This book is quite excellent. It is highly amusing, like most of the Discworld books are and it has an insidiously amazing message if your looking for it. The obvious messages seem to be that discrimination against women is bad and that blindly following religious writings doesn't get you very far. Both of these are good, but it is interesting that the theme of the book also applies so well to homosexualtity and the common "don't ask, don't tell" policy that is expected and even enforced in the US military. I can only assume that Pratchett was not unaware of this reading of his novel. I really don't know what his views are on the subject, but I find it extremely hard to believe that he is against homosexuals in the military after reading this book.

Even without that message, though, Pratchett does some of his best work in this novel. The characters are interesting, their conundrums are believable, and the conclusion is exciting. Anyone who likes the Discworld series should pick up this book. ( )

Samuel Vimes is Commander of Ankh-Morpork's police and now a Duke. He has been sent to Borogravia to stop a war. It is an unstable and backward country which seems always to be at war with someone about something. The army is recruiting again but choices for new personnel are slim. But they keep trying. A recent drive has brought in a new batch which seem odd, to be polite. It includes a vampire, a troll and an Igor"•a humanoid seemingly stitched together from spare parts. And then there is Polly a barmaid, who has disguised herself as a boy. They're thrown into the fray with little or no training. ( )

Not a Discworld Classic: There are those who will buy this book simply to have it in their Pratchett collection (I did). Fair enough. It is written by Terry Pratchett so it is guaranteed to be smoothly written with wry humour, mild satire and a tragic yet fondly deprecating look at what passes for humanity.

Unfortunately the underlying message and sermon here is delivered with all the integrity of a multi-millionaire pop star protesting about world poverty and the chokingly politically-correct message is as embarrassing as your father dancing at a wedding. As a whole the book is not funny enough to be engaging, with weak slapstick taking the place of the usual witty humour and the characters too thin for you to care about. The plot is just silly, devoid of believability (is that a word?) and barely has enough substance for a short story let alone a novel. The book then ends on a decidedly jingoistic note in complete contrast to the rest of the story and leaves you feeling completely depressed and like you've wasted your time reading it at all.

All in all this book feels awkward and rushed, with the bare bones of an idea but with way too little thought or planning for the standard we expect from this author. Sadly, when you produce such a high quality for so long expectations will rise and Monstrous Regiment fails to reach them.

My husband loves Terry Pratchett's books and is always telling me that I need to read them. So I finally took him upon the offer and was pleasantly surprised with Monstrous Regiment.. It kept me engrossed with the story so much that I didn't want it to end. I am now hooked on Pratchett and can't wait to read another one of his novels. ( )

Another Terry Pratchett classic, Monstrous Regiment reflects our own society within that of the hilarious discworld. This book just gets funnier as you read on. Recommended for all Terry Pratchett fans out there.