Nation is a wonderfully composed and balanced novel; Terry Pratchett combines a beautiful and detailed world, witty satire and very thought-provoking elements. I really enjoyed Nation because of its subtle comedy yet involving and compelling characters. Pratchett created a novel which entertains not only fantasy lovers but others who aren’t so keen; Pratchett did this by creating a true to life world which is only moved into fantasy within the characters’ beliefs and minds.

I especially enjoyed Pratchett’s opening and closing scenes; the story begins with the story of how the world, the people and the sea were created in the eyes of The Nation, the tribe about whom the novel is written. Terry Pratchett wonderfully introduces you to the mind-set and setting of the story:

‘Imo set out one day to catch some fish, but there was no sea. There was nothing but Imo. So he spat in his hands and rubbed them together and made a ball of sea. Then he made some fish, but they were stupid and lazy. So he took some dolphins, who at least had learnt to speak, and he mixed them with clay and rubbed them in his hands and changed their shape and they became people.’

This inventive introduction brings us into the world of Mau and his people and then immediately tears it away again with the dramatic twist of the tsunami. The tsunami destroys Mau’s island and kills all his people, however, because Mau was sailing back from the boy’s island during his manhood trials he survived. Mau has to cope with the loss of everything and everyone he knew while rebuilding The Nation. During the tsunami a boat was shipwrecked on the island, and only a well-to-do girl survived.

Pratchett brilliantly involves scenes of hilarious misunderstandings as the two lost souls attempt to communicate; Pratchett combines this witty humour without ruining the moral and serious feel of the novel, and the problems that they face: problems such as the cannibal tribe, The Raiders; the Grandfathers trying to make Mau rebuild The Nation; and new white settlers.

I especially liked this novel because of its intelligent and well-thought out characters, its paced story-line and the wonderful setting. So far I have enjoyed this novel more than the others in the short-list, and I will definitely be reading more by Terry Pratchett.