Book review: Nation by Terry Pratchett

Thank you to the publisher for sending us a review copy and to Xanadu Press Person Jackie Monahan for writing this review!

A pair of 13-year-olds from opposite ends of the globe find themselves thrust into the position of being the moral and seemingly magical custodians of an island that has been swept clean of its inhabitants by a tsunami of unprecedented size. Daphne is the lone survivor of an English ship that’s been tossed into the jungle like a toy. She’s the educated and inquisitive daughter of royalty. Mau has returned from a neighboring island, having completed phase one of a solo initiation rite. He inhabits the world between boyhood and manhood, believing he has no soul. The two young founders of this embryonic nation are joined by a steady stream of survivors, all questioning their previously held belief systems.

Pratchett’s vision of a tropical post-tsunami world springs to life in human terms that transcend time and place in his latest effort, Nation. The New York Times bestselling author creates a 19th century parallel universe that is recognizable enough, but has literary permission to create its own history and rules of existence. Proper British values vie with ancient native customs. Gods of stone and metal are revered and offer the promise of salvation. A mysterious cave contains ancestral bones and untested legends. Locaha, the death god watches over the fledgling colony, never far away and always in a cheerful mood.

Illustrating his mastery of human nature, both good and evil, Pratchett’s characters engage in commentary that indicts societal bias and notions of Caucasian superiority. The prolific author (more than three dozen books and too many awards to list, including the Carnegie Medal) has a straightforward style, allowing the reader to discover his hidden revelations without extended melodrama or convoluted twists.

Even so, discoveries abound, both scientific and human, that unfold in layers, each adding a colorful square to the quilt of his emerging civilization. Pratchett sets forth a collision course between science and superstition, captains and cannibals, history and heritage, and ultimately, sacrifice and survival. Add a whisper of romance and Pratchett’s ability to quip and quarrel, and you’ll find an originality and imagination big enough to house the alternate universe he creates.

Nation delivers, and you may even want to apply for citizenship before civilization
sets in.