Dodger

Dodger #1

by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs (Narrator)

In an alternative London, ruled by the young Queen Victoria, an enterprising lad can find adventure and opportunity - if he is very smart, and very, very lucky. Everyone knows Dodger, and everyone likes Dodger. Which is a good thing, because life for a boy on the streets is anything but easy. And it's about to get seriously complicated as a simple haircut turns momentous when Dodger unknowingly puts a stop to the murderous barber Sweeney Todd. From Dodger's encounters with fictional villains to his meetings with Darwin, Disraeli, and Dickens, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking tale of adventure and mystery, unexpected coming-of-age, and one remarkable boy's rise in a complex and fascinating world.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Humor, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published September 13, 2012

About the author

Sir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983–2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is impossible for me to read a new Terry Pratchett independently of the memory of the last 30 years of reading each eagerly awaited book, one by one, with utmost delight.
It is impossible for me to read a new Terry Pratchett without my vivid recollection of him, eyes twinkling from under the brim of his hat, as he signed my precious books, and answered my breathless "Mr (it was ages ago) Pratchett, thank you so much for all the hours of reading pleasure" with "Madam, thank you so much for all your money."
It is impossible for me to read a new Terry Pratchett without seeing the elephant in the room of the Alzheimers' PCA variant, looking for its heavy footsteps possibly crushing the words on the page, and remembering how I sobbed when I saw his soul-bearing BCC documentary about the cruel reality of his disease.

What I'm clumsily trying to say is that it's impossible for me to now separate the man from his writing, and to separate his writing from my own life. He is his writing, it is the expression of his philosophy and his social conscience. His writing has been a constant presence for more than half my life. Discworld has been the stage for his social commentary, one that has always resonated with my personal values. One with a special humour, Monty Pythonesque and quintessentially British in flavour.

Dodger is very similar, but uses Victorian London as a backdrop to highlighting the sweeping social changes of the times; the contrast between classes; and the striving of a few more privileged persons to understand the marginalised and deprived sectors of society. It is fun, it is a romp, it has wit and wisdom and eloquence. It is thoroughly researched and authentic in setting (with artistic licence) and language (modern USA persons are going to struggle with many of the words!).

Sir Terry is definitely still with us, the elephant is browsing quietly.

I wish you well Sir Terry, you are a treasure, and my life is very much richer for your contribution and your continued presence.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple weeks ago, I was having a real pisser of a day. Then I remembered there was a new Terry Pratchett book out and things didn't seem so bad anymore.

When I first started to read it, I got two surprises. The first was that it wasn't a Discworld book. Which I'm fine with, given how much I loved Nation.

The other surprise was the language of the book. To be completely honest (and I'm really embarrassed to admit this.) when I started reading the book, I thought that Terry's Alzheimer's had finally progressed to such a degree that it had *really* damaged his ability to write at the sentence-level.

About two pages in, I realized he was actually mimicking Victorian prose, which is a lot different than his usual breezy style of writing. Once I realized that, it only took about three pages to get used to the new style and enjoy it. After that I didn't find the language clunky at all.

In brief, all Pratchett's usual wit, cleverness, and humor is here. There's also the added benefit of seeing Victorian London through Dodger's eyes, and while Pratchett romanticizes it somewhat, he obviously knows the time period well.

[Starswirl the Bearded · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, a disclaimer: As virtually a life-long Pratchett fan, I would probably buy anything he publishes. If he were to release a book titled World of Poo, I would probably...oh. Nevermind.



The point I'm making is that I can't be objective when it comes to this author - the Discworld books are too much a part of my life; I cried while watching TP's deeply personal euthanasia documentary; I know certain Discworld characters better than I know members of my extended family.

But this is a review of Dodger - not an essay on why I love DW - so here it is:

Though colourful and engagingly written, this isn't a very good book.

It isn't awful, and there is plenty of fun historical trivia, but I wouldn't recommend it. Instead I would steer newbie readers to the City Watch, William dW or Moist vL episodes of Discworld.

