Book Review – Nation by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett takes a step back from the Discworld for his first major non-Discworld book in quite some time.

Nation takes place in an alternate universe that is similar in many ways to ours (though sadly I don’t think we have any tree-dwelling octopi).

The book takes place sometime in the 19th century. It centers around two thirteen-year-olds, Mau and Daphne. He’s a young islander and she’s a Society girl from England. They meet after a giant wave devastates his island and causes her ship to crash there. The two form a bond and start building their own little nation together as other people begin to arrive.

This is very different from the usual Pratchett works. Normally he writes laugh-out-loud, thought-provoking comedy, and while there is quite a bit of that in this book, it’s certainly less pronounced than in the Discworld novels.

What’s very fascinating for someone like me is watching Mau’s deconversion from his people’s faith to someone more rational and scientificly based. He still admires his people’s customs and society, but by the end of the story, doesn’t seem to have their beliefs in the supernatural.

I found this a very satisfying read, and I’m looking forward to buying a copy once it comes out, which since I already own an advance reading copy, is saying something.

Very highly recommended, pre-order today!

There is Nothing Quite as Wonderful as Money

What would you do if you won the lottery? I just read an interesting article online about that very topic. So let’s play fantasy here.

If I were to win the lottery, what I would do would depend on how much I won. Let’s assume I win $1,000,000. If I took half up front ($500,000), and then knocked off 28% for taxes, I’d end up with a mere $360,000. Certainly not enough to retire on, but I could take a couple-three years off work, buy a small condo and live a decent life for a while before I had to go back to the daily grind (Straightdope.com has a good breakdown on this very issue, btw).

Ah, but that’s not nearly interesting enough. Let’s assume that, instead of one million, I win one hundred million! Much more interesting, and certainly possible since I live in a Powerball state.

With $100,000,000, I’d get a lump-sum amount of about $36,000,000. Thirty-six million dollars. Yeah, I could do some damage with that!

For starters I would, of course, quit my job on the spot. I’d give each of my co-workers a thousand bucks to soothe their annoyance at having to do extra work until someone new was hired. Then I’d get myself a nice condo here in Phoenix, have a friend of mine fly down to live with me and be my driver, donate $100,000 each to diabetes research, AIDS research, cancer research, heart disease research and The Freedom From Religion Foundation, give small presents to my closest family and friends and start up a small scholarship fund for my nephews and brother.

That’d be the first couple million or so. That taken care of, it’d be fun time!

First I’d get myself a small home on the coast of Spain. A small boat would follow right after, cause I think that might be pretty fun. I’d also take a nice trip around the world on some cruise ship. Needless to say, my already impressive DVD collection and library of books would get much bigger. I’d probably also get a small place out in the Indiana farmlands, just cause I think that might be a nice place to live when I want a break from Spain and Phoenix.

Of course I’d also have a personal trainer and probably a personal chef to help keep my diet in line. I’d spend lots of my spare time writing (pretending I’d finally finish a novel), and probably take up a new hobby or two (fencing, anyone?).

But then there’s the one important thing. I’d set aside a fund that would, each year, donate one million dollars to buy bicycles for children in Africa. Why?

Well, consider. Many of the kids who live there have limited access to schools. Often they have to go five, ten or fifteen miles on foot each way just to attend classes. How much better would it be for them if instead they had bikes? Rather than spending six hours a day just commuting, they could do it in a fraction of the time. This would leave them with much more time to study and more free-time. Both those things will help give them better lives in the long run.

Of course I’m not going to win the lottery, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream. I almost never buy tickets (maybe once every couple months), but on the occasions I do buy them, I get to spend a few days wondering, “What if…?”