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Jingo | Rating | |
| C | |||
| Terry Pratchett | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Discworld | The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort, Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Witches Abroad, Small Gods, Soul Music, Feet of Clay, Interesting Times, Jingo, The Firth Elephant, Going Postal | ||
An island rises up out of the ocean halfway between Klatch and Ankh-Morpork, and suddenly war looms on the horizon for the valuable real estate. But it's not quite as spontaneous a as it first appears, and Commander Vimes of the Watch is convinced someone is engineering the conflict. But who? And why are they going to so much trouble to frame Klatch for the attempted assassination of the Klatchian Ambassador?
By and large, I enjoy Pratchett'sbooks starring Vimes. He has a simple, forthright way about him that is immensely appealing, the perfect cop in a world where even the laws of physics are imperfect. The cases he takes on, meanwhile, are intriguing, with some peculiarity to ensure they're unique even when the matter is as cliched and straightforward as catching a murderer. All with a Discworld twist, most evident in his very quirky underlings.
But Pratchett dropped the ball, this time. While Nobby and Carrot and the rest of the Watch is as peculiar as ever, the story isn't. Sure, I laughted at times, but as a whole the story wasn't really all that fun. Pratchett was trying, certainly — it's not like he played this one straight — but most of the jokes, odd behavior, and turns of phrase fell flat. And while a serious book might manage to be unintentioannly amusing enough to be worth reading, a failed comedy just dies.
Most prominent was the long, long stretch in the middle where Vimes and others are outside their familiar environs and wandering around Klatch. I won't go so far as to say nothing happens, but certainly very little does. It just seemed like a waste of my time, and could have been shortened considerably or even eliminated without losing much.
Pratchett is skilled enough to keep this story interesting enough to read, and there are individual spots where it actually works. But this is just one of the more forgettable episodes of Discworld. There are no memorable lines or scenes and there are no real developments for the world as a whole. But in the end, Jingo doesn't fail so much as it does simply not succeed.
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