The most glaring problem here is the Godmode-Gary Stu-like protagonist. In the space of approximately a week, the teenage 'tosher' (sewage scavenger) with questionable personal hygiene:

1) receives not one, but two, fairy-godfather like make-overs and is accepted by the cream of London society at a fancy soiree

2) wins the heart of a beautiful, multilingual Princess (despite barely exchanging three sentences). Middle aged women are also apparently magnetically drawn to the young urchin - throwing themselves at the teen, demanding kisses in exchange for their assistance

3) displays the fighting skills of Greebo: the skinny teenager easily outmanoeuvres the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and professional assassins

4) is recognised as a national hero and showered with money by grateful citizens, who provide free coach rides in exchange for his autograph

5) meets Queen Victoria (probably the most powerful person in the world at that time) - and is accepted as virtually her equal. Although, to be fair, this occurred several months after his ascension to national hero

The other problem that I have is the use of real historical figures, such as Dickens, Mayhew, Disreali, Robert Peel etc. I got the impression that Sir Terry included people he respects and admires, and perhaps this is part of the problem: overlooking the implausibility of these gentleman all happening to take an interest in Dodger during a single week, the characters never really came to life for me. I got the impression that I was reading about cardboard placeholders for the real men, rather than the living, breathing and flawed characters that inhabit TP's other novels.

And this brings me to my next issue, which is possibly controversial: the historical figures were all middle-class or wealthy do-gooders, concerning themselves with charity towards the deserving poor. There was no mention of working class figures of the industrial era organised labour movement - the movement that would culminate in arguably the biggest ever shift in British society: the post-war Labour victory that led to the NHS, radical redistribution of wealth, the grammar schools and free University education - all of which would have fundamentally shaped TP's childhood and adult opportunities.

Perhaps it isn't surprising that these working class heroes - who were fighting for a fairer society for everyone - were not included. Because Dodger is fundamentally a rags-to-riches tale, where the audience is asked to empathise with and applaud Dodger's rise to join the upper classes, while throwing out the occasional sixpence whenever he feels a twinge of guilt. Appropriately, the book ends with the new Sir Dodger engaged in the robbery of a priceless historical treasure: a tiara once belonging to Marie Antoinette. No, he is not intending to sell it, and distribute the money to the many starving orphans/girls driven to prostitution who populate the book: in an Animal Farm like ending, Dodger is stealing Marie Antoinette's tiara for his new wife, a former Princess. Great lesson for the kids, Terry.

Despite the above issues, this could have been an engaging read if the antagonists had been more fleshed out: something that Pratchett is normally incredibly good at. If we had been introduced to the Outlander and her (possibly conflicted?) henchman earlier, and been led to feel truly terrified and slightly awed by the assassin's ruthlessness and cunning, as well as sympathy for her henchman, it might have broken up the Gary Stu-ness of the tale (it might also have given us a true sense of fear for Dodger and Simplicity). Additionally, it would have been a chance to show us early Victorian Britain a through the eyes of an outsider.

Lastly, wtf was up with Dodger's mentor, Solomon? When we first meet him, he is apparently so down-at-heel that he lives in a slum, and eagerly awaits Dodger's scavenged scraps of meat: a few chapters later and it turns out that he is known and well spoken-of by the most influential and wealthy people in the country - he exchanges a secret handshake with Prince Albert, and shares a laugh with him regarding their mutual acquaintance...the King of Sweden. Willing suspension of disbelief can only be stretched so far.


Ultimately, this can be viewed as either a competently written, watered-down Dickens fanfic (Dodger's real name is 'Pip Stick'... he grew up in a workhouse... etc. etc.) or a not very successful attempt to deconstruct the Dickensian novel.

It can also be viewed as an inspirational tale for children, which teaches them to, um, steal from the innocent for personal gain, vandalise the property of people who happen to be from the same country as one bad apple, and elope with a girl you hardly know - who happens to have lovely hair. And not to bother with school, or even basic literacy - because crime is so much more rewarding...

And yet, despite all of the above (and my disappointment in 'Snuff', for fairly similar reasons) I'll continue to buy any new Pratchett novel in the hope that it contains some of the old Discworld magic - moments of which, though few, were still present here. Which is probably what his publishers are banking on.

At least there was less scatology in this one.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

One night in Victorian London, a street urchin saves a young woman from two ruffians. This random event completely changes his life forever. And he learns that even rich people have to have eyes on the back of their head.


