Book Review - Nation by Terry Pratchett

I'm making my way through the Printz honors of 2009, and I have to say that this might be one of my favorites. Terry Pratchett is best known for his Discworld books and supposedly his hardcore fans might be disappointed with Nation just because it's not a Discworld book. But, if you're like me and you're not a huge fantasy reader, this just might be the best way to dip into Terry Pratchett's world. Nation starts with a catastrophe. A tsunami kills an entire island village while Mau, it's sole survivor is off becoming a man. He returns to find utter devastation -- everyone he knows is dead -- and a ship. Daphne, a royal heir, is also shipwrecked on the island. The baffling collision of their two worlds -- the small island nation and the British empire -- provides for many interesting encounters between Daphne and Mau, who have no choice but to get to know each other, in spite of their language barriers and a world of differences. As other survivors from nearby islands make their way to Mau's island, the novel builds towards another collision of differing factions, this time with Daphne and Mau on the same side.

By the time I finished Nation, I had fallen completely under the spell of Terry Pratchett. His writing is clever and entertaining, and in the right moments, completely tender and heartfelt. As I closed the book, I had to marvel at his talent, and I almost wanted to start all over at the beginning and enjoy it again.

* * * * *
Five out of five stars

RIYL: Terry Pratchett, survival stories, just plain old great books