes an Igor, an abstinent vampire, a pyromaniac, a pregnant girl, a religious zealot modelled after Jeanne d'Arc, a couple of runaways from a correction house, etc. Together they will become famous as the Monstrous Regiment and they will change the course of history.

Polly Perks has to become a boy in a hurry if she wants to find her missing brother in the army. Cutting off her hair and wearing the trousers is easy. Going to war however, is not. Polly Perks's brother Paul is missing in action after fighting in the Borogravian army. Paul is naive and believes what he is told regardless of the credibility or political leanings of the source, and even though Polly is more qualified to take over the family business (a famous pub known as "The Duchess"), according to Nugganitic law, women cannot own property, so if Paul does not return the pub will be lost to their drunken cousin when their father dies. Wazzar says, "I am to take command of the Army." which is an obvious reference to Jeanne d'Arc, (Joan of Arc) who led the French army against the English while dressed as a man, and believed she heard the voice of God. Wazzer hears the voice of the Duchess. This foreshadows Wazzar's role later in the novel in terminating the war and also gives a very large hint that the Duchess is not alive anymore. The bulk of Monstrous Regiment takes place in the small, bellicose country of Borogravia, a highly conservative nation, whose people live according to the increasingly strange (and harmful) decrees of its favored deity, Nuggan. The main feature of his religion is the Abominations; a long, often-updated list of banned things. These things include garlic, cats, the smell of beets, people with ginger hair, shirts with six buttons, anyone shorter than three feet (namely dwarves, children and babies), sneezing, jigsaw puzzles, chocolate (which was once Borogravia's staple export, plunging the country into increasing poverty), crop rotation (which denigrated Borogravia's food supplies), and the colour blue.

The line, "One, Two, Three! What We Are Fighting For!" is yet another reference to the famous anti-Vietnam War song 'I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag' by Country Joe MacDonald and the Fish. The Night Watch goes to War! Or, at least, that was my expectation before I started the novel. Only thing is, this Discworld novel is not exactly about the Night Watch, even if Sam Vimes, Angua and a couple of others do participate in the conflict. The theme chosen by Sir Terry is indeed the lampooning of martial mentality, but the main actors are a bunch of fresh recruits in the army of Borogravia. Each of these recruits harbors a secret identity, and I guess it is not much of a spoiler to mention that for some of them that identity has to do with gender roles. National anthems, almost without exception, make reference to victories over enemies and rising up to become free - not surprising given that is usually how a nation is formed. Grace refers to Polly as a 'regular Don Joo ann' which is a reference to the famous fictional lady's man popularized in the opera Don Giovanni by Mozart and the epic poem by Byron.

Yüzbaşı Bluz'ün mektubundaki "terfi sayesinde de günlüğüm 1 şilin arttı" bilgisinden hareket eden az işli bir arkadaşımız alt.fan.pratchett 'da Sterlin/Borogoravian Paritesi hesaplamış. Aşırı eğlenceli bir şey böyle insanlar olduğunu bilmek, 1 Sterlin 11.16 Borogravia Şilini ediyormuş bu arada. I audibly snorted more times while reading this book than I did during all my other reads this year combined. The line about the "Road to perdition" comes from Albert Einstein: "The road to perdition has ever been accompanied by lip service to an ideal." On the periphery, we get a few glimpses at this mess from the POV of Commander Vimes and deWord as this business is involving Ankh-Morpork, too (so long as they can help an underdog against a royal without having to spend too much money). Women joining the army are regarded as an Abomination Unto Nuggan, so Polly decides to dress up as a man (another Abomination) and enlists as Private Oliver Perks (taking her name from the folk song Sweet Polly Oliver) a song that her father sang to her when she was a young girl.Borogravia'nın dandik tanrısı da durumu hiç mi hiç kolaylaştırmıyor. Daha önce Son Kahraman kitabında da gördüğümüz, Nuggan, tepesi dökük saçları, tuhaf bıyığı, kısa boyu ve piknik tüpünü andıran imajı ile açıkçası Dunmanifestin'in popüler çocuğu değil. Ve Klatch'ın Timsah Tanrısı Offler'ın hakkında "bir tanrının asla böyle bir bıyığı olmamalı" dediğini Nuggan, inananlarının ne yapması gerektiğiyle değil de ne yapmaması gerektiğiyle daha çok ilgilenen bir tanrı. Kutsal kitabını sıklıkla güncelleyen Nugan (kitabın sonunda ayrılmış olan boş sayfalarda yeni günahlar beliriyor) yapbozlar, sarımsak, çikolata, kediler, istiridyeler ve cücelerden sonra bebekler ve mavi rengi de günah ilan ettiğinden beri de kendi halkı tarafından da zorlukla tahammül edilen bir tanrı. Pratchett's mention of "Lord Rust's regiment" gives the reader a good clue as to what is happening with and to the Ankh-Morport troops. His style is described very unflatteringly thoroughly in Jingo and Night Watch so the reader knows his troops are going to fare badly. DeSoze'un Borogravia birlikleri tarafından durdurulduğunda söylediği "Civis Morporkias sum, efendim. Ben bir Ankh-Morpork vatandaşıyım." Roma'dan alınma bir tabir. Tıpkı 2000 yıl önce dünyanın birçok köşesinde Civis Romanus sum diyen roma vatandaşlarının güvenlik içinde seyahat edebilmesi gibi, Ankh-Morpork da tartışmasız dominantlığıyla kendi vatandaşlarına bu güveni verebiliyor. Lieutenant Blouse has trouble putting the halter on his 'stallion' and Polly comes to his aid saying, "You've got the waffles twisted and the snoffles are upside down". This either shows that she doesn't know as much about horses as she lets on or that the terms are different in Discworld from Roundworld as Pratchett is poking fun at the various parts and types of bridles by creating two words from one Roundworld one - Snaffle bitts/bridles. In addition, Blouse's stallion which is named after General Tacticus' horse Thalecephalos, is really a mare - another female in disguise in the regiment. Civis Morporkias sum, sir." is a reference to the time of the Roman Empire, where a person could supposedly walk anywhere in the Empire protected only by the words "Civis Romanus sum" or "I am a Roman citizen", knowing that the Empire would extract swift punishment on anyone who dared harm even one of its people.

Disk'in en güzel kitaplarından biri olsa da Canavar Alayı, rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim ki en komiği değil. Onlarca muazzam an ve kıkır kıkır gülmeme neden olan tepecik içermesine rağmen karanlık, üzüc�� ve bazen öfkelendirici bir kitap bu. Bu arada rahatlıkla tek başına, serilerden bağımsız olarak okunabilecek bir kitap elimizdeki. Later, she finds out that Shufti is another girl, and a pregnant one. She also joined the army to find her man; in this case, the father of her child, who she'd only known for a few days, and is known as Johnny. ...So definitely, without doubt, read the book. There are some terrific characters introduced here. The protagonist, Polly Oliver Ozzer Perks, is a very likeable girl, and the question of whether she is a lovable girl—a hero to adore and/or emulate—doesn’t really even arise. I’d be entirely happy to have Polly on my team any day, and I’d not hesitate to call on her in time of need. She’s smart and solid. That’s high praise from me.