Plot-wise, it feels reminiscent of a certain book written in the Victorian era. Seeing as it’s a story about an orphan in Victorian London who tries to become a gentleman. But what makes this story in particular stand out are the characters, Dodger’s character arc in particular stands out most here, and a bit of clever and comedic writing that Pratchett is so famous for. The author’s note at the end is also definitely one of the highlights of the book.


It’s important to note that while this is set in Victorian London, and I do believe the setting is done justice for the most part, it borders on historical fantasy instead of being a pure historical fiction book. By this I mean that historical accuracy is not what the author had in mind when he wrote this. There are historical figures from that time that do make an appearance in this book, which helps make the historical setting come to life. Like Charles Dickens and Henry Mayhew, whose works partly inspired this book in the first place. But even a popular fictional character from that time makes an appearance, barber Sweeney Todd.


I have to admit that this story is not on the same level I’m used to from reading Pratchett’s beloved Discworld series. And there are several reasons for this.

First of all, this story is very much YA and while some Discworld series are YA, most of them aren’t. One of the things where this feels like it limits the story, is when we’re confronted with some of the horrors of Victorian times. Like when the story mentions the loss of a child. The story doesn’t elaborate on it, keeping its younger target audience in mind. This limits the impact of mentioning it in the first place.

Second, the plot is quite simple and straight forward. It also takes quite a while for the story to get going.

Third, Simplicity, Dodger’s love interest, is simply a bit too stereotypical at times.

Fourth, Pratchett changed his writing style a little bit to match the story and used quite a bit of Victorian slang in the dialogue. This is on one hand a good thing as it helps the historical setting come alive more as the writing itself even feels more authentic. But sometimes it did also distract me a bit.


It’s a solid YA historical fiction rags to riches story. A pretty good standalone read that’s well-researched and should be a good fiction read for anyone interested in stories set in the Victorian era. Though if you’re new to Terry Pratchett, I would recommend reading at least a couple of Discworld books first, before picking this one up.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Mister Dodger is so sharp that one day his name will be known on every continent, possibly as the benefactor of mankind, but also quite possibly as the most charming scoundrel ever to be hanged!”

He sounds a lovable rogue then, our Dodger. So is he? Well yes, he’s certainly a cocky scallywag, but I doubt whether you’ll ever have met one quite like him before. You see Dodger is a tosher—a sewer scavenger—who lives in the squalid underbelly of Victorian London. In fact the dark, malodorous sewer that runs underneath Victorian London’s labyrinthine streets, forms a major part of the book.

“He stayed alive because he was the Dodger, smart and fast. He knew everybody and everybody knew him”

or to be more accurate, everyone who is nobody knows Dodger, but anyone who is somebody, doesn’t. Or not until this novel.

Terry Pratchett has created a unique character, and placed him in Victorian London’s seamy underworld. To be sure, we feel we might know him already, from a gigantic clue the author gives us, in the title of the first chapter:

“In which we meet our hero, and the hero meets an orphan of the storm, and comes face to face with Mister Charlie, a gentleman known as a bit of a scribbler.”

Now this is not the sort of title we are used to with Terry Pratchett, who frequently doesn’t bother with chapters at all, let alone ones with fancy titles like this. Nor is it a typical style of title for a 21st century novel. It’s more like a chapter title in a 19th century novel—or even earlier—which tells in brief all that is about to occur. Now which 19th century author wrote novels harking back to this 18th century tradition, so much sometimes that if his writing had not disguised it so beautifully, the titles might have served as spoilers? Yes, you have it: Charles Dickens.

And reading that very first sentence, plus the novel’s title: Dodger, we smile to ourselves and sit back, knowing we are in for a romp of a ride with a master storyteller, giving homage to the earlier Inimitable writer.

“The whole of life was a game. But if it was a game, then were you the player or were you the pawn?”

“Anyone can rise if they have enough yeast.”

“The man gave Dodger a cursory glance that had quite a lot of curse in it.”

Here we see the umistakeable sly wit of Terry Pratchett. But it is a brave writer who will dare to take on a writer of the stature of Charles Dickens. Every year we see more and more “spinoffs”, either telling new stories of one of his multifarious minor characters—or even a major one—or even (to my mind rather outrageously) rewriting parts of Dickens’s life which ignore well-documented facts. Very few of these are entertaining or enlightening; most prove to be deadly dull. But in Dodger we are in the hands of a confident, skilful writer, who had already written over 50 novels and had until recently been the top-selling author in the UK, with his works translated into 37 languages. What’s more, although many fans worldwide think of him as an author of fantasy novels, Terry Pratchett was an English humourist and satirist. And that description fits Charles Dickens exactly. We may love him for his stories and characters, but he wrote much more; a great part of his writing being comic satire, whether fiction or his many essays and pieces of journalism.

So Terry Pratchett dared to not only write characters who were based on Charles Dickens’s own inventions, but to set his novel in a place and time we know from Dickens’s novels, and also to write with great wit and humour. He had the skill and the knowledge, and from the very beginning, you know it is going to work. The irresistibly goodhearted smelly rogue, Dodger (with his equally smelly dog, Onan) bumps into Mister Charlie, and both recognise the other for what they are, and know that nothing will get past them. This inclusion of Charles Dickens is of course branching into a kind of metafiction—and yet even here, Dickens did it first. Think of the ending of “The Cricket on the Hearth”, or the whole of “To be Read at Dusk”. In several stories we are aware of an extra character lurking in the shadows, and know that the Inimitable has stealthily sneaked in. Sometimes the author’s voice reveals this, so why shouldn’t Terry Pratchett bring him into the open?

Dodger is partly Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger from “Oliver Twist”, with his sharp instincts and knowledge of the underworld. He is streetwise and loyal to his friends. But he is also Jo, the crossing sweeper from “Bleak House”, who “didn’t know nuffink”; an inexperienced innocent, unknowing and baffled by the classes above him and their own devious ways. And Dodger is no weak imitation of these unforgettable characters, as there is a big dollop of Himself on every page.

So how do Dodger and Mister Charlie meet? The story begins dramatically enough, with a young lady being thrown from a carriage by two thugs. When Dodger witnesses this, all his protective instincts and indignation rise to the fore, and when the young lady appeals to him he takes on the pair singlehandedly. Two toffs arrive: Charlie and his friend Henry, and all three decide where to take the young lady, Dodger and Mister Charlie having agreed that Henry and his wife are the ones best placed to safeguard her life. They call the young lady “Simplicity”, and we learn she has lost her unborn child in this brutal episode, and later discover that she has escaped the torment of a loveless marriage to an unknown nobleman “from one of the Germanys”. She remains in mortal peril.

From these ignominious beginnings, Dodger becomes enmeshed in a plot, developing his detective and acting skills, and inadvertently beginning to rise up the ladder of Victorian society “faster than a chimpanzee”.

As well as Dodger, we meet his landlord, a Jewish craftsman called Solomon Cohen. Solomon is clearly modelled on “Ikey” Solomon, who is widely held to be Dickens’s inspiration for Fagin in “Oliver Twist”. The other toff—the friend of Mister Charlie—is Henry Mayhew, another important Victorian figure. In fact Terry Pratchett dedicates the novel to the real Henry Mayhew in honour of his groundbreaking work, which Terry Pratchett acknowledges as the foundation of his novel. It is a huge, comprehensive study titled: “London Labour and the London Poor” which draws attention to the plight of London’s poorest slum-dwellers.

In the novel Henry Mayhew is also very interested in improving the conditions for London’s poorest citizens. It is not long before Dodger realises that although his new friends are gentlemen, they are also “geezers”, and he admits to himself that they deserve respect for their acuity (and in Mister Charlie’s case, for his ingenuity, although to Dodger's mind he does have some annoying habits, like scribbling things down on bits of paper). Dodger admires Mister Charlie, and has the uncomfortable feeling that Mister Charlie can see everything, every little secret, that Dodger hoped was safely hidden in his mind.

Appearances are also made by a youthful “Ben” Disraeli, an up-and-coming young politician and friend of Mister Charlie. He is introduced as a member of parliament and is to play a supporting role in Dodger’s scheme to fake Simplicity’s death.. Joseph Bazalgette is there too, as a civil engineer who is interested in the sewers. I had wondered about the goddess of the sewers, “Cloacina”, and her rat attendants, only to discover that there really was an ancient belief in a deity who was said to preside over the Cloaca Maxima (“Greatest Drain”), the main interceptor discharge outfall of the system of sewers in Ancient Rome!

Plus we meet someone of whom Dodger feels very wary: Sir Robert Peel, the head of the newly formed police force in London. In Dodger’s opinion, these are a completely different kettle of fish from the earlier “Bow Street Runners”, who were a fairly disorganised bunch. Again, this is based on facts, and even to this day Metropolitan police officers are sometimes referred to as “peelers”, honouring Sir Robert Peel. However, despite Sir Robert Peel’s official statements, he is supportive of Simplicity’s wish not to be returned to her husband, and is willing to give Dodger a free hand and overlook a number of his not strictly legal activities, in order to accomplish this.

Each of these makes the reader smile when we meet them, and one of the most surprising and entertaining is Sweeney Todd! Was he a real character, I wondered? But in fact he was a fictitious character who has evolved a sort of mythology all his own. Here Terry Pratchett has tweaked the urban legend to invent a barber who had been traumatised by his experiences in the Napoleonic Wars. Suffering from PTSD, he believes that his customers are soldiers whom he could not save in the war, coming back to life. This leads him to kill them. Dodger inadvertently becomes a hero by disarming Sweeney Todd, but he correctly surmises that Todd is not to blame for his actions, and uses some of the reward money he comes into, to improve Sweeney Todd’s life in Bedlam.

It is a poignant and also an hilarious episode; conjuring up the sort of odd juxtaposition of emotions in the reader at which Charles Dickens himself excelled.

Now we come to the person who made my smile broaden even further, when I realised “Angela” was to feature. She was a benefactor of Victorian society—and a very good friend of Charles Dickens to boot—both in the novel and in real life. Angela Burdett-Coutts was an independent woman who had inherited a large sum of money, and who used her wealth and connections to help those who needed it. It is she who took in Simplicity after it became clear that she was not safe at the Mayhews’ house and who uses her resources to protect her. Angela Burdett-Coutts has a large part to play in this novel, and Terry Pratchett has written a very believable character for this resourceful, no-nonsense, compassionate woman. Second to Dodger, she may be my favourite character.

There’s also a dastardly villain, of course. Where would a Dickensian novel be without its irredeemably evil baddie? In this case we have “The Outlander”, a wanted assassin who has been hired to kill Simplicity and Dodger. The authorities fail to notice that there is always the same woman at his side. No wonder they have been finding it hard to catch a man who seems to look different every time he commits a crime. And what a fantastic tribute to Charles Dickens, who so loved his mysterious strangers, his disguises and his doppelgängers.

Oddly, the Goodreads reviews have been rather lukewarm about Dodger. Some complain that it is not interesting. Others say it does not have any magic—or that it has an unlikely plot. I personally found the plot of the novel to be relatively linear, like Dickens’s shorter novels rather than his massive and complex middle period tomes. But it is hugely enjoyable to read how Dodger charms, sneaks and sometimes uses his fists to get through a series of dark and dangerous encounters, as he seeks answers and protects Simplicity. Then turning a page I would find myself laughing out loud at his Toad Hall-ish disguise. And reading Pratchett’s prose is such a pleasure, with ingenious word-building on every page.

Some readers grumble about the references to Charles Dickens … either they are too overt, spoiling the fun (but might encourage children to read Dickens)—or conversely that it might be enjoyed by those who have not read anything by Charles Dickens! Others say that it does not have any tension or suspense; or that that the reason for the danger is too vague … Some of the objections are such polar opposites that I scratched my head wondering if they applied to the same book. They seem to cancel each other out.

When Dodger was first published, the British newspaper “The Observer” called it: “The work of a prolific humourist at his best.” I too found it to be a romp of a read, which cleverly manages to succeed as a droll and witty adventure story, whether or not the reader has read anything by Charles Dickens. It also includes different levels of references, so the first chapter title is obvious, but later we have subtle motifs which were favourites of Dickens, but would only be picked up by enthusiasts. For instance, the “gleaming teeth” refer most obviously to Mr. Carker in “Dombey and Son”, but are also features of several other of Dickens’s characters. (This could be because Victorian society considered it bad form to display your teeth; one of the reasons for the grim faces in old photographs).

Another reference is the capacious umbrella, carried around the world by the faithful Mrs. Bagnet in “Bleak House”—or held on to by the drink-sodden Mrs. Gamp in “Martin Chuzzlewit