The story of Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment is no less bizarre and entertaining as his previous titles. Set against the backdrop of war, it’s a sort of comedic, fumbling telling of a group of females girls, each enlisting in the army in order to find someone who went to war but never returned. The army is entirely male, and the idea of having women in the army would be laughable, so it is that the girls decide to dress up as men, and for bits they don’t have, they use rolled up socks.

Monstrous Regiment is a brilliant page turner, offering humour and drama in droves. The war itself is a ludicrous premise, as eveyrtime there is a flood, two nations living side by side are unlevelled – meaning that during the flood,one side could be seen as invading the other, even if it was a case of the flood changing ground.

This has led to war for many, many years – this time however, it’s different; this time a bunch of girls are going in as men ready and will accidentally become involved in a political conspiracy and national story which reaches the ears of one Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork.

Admittedly the book is soaked in prologue before it really starts to get going. I felt tired at times reading the first few pages of the book, as it read as overly drawn out and lacking the punch I so expected from Pratchett. He of course, later delivers this, but to be honest I was ready to give up after the rather dull start.

It may not have drawn me in immediately, but there was a deep satisfaction and pleasure in finishing Monstrous Regiment which left a big grin on my face

Perseverance has its own rewards, however, and pursuing in the exploits of Polly and Co, with Sergeant Jackrum in leading (perhaps the most feared and equally respectd man in the surrounding countries), it’s Band of Brothers (or in this case sisters) meets Python-esque humour.

There are plenty of plot developments, the characters really do grow, and you start to bond in sympathy for their cause. It’s as though you’re egging them on to go for it, having overcome the chauvanism displayed by many of the foolish men that took them for granted. They may not have muscle, but as is the case with most women, they surely have the brains to outwit those short of a few cells.

The group is accompanied by Leiutenant Blouse, who comes across as the Scooby Doo of the group, for want of a better example. Often you’ll find him in a situation where he’s relayed a plan which someone else came up with, but in order to make it happen they have to trick him into thinking he came up with the idea. It’s brilliant, and it’s incredibly funny.

Twists and turns start to make themselves known around the last quarter of the book, when revelation upon revelation makes itself known. Just when you think, there couldn’t be anymore surprises, suspicion is thrown your way at a possibility but it’s ot convincing until it’s confirmed, and even then it’s quite the shock, in a sort of “Well I never would have guessed that!”.

Monstrous Regiment is a brilliant page turner, offering humour and drama in droves

It’s interesting to note that Pratchett always manages to make the underdog the most engaging and entertaing characters; be they female, a failing wizard or three overly large witches, the strength of character and determiniation is always triumphant – offering an unfettered sense of accomplishment and a little cheesy, feel good factor.

It may not have drawn me in immediately, but there was a deep satisfaction and pleasure in finishing Monstrous Regiment which left a big grin on my face, and memories of some ingenious and hilarious moments, coupled with human drama and a satirical look at the superficiality of war, and how sometimes even women are can be worse men than men can be themselves. Perhaps secretly, the world is run by men dressed as women….

Verdict: Enjoyable satirical take on the War genre, with Pratchett’s usual tale of strange names, a cocophony of odd characters, and a blend of drama finished with a big dollop of humour