Jingo

Pratchett takes aim at jingoism, the eagerness for war wrapped in patriotic language, and the satire is pointed and funny. The pompous noblemen raising regiments, the newspapers stirring up fear and the ordinary citizens suddenly suspicious of their Klatchian neighbours are all recognisable, and the book's message about prejudice is clear without being preachy. The scenes of ordinary citizens repeating what they read in the newspapers are especially sharp, and they feel as relevant now as when the book first appeared.

Vimes is at his most stubborn and principled, refusing to let the march to war distract him from a crime, and his journey to Klatch is full of comic adventure. The Patrician's own unusual expedition, accompanied by the inventor Leonard of Quirm, provides some of the funniest scenes in the series. Sergeant Colon and Nobby Nobbs provide broad comedy on their own misadventures, and their bumbling journey turns out to matter more than anyone expects.

The plot has many strands and can feel scattered, and some of the humour about Klatchian culture deliberately plays with stereotypes in order to undercut them, which some readers may find uneven. Readers new to the Watch should begin earlier in the sequence. For established fans, it is a rewarding, thoughtful comedy. About 437 pages in the HarperTorch paperback.