Nation

"Terry Pratchett is a master world builder. This is a standalone book, not part of his Discworld series, and it’s an absolute joy to read. I’m a big fan of all Pratchett, and for me Nation stands out because it is so oceanic in its topic, in its breadth and in its storytelling. It’s an alternative history set in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean. It’s a book about cultures coming together and learning from each other. It’s about environmental disasters, and how people adapt and cope with them. It’s incredibly rich with details of the world that we’re exploring, a realistic but slightly different version of our world. The characters are glorious, and it’s a brilliantly funny book but deeply thoughtful as well, which is what you always get from Pratchett. I love that he brought his view of the world to the ocean in such a gorgeous way in this book, it really is a lot of fun. This novel would probably work best for children age 12 and up."

"Nation was inspired by the Krakatoa explosion of the 19th century, which caused a huge tsunami that killed thousands of people in the Pacific islands. Terry started writing it in 2004, but abandoned the project after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. He put it away, then—after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in late 2007—when he didn’t know how long he had left, how many more books he was going to be able to write, the first thing he did was clear everything to finish Nation , in case it was the last book he ever got to write. This was a story that was incredibly important to him. Nation is set in an alternative Victorian society in which a huge explosive volcano, then a tsunami, has wiped out all these Pacific tribes. And it’s about one boy, who has gone off to do a ritual that makes him a man; when he gets home, everybody else is dead. So it’s a tale of a young man raising his hands to the sky and shaking his fist at the gods and asking: Why did you allow this to happen? Then other people start to come to the island. There’s a shipwreck, and the only survivor is a minor English royal. They form a bond, and learn to communicate. It is delightful, powerful, really funny story. It’s beautifully put together. It’s a wonderful book. I think Terry would say it was his best book, and I don’t disagree. If you come to Terry Pratchett expecting swords and hobbits and nerdy stuff, Nation is not that book. But it’s completely gorgeous. It’s a young adult book, it’s easy to read. He wrote very well for children and young adults."