Nation - Terry Pratchet

Nation is not a disk world book, but something slightly different. The alternative reality is not so alternative. There will be times when you have to ask if there is any alternative here at all, but you won't get as far as asking about reality - that's solid enough. A boy is going through his right of passage to become a man when a tsunami hits the island. He is the only survivor because he was the only one not on the island waiting for the party to start. Others arrive, a ship - the Sweet Judy - arrives in the trees of the rain forest, from the more technologically advanced world. There is only a young girl left alive. Then there are survivors from other islands, as they arrive the world is slowly revealed.

As always it is a very good read. The characters are well created, and the claim that there has been thinking happening is clearly substantiated. There is the usual preponderance of discussion and thinking about God. This occurs at many levels, and the culture has a complicated set of gods. There is an ultimate creator, all the way through to ancestor worship. Some of this is rejected by some of the main characters, and some isn't. Quite why this is I have not worked out yet. Perhaps I need to do more thinking, but it seems to give the book an anti-religious sentiment for a while. The visitors also bring there own views and gods into the equation. As life returns to the island, and the world impinges on it more and more a reality returns, and an innocence is lost.

Humor is always a feature with Pratchet and Nation is no exception. While this book cannot be described as hilarious, the parrot is used to good effect most of the time, its interruptions breaking the tensions and generating a laugh.

At its root, Nation, is a love story, (not a romance - not quite) although you would not necessarily see it like that until close to the end of the book. I don't think that I've given anything away.