“Monstrous Regiment” sets Pratchett’s farce against the real misery of a country that never stops fighting, and the mix works. Blind patriotism and the absurdities of sexism are its targets, and the jokes do not soften the hardship of the march. Some readers find the first half bleak before the story lifts. With a cast almost entirely new to Discworld, it leans little on earlier volumes.

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About the book

Monstrous Regiment is an action/adventure fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 31st novel in his Discworld series. It takes its name from a 16th-century tract by John Knox opposing female rule, titled The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women.

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Where the score comes from

The sources average 8.4 across 404 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 73% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Humour average of 7.8. That is how 8.3 comes out.