If ever there was a Discworld novel to introduce new readers to Pratchett’s brilliance, this is it. And don’t worry if you aren’t familiar – try this and then work through the 30+ others.

It began as a sudden strange fancy . . . Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time . . . And now she's enlisted in the army, and is searching for her lost brother. But there's a war on. There's always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them. All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a vampire with a lust for coffee. Well . . . they have the Secret. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of . . . the Monstrous Regiment

'The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical...who has a multifarious genius for strong parody...Who writes amazing sentences.'
A.S. Byatt, New York Times

"Surprisingly meaningful but never short of hilarious: a monstrous success for Pratchett."
Kirkus Reviews

"Monstrous Regiment is most often spirited and shambolic, but it has some serious heft. Pratchett is on the side of those who make very little fuss, which means he gets to shiv those who do."  Kerry Fried, The New York Times Book Review

"Pratchett flexes his satirical muscles again, with the follies of war his theme....Thoroughly funny and surprisingly insightful."
Regina Schroeder, Booklist

Sir Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998 and in 2009 was knighted for his services to literature. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie. His first Discworld novel for children, THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS, was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal. In December 2007 he announced that he had been diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy, a rare variant of Alzheimer's disease.   More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation