What do you do when a lost island rises in the middle of the sea? Claim it for your country! And what if there's counterclaims? Why then you go to war, of course. Vimes, Carrot, Angua, and the entire Watch sign up under Vimes' banner and head to Klatch. Vetinari enlists the help of Colon and Nobby, and Leonard of Squirm brings along his great invention.
I love this book. Nobby explores sexual magnetism, the difference between police and military is explored, and Vetinari tries juggling.
I woke at 3 AM and read it almost in one sitting. ( )

Jingo is the #21 book in the Discworld series and is the #4 book in the City Watch sub-series by Sir Terry Pratchett. It's not as great as Guards! Guards! or Men at Arms but is still a thought-provoking, silly, satire of a novel with a few things to say about the nature of war.

Jingo is a long-lost island floating up from the middle of the Circle sea, right smack dab in the middle of Ankh-Morpork and Klatch, and both nations claim ownership of it. This leads, of course, to war. Both nations start plotting and scheming. But this isn't a war book like normal war books. It's a Pratchett book after all.

Jingo focuses on some of my favorite Discworld characters: Commander Vimes; Captain Carrot and the rest of the Ankh-Morpork Watch; and Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. The plot in particular focuses on Commander Vimes, because after all, isn't war just an excuse for Captain Sam Vimes to get involved. If war is a crime, then who better to go after the criminals and stop it than a copper? And he brings the whole Watch with him. And It's not just war that Pratchett sends up here. He also takes jabs at racism, sexism, nationalism.

Of course, there is a lot more going on than just two nations setting out to wage war. Commander Vimes feels like he's out of touch and losing control of the Watch to Captain Carrot, who has been actively recruiting new guardsmen. Since Carrot joined the Watch, the number of guards has grown from three men to over forty men, or actually, creatures. Thanks to Carrot, the Watch now includes dwarfs, gargoyles, a golem, a troll, a gnome, a werewolf and a zombie. Carrot is, of course, totally oblivious to Vimes's concerns, as his only objective is to uphold the law and protect the citizens of Ankh-Morpork. He has the kind of charisma that lets him organize a football game between two armies poised at the brink of war, and make criminals beg to confess. There's also a subplot about Corporal Nobbs trying to get in touch with his feminine side, which was quite frankly, one of the funniest bits of the books.

The ending is brilliant and quite hilarious (I won't spoil it for you). Let's just say the power of football and Carrots' charisma as well as Vimes' desire to peg war as crime saves the day.

Give a warring crowd sports, a strong leader to unify them, and threaten them with the legal system - if you want to stop war or at least, keep it at bay.

( )

One of Prachett's finest, this is a meditation on international politics, racism, war, and humanity delivered through the medium of low fantasy. It shouldn't work, but his astute eye and winning combination of cynicism, optimism, great characterisation, and really good jokes deliver. Perhaps not one for the Pratchett newbie, there might be a little too much backstory required to really appreciate the character development or motivations. ( )

One of my favorites of the Discworld novels. Always enjoyable to spend time with the Watch, and this time around, an extended visit with Lord Vetinari. While the story itself is very accessible, the reader will appreciate Jingo more if having read the previous City Watch books.

While there's no question about the subject matter (war) and attitudes (the titular jingoism) being addressed, the book manages to escape being preachy by virtue of the strong characters and a wit that skewers both sides in a fabricated conflict between nations. As usual, a Discworld book that remains as relevant today (in some ways, eerily more so) as when it was published. ( )

Review found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2022/12/17/book-review-jingo-by-terry-pratchett/