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Nation |  | Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: HarperCollins
List Price: $8.99
Buy New: $5.21
as of 11/25/2009 04:30 CST details
You Save: $3.78 (42%)
New (30) Used (4) from $5.21
Seller: indoobestsellers
Rating:  122 reviews
Sales Rank: 3026
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 0061433039
EAN: 9780061433030
ASIN: 0061433039
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When a giant wave destroys his village, Mau is the only one left. Daphne—a traveler from the other side of the globe—is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Separated by language and customs, the two are united by catastrophe. Slowly, they are joined by other refugees. And as they struggle to protect the small band, Mau and Daphne defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 122
 Great Story October 25, 2009
Middle-aged Professor (NY'er living in Ohio)
My fourteen-year old son and I both thought this book was terrific. An adventure story vaguely set in the 19th century in the South Pacific, it is a unique concoction. The book moves seamlessly back and forth between realism and fantasy, as it considers such issues and coming of age, loss, different cultures, imperialism and more. It covers these subjects with a slow starting but ultimately compelling plot that is both funny and highly literary. This book comes close to certain conventions, but remains unconventional. It is a great book for teens, and perhaps younger, that adults will also enjoy. It does include adult themes and adult endings, so below a certain age it may work less well.
 This book belonged in the trash October 22, 2009
M. Mills (Pacific Northwest)
0 out of 17 found this review helpful
I dont know how this book got by everyone without being pulled and thrown away. I have a feeling it was noticed and marked as a reject because on the top of the book someone took a black marker and drew a line across the top of every page. That wasnt my main gripe though. The first 40 pages were sticking out a quarter inch to half an inch from the rest of the book. When I looked closer I seen that the pages had come apart from the binding. I would have returned it but I have better things to do with my time an I didnt feel I deserved to be punished for their mistake(I hope it was a mistake).
This will not prevent me from buying my books through them however I have lost my confidence in their quality control.
ohh.....and the story was good but its in such bad shape I cant share it with anyone else.
Nation by Terry Pratchett October 3, 2009
Elizabeth W. Allgood (Wilsonville, OR United States)
Even though this book was written for children, I found it very enjoyable. The characters are rounded and true to their nature. The plot moves along at a good pace and the themes and morals are well thought out and handled with a light touch. I'm glad I listened to it on CD.
Mau and the Ghost Girl September 23, 2009
Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Nation (2008) is a standalone fantasy alternate history novel. It is set in mid nineteenth century and takes place on a small island within the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean.
In this novel, Mau is a boy in the Nation. He has been sent off by the whole population to Boys' Island to become a man. Equipped only with a knife, he has to build a canoe and return home.
Ermintrude is an English girl. She is sailing on the Sweet Judy to join her father at Port Mercia. Ermintrude greatly dislikes her name and would prefer to be called Daphne.
In this story, the Russian influenza has wiped out the King of England and 138 of his heirs. A ship is dispatched to find the new king and return him to England. It should meet the Sweet Judy along the way.
Mau has completed his canoe and is paddling home. Then a great tsunami comes and lifts the canoe high into the air. The violent motion knocks him unconscious.
Meanwhile, the Sweet Judy is sailing atop the great wave. Captain Roberts has lashed himself to the helm and is singing hymns praising the Lord. Roberts dimly sees an island straight ahead and is trying to steer between the hills when the ship comes down among the trees.
Mau paddles back to his home island and finds the whole populace gone. Trees have been knocked down and even the reef has been damaged. As he searches for his family, he notices that one branch is really an arm.
Mau goes into shock and carries all the bodies -- including two dogs -- to the lagoon for burial. He doesn't even notice the ghost girl who stands before him. Daphne leaves him to his task and returns to the remains of the Sweet Judy.
Mau hears the Grandfathers talking to him in loud voices, telling him to find the god stones and to perform the daily rituals. He doesn't see the god stones and doesn't know the rituals. Do they expect an untrained boy to do all these things? Apparently so.
The grandfathers tell Mau that he is the Nation. From him shall come a rebirth. He thinks that they are totally out of it.
Daphne finally gains the attention of Mau by leaving him fruit to eat. Mau has recovered enough to be hungry. The fruit bring on a raging hunger and he starts looking for more food.
Eventually Mau notices that the ghost girl is living in the remains of the big canoe. Daphne tries to prepare tea, but doesn't know how to cook and certainly doesn't have the proper ingredients. Mau almost gags on the scones and the tea upsets his stomach.
Then Daphne communicates the need to bury Captain Roberts and Mau drags the body to the lagoon. When he has prepared the body, Mau attaches a rock and wades out to the dropoff. As the captain's body falls into the depths, his cap floats up and Daphne reaches out for it.
She retrieves the cap, but steps off the edge and sinks into the sea. Mau is not about to lose another person, so he grabs a stone and steps off after her. They both pass the captain's body on the way down, but Mau finally reaches Daphne and begins hauling her up to the surface.
Mau hears more than the Grandfathers. While in the sea, he hears the god of death talking to him. Mau is very angry with the gods, but he listens to Locaha. He just doesn't do what he is told.
This tale shows the population growing as survivors follow Mau's smoke signal to the island. The new inhabitants bring new problems. But Mau remains the chief despite his young years. Gods and Grandfathers talk to him. Besides, he is intelligent and has the beginnings of wisdom.
This novel has many surprises as well as an eccentric view of life. Despite enemies and even friends, the Nation survives and even grows. Read and enjoy!
Highly recommended for Pratchett fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of southern isles, native customs, and a budding romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
 Not his easiest to read September 9, 2009
P. Edwards (Santa Rosa, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Nation is a well written and thought provoking book, but it's one big failing for me at least was that it's quite hard to engage with the lead characters. Certainly you can feel for them, but there's a certain amount of preach going on that makes them somehow feel like two-dimensional cut-outs employed in the purpose of allegory only with little real depth of their own.
You can see that the topics rae ones that Pratchett feels strongly about and wants you to feel strongly about too (as you should as they're good things to consider), but maybe it's a little overbearing here, I almost felt like I was reading one half of an internal argument, like it wanted a riposte that was never forthcoming, or maybe there's just a hint of some anger here, or maybe I'm just imagining this there.
Pratchett is of course as ever fluid in his prose and makes what he does seem almost too easy, but he's certainly being more earnest here (OK OK I said the same thing three times now). It's well worth the read but think of this is fitting in more with the style of the Tiffany Aching trilogy rather than the Sam Vimes or other Discworld Novels. This is totally in keeping though as Pratchett is one of those authors who just when you're getting comfortable suddenly ups and changes his style and this makes him tremendously exciting to follow. I just hope that something can be done for his frustratingly untimely EOA so we can see many more from him.
I've rated this three out of 5, not in relation to other authors, but purely in relation to Pratchett in general, compared to others it goes without saying that this would be within the 4-5 range.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 122
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