Charlie was the standard derogatory name for the Viet Cong. It came from the Viet Cong being shortened to VC which in the international phonetic alphabet is Victor Charlie which in turn was shortened to Charlie. Civis Morporkias sum, sir." is a reference to the time of the Roman Empire, where a person could supposedly walk anywhere in the Empire protected only by the words "Civis Romanus sum" or "I am a Roman citizen", knowing that the Empire would extract swift punishment on anyone who dared harm even one of its people. Lieutenant Blouse has trouble putting the halter on his 'stallion' and Polly comes to his aid saying, "You've got the waffles twisted and the snoffles are upside down". This either shows that she doesn't know as much about horses as she lets on or that the terms are different in Discworld from Roundworld as Pratchett is poking fun at the various parts and types of bridles by creating two words from one Roundworld one - Snaffle bitts/bridles. In addition, Blouse's stallion which is named after General Tacticus' horse Thalecephalos, is really a mare - another female in disguise in the regiment. Grace refers to Polly as a 'regular Don Joo ann' which is a reference to the famous fictional lady's man popularized in the opera Don Giovanni by Mozart and the epic poem by Byron. I audibly snorted more times while reading this book than I did during all my other reads this year combined.

Because I'm about to besmirch an author I adore. And I'm glad to be following in other footsteps that had a similar hill to conquer. As far as I can tell, this installment of the Discworld series was published after the start of the second Iraq war. But while that might have been the reason for him writing this book, Sir Terry is settling the account with humanity's overall history of war. Thus, the story has elements from the Bosnian war, the two World Wars, perhaps even the Falkland wars as well. To give this book an additional edge (because that is how the author rolled), the story is also about gender roles, religious fanatism and the concepts of honour and freedom. The recruitment pamphlet from the Mothers of Borogravia has parallels to the activities of such women's patriotic organizations as the "Daughters of the American Revolution". The Four Lesser Horsemen; Panic, Bewilderment, Ignorance and Shouting are take offs on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; Death, Famine, War and Conquest (or Pestilence - Pratchett uses Pestilence).

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Ich empfinde dieses Buch als einen der besonders herausragenden Romane Pratchetts (natürlich auch weil er sehr stark auf mir persönlich wichtige Themen eingeht) und vergebe 5 Sterne. Some of the older women wore the Motherhood Medal, awarded to women whose sons had died for Borogravia". Countries in the Roundworld also are famous for giving medals (cheap or otherwise) out to commemorate military service for one's country like the Victoria Cross, the Purple Heart, Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross. The more prestigious the medal the more likely it is given posthumously - as if a cheap medal compensates for the loss of one's son or daughter. Yet in the Roundworld too, receiving the medal and the telegram of one's child's exploits did make parents proud - likely a rationalization of their loss.

So definitely, without doubt, read the book. There are some terrific characters introduced here. The protagonist, Polly Oliver Ozzer Perks, is a very likeable girl, and the question of whether she is a lovable girl—a hero to adore and/or emulate—doesn’t really even arise. I’d be entirely happy to have Polly on my team any day, and I’d not hesitate to call on her in time of need. She’s smart and solid. That’s high praise from me.Terry Pratchetts Hauptthemen in diesem Buch sind für mich die Sinnlosigkeit von Kriegen und Geschlechtergerechtigkeit, und wie so häufig kriegt auch die Religion ihr Fett ab. Aslında bu söz Roma'da basit bir güvenlik önleminden fazlasını ifade etmişti tarih boyunca. Evet elbette özünde bir şiddet sözü yatıyordu. Roma'nın vatandaşlarına dokunmak demek Roma'nın korkunç gazabını üzerine çekmek demekti aynı zamanda. Ki dönemin adalet anlayışına göre suçun pek de bireysel olmadığını, suçlunun selam vermiş olduğu her canlının enlemesine kesilip de kazıklarda sergilenmesi gibi kimi tatlılıkların vaka-ı adiyeden sayıldığını da unutmamak gerekiyor. Wazzer says that "[...] nothing I do in pursuit of my quest will be held Abominable." which comes from the church's edict during the Crusades that by going on a Crusade, knights and soldiers would be absolved of all sins. Despite her apprehensions regarding Strappi, she kisses the Duchess - that is, she kisses a painting of said noble - and by doing so, joins up. Elbette özellikle sanayi devrimi sonrası yaşanan süreç sonrası artık Civis sumculuktan pek söz edemesek de, bugün "I am an American"a dönüşüp dönüşmemiş olduğu da başka bir yazı içinde tartışılmak üzere kalsın burada.

Bu arada Maladict'in kahve krizlerini dindirmek için kullandığı metotlardan biri de yine tarihsel bir olaya dayanıyor. Amerikan İç Savaşı sırasında Birleşik Devletler ablukası sayesinde Konfederasyon askerleri için kahve neredeyse temin edilmesi imkansız bir hale geldiğinde denedikleri şeylerden biri de meşe palamuduymuş.

It's hard finding soldiers when you're always at war. Especially when you're fighting a war that you may not be winning. The business card from William de Worde says "The Truth Shall Make you Frep". Throughout the novel The Truth, the headline for William de Worde's newspaper says "The Truth Shall Make Ye Free" but there are a series of type setting errors which are continually changing this line to "The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret" and still later it becomes "The Truth Shall Make Ye Fred". This latest line is a continuation of the type setting error theme. The original quote is from is from bible - John 8:32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." I am not smart enough to write about this series in depth, and I'm most definitely not funny enough. Terry Pratchett was a genius, so I hope you'll forgive me for just filling up the rest of this review space with quotes.