Monstrous Regiment (by Terry Pratchett)

In my gradual re-read of Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series, I had reached ‘Monstrous Regiment’, which I only previously read once in March 2004.  It was shortly after publication date, and I read it to my two sons, who were teenagers at the time. We had mixed feelings about it at the time, and I recalled it being about a girl who joined the army… so I didn’t think it would be all that appealing.

It turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. Polly is the main character, and...