Nation

I’m a bit ashamed to admit that this is my first Terry Pratchett book. I have read Good Omens, but since both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wrote that book, I don’t really count it as reading a Terry Pratchet book. As a fantasy lover, for years, I have had people suggest I read Terry Pratchett. With Nation, I finally have, and, man, have I been missing out.

Nation follows Mau and Daphne as they try to survive on a tropical island after a tidal wave wiped out the rest of the population. Mau is a native of the island, and Daphne is a noblewoman from England. They are both around the age of 15-16. As they struggle on the island, more survivors begin to show up, and Mau is placed in the difficult position of leading the newly devastated people. Add a few unruly sailors from the ship Daphne was on, and you have an exciting survival adventure to read.

I enjoyed this book. However, I did find myself going back to re-read sections as the book changed perspective from characters. Most of the shifts were easy to identify. There were a few moments, however, when I had to do a double-take. I had to make sure I understood which perspective we were currently in.

This book also toed the line between reality and fantasy. The characters often talked about the gods of the island, but even with the moments it seemed like magic may be happening, it never explicitly stated that magic happened. The book seems to leave the interpretation up to the reader as to whether or not they believe the gods existed in this novel.

Overall, this book is suitable for all ages. Nothing is discussed in graphic detail. Even the hints of romance were extremely secondary to the rest of the story.

If you want to buy it, you can find it here.