![]() The main character is literally coming to age by the practices of his tribe when a strange and sudden tragedy forces him to come into full adult responsibility for the lives and health of others. This title is an exploration of the coming of age plot. If you feel this is makes me unqualified to review this book, click the no next the question was this helpful and move on to the next review. So going into this book, I probably have a pro-Pratchett bias. I must start by saying that Terry Pratchett is one of my top 10 favorite authors next to Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, PG Wodehouse and Robert Jordan. Parents looking for a book to listen to with their children can't go wrong here, and adults looking for a great story that really makes you think, shouldn't miss it. I have listened to it more times than I can now remember, and highly recommend it to everyone I know. The narrator is perfect, and I'm not sure any other narrator could have done what Stephen Briggs manages to do here. It's not something I can really describe, and I'm sure not every listener will have the same experience Profundity aside, this book is also a really fun, and really funny. Beneath that simple framework, this book somehow manages to touch places deep and profound, as the two protagonists, Mau and Daphne, grapple with the extraordinary circumstances they find themselves in, and begin to ask some big questions about the world, and about life, all the while unknowingly demonstrating to everyone around them what it means to be heroes, in the best and truest sense. On its surface, it is a simple story of a tsunami, a shipwreck, and survival on an isolated island in the Pacific (this is alternative history, so the oceans actually have different names in the book, but let's just call it the Pacific). Nation is a standalone novel, so you don't need to have read any of Prachett's other books to enjoy this one. This is one that I go back to, over and over, and get something new out of each time. It is hard for me to articulate how much I love this book, so this review is going to ramble a bit. Pratchett wrote, instead of one that is "augmented" musically by some editor or "sound manager" who really needs to find another line of work, very quickly. By the way, this would of course have been a five star review provided that what I had received was an oral interpretation of the book that Mr. Another alternative in these days of easy audio editing would be to offer two versions: one with background music and one without. I would like to suggest that Audible put a warning on such recordings, perhaps something like, "Please note that this book has been recorded with background music that may detract from your enjoyment of the literature you thought you were purchasing." I, for one, would avoid books with such warnings. With a storyteller like Terry Pratchett, no help is needed. I want to hear the author's words, read by a good narrator (which Stephen Briggs is), and not some editor/director's idea of "mood music" to help me comprehend the story. Once again, a wonderful author's work is marred by "background music", a practice in books sold here that is increasing disturbingly. This book is a joy to read for any age and any level of understanding. It is evident that he knew from the first page how he was going to reach the last page, as well as the points he wished to make while getting there. I've read all of the Discworld series, and "Good Omens" as well, and feel that "Nation" is perhaps the best plotted story Pratchett has given us, if not his most meaningful philosophically. It has everything: Brit humour, pathos, adventure, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, theology, and a stack of other 'ologies. Pratchett doesn't win some sort of recognition for this one, somebody's just not paying attention. ![]() Pratchett's understanding of the human spirit, and his ability to distill that which we all feel and know into a story. The man reading this story does a truly fine job of interpreting characters and situations, and that alone makes this edition both worthwhile and entertaining. First of all, don't be mislead by the category of "young adult" reader. That said, I've been listening to "Nation," and find it amazing. ![]() Like a previous reviewer, I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett's, but not blind to the fact that some of his novels are better than others.
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