First let me say “This is NOT a Discworld novel!” Let me repeat that “This is NOT a Discworld novel!” While I’ve been a fan of the Discworld for a long, long time it, like Piers Anthony’s Xanth series, is suffering from fandom. The authors are almost required to churn out novels in the same settings with the same characters AND make them new and interesting because, well, it makes them bucket loads of cash.

Nation is… amusing. Mau a south Pacific island boy about to become a man is caught up in a tsunami that devastates the area and washes Ermintrude, who just might the Heir to the Crown, up on his home island. It’s hard not to give too much away to those who haven’t yet read this and I don’t want to spoil the story…

Ermintrude… What is it with British authors giving/using the STUPIDEST names they can think of for people, things and places? Pratchett’s done it for years as did J. K. Rowling and many others who’s names escape me. In particular the island names in ‘Nation’ are sadly pathetic.

The aftermath of the tsunami, the state of the British crown, ghosts of ancestors, evil sailors, cannibals, cannons and a foul mouthed parrot (who barely needs a PG rating). Nation has the subtle humor of Pratchett’s early work like ‘Johnny and the Bomb’ or The Bromeliad trilogy and not the slap you in the face yelling “Wasn’t that FUNNY?!” style that the Discworld novels have sadly devolved into.

The story starts out a little slow but keeps picking up the pace while offering some interesting things to contemplate about who really ‘discovered’ what around the world. Sorry, it’s really hard NOT to give away too much by saying even a little about the story. It’s entertaining and quite worth reading even if you’re not a fan of Pratchett.