Nation by Terry Pratchett

I am a HUGE fan of Terry Pratchett's work. If a new book is released, it’s usually in my hands within a couple of months. Nation isn’t set in the Discworld universe, which is a bit of a departure for the author.

Mau is a young boy/man, who was on his way back to his tiny island after his coming-of-age trial and discovers his Nation - everyone - has been swept away by a huge tidal wave. Daphne is a young girl on her way to meet up with her father who has become governor of some outlying colony. Her ship was caught in the same wave, deposited on Mau’s island, and she is the only survivor.

It is the story of two people who have to learn how to survive, communicate, help other survivors, govern and defend the island and people from pirates, cannibals, and colonization. It’s also a story that strongly questions religious beliefs and why God does what he does. Mau repeatedly wonders how a caring god could allow his family, his Nation, to be destroyed.

This is marketed as a young adult book, which really surprised me after reading it. It’s rather weighty in the philosophical, moral, and theological departments. But yet, it is not really an adult book either. The two main characters are both in their pre-teens who due to life’s circumstance (one very large wave) are now rulers of a small island community and what they must do to survive. A coming of age story in other words.

The ending was more mature than what I would find in most young adult books, but it certainly wasn’t your typical conclusion where they all lived happily ever after - at least not in the way most people would envision. But Pratchett does a wonderful job of addressing that as well.

So I did enjoy Nation, but it’s not one of my favorite Pratchett novels.