The Internet Book Database of Fiction

Monstrous Regiment /Discworld /29



Why do you read Discworld books? Yes, yes, anyone? You there, in the back, what do you say?

Humor (or Humour as the case may be)! Yes, that's exactly right! You read Discworld novels for the laugh-out-loud, bust a nut, fall down laughing funny stuff. Sure, occassionally Terry slips in some social commentary, he's got some decent characterization skills and his command of the language is good enough that he understands how to use possessives properly (Bob slaps Forrest Carter with a fish) but that's NOT why you pick up one of his books.

So what do you say to a Discworld novel that is so UN-funny that this passage qualifies as a footnote after a bolt is fired by a crossbow dropping on the ground:
"And failed to hit anything, especially a duck. This is so unusual in situations like this that it must be reported under new humor (<<note the americanized spelling) regulations. If it had hit a duck, which quacked and then landed on somebodies head, this would, of course, have been very droll and would certainly have been reported. Instead, the arrow drifted in the breeze a little on the way and landed in an oak tree some thirty feet away, where it missed a squirrel."

Oh wait, now that I read that again I find that I am falling out of my chair laughing ... well no, not really. I did, however, just notice that Terry is incompetent in the area of bow weapons. This makes the passage funnier than it was but it's still quite lacking in humor. Maybe that's because Terry is trying to write in something other than his native language (the Queen's English), I'm sure I don't know.

So, you take a Discworld novel, remove anything that vaguely resembles that peculiar English sensibility known as 'humour', eliminate almost all references to previous discworld characters, substitute moderate quantities of watered down feminist dogma (he's still willing to admit that all girls of a certain age are irresistibly drawn to the color 'pink', the sexist hack) and what do you get? You get the 'Monstrous Regiment'. A regiment which proves that women are just as good as men in every way primarily by not ever engaging in pitched combat with an all male regiment.

At 30 novels in (Going Postal) and showing no signs of slowing down I can't even recommend this to fans of the series. Wait for the next novel, maybe he'll rediscover his humerous.

I think you are missing the point of the book - for one thing, the Discworld has progressed beyond it's slapstick roots, and the laugh-out-loud one shot wonders are replaced with more complex jokes that are spun through the narrative.

I DO however agree that Monstrous Regiment is hardly pterry at his best, and the pink joke was perhaps a litle badly judged.

Your analysis of arrows, and humor (No u) is rather flawed if you were to be consulting my copy (Doubleday Hbk, first impression). My footnote reads:

*And failed to hit anything, especially a duck. This is so unusual in situations like this that it should be reported under new humour regulations. If it had hit a duck, which quacked and then landed on somebody's head, this would of course have been very droll and would certainly have been reported. Instead, it drifted in the breeze a little and landed in an oak tree some thirty feet away, where it missed a squirrel."

italics show differences from your text. Note no mention of arrows, and the correct spelling of humour

I suspect you have a bum copy (the american version perhaps? - I know publishers have an urge to translate for Merkins - this may be why it isn't so good)


My feeling is that while Monstrous Regiment is not laugh out loud funny (but compared to Night Watch, the book directly before it, it's a walk in the park) the book IS witty, and you should perhaps be a little more flexible in your expectations of Discworld books.

It's still not the best (Night Watch outshines it by a couple of orders od magnitude, for instance)

the laugh-out-loud one shot wonders are replaced with more complex jokes that are spun through the narrative.
what few complex jokes existed were as stilted as that quoted footnote.

the pink joke was perhaps a litle badly judged.
i don't think the 'pink' joke was badly judged ... it was one of the few things about the book that actually amused. mostly because it was in direct opposition to the overall feminist slant of the book creating a tension which i am sure was intentional.

Your analysis of arrows, and humor (No u) is rather flawed if you were to be consulting my copy (Doubleday Hbk, first impression). My footnote reads:
okay, i'll cede that the work was modified by an incompetent editor in the US. although, i would still like to know if Terry mentions in the main text what was 'fired'. in my american version there is no reference to 'arrow' or 'bolt' when Maladict drops his crossbow which would make an entire footnote full of indefinite pronouns rather clumsy. 'must' does work better than 'should' though.

but then, my whole comment about Terry trying to write in American English, instead of the Queen's English was a joke itself ....

(but compared to Night Watch, the book directly before it, it's a walk in the park)
hey biatch, i liked Night Watch. no, seriously, i did. i don't remember that much about it cuz it's been awhile but it was good.

you should perhaps be a little more flexible in your expectations of Discworld books.

on a scale of 1-10, 5 is mediocre. this book is certainly below average for a Discworld novel and not better than average for anything else you could pull off the bookshelf. and i'm decrementing 1/2 point for getting a little too heavy handed with the feminist ideology. he's done this in previous books but it's never deformed the plotline before to this extent that i've ever seen. and i have read +15 of these books (including Wyrd Sisters) so i'm not speaking from a vacuum.

i reiterate, if you're starting on Terry Pratchett start somewhere else. if you're working your way through the series you can safely leave this one till near the last and not just because of chronological reasons. you'll not be missing much.

OK, sorry, I see your point.

couple of things (for the record mainly):

okay, i'll cede that the work was modified by an incompetent editor in the US. although, i would still like to know if Terry mentions in the main text what was 'fired'. in my american version there is no reference to 'arrow' or 'bolt' when Maladict drops his crossbow which would make an entire footnote full of indefinite pronouns rather clumsy. 'must' does work better than 'should' though.

'it' is the only usage anywhere on that page - there are neither arroews nor bolts.

(but compared to Night Watch, the book directly before it, it's a walk in the park)
hey biatch, i liked Night Watch. no, seriously, i did. i don't remember that much about it cuz it's been awhile but it was good.

I do too - I was just saying that it isn't the cheeriest of books. It's definately better than M.R., Going Postal and Once More, With Footnotes put together

on a scale of 1-10, 5 is mediocre. this book is certainly below average for a Discworld novel and not better than average for anything else you could pull off the bookshelf. and i'm decrementing 1/2 point for getting a little too heavy handed with the feminist ideology. he's done this in previous books but it's never deformed the plotline before to this extent that i've ever seen. and i have read +15 of these books (including Wyrd Sisters) so i'm not speaking from a vacuum.

this is pretty much my assesment too - I think I was overreacting to the arrow bit (which doen't apply to me and my copy)

Going Postal also sucks? damnit man, that's a bad habit for pratchett to be getting into.

'it' is the only usage anywhere on that page - there are neither arroews nor bolts.
then the editor made a change that needed to be made, he just didn't have the archery knowledge necessary to know that he should be referring to 'bolts'.

bob k. mando wrote:Going Postal also sucks? damnit man, that's a bad habit for pratchett to be getting into.

not sucks, exactly - it't just that Night Watch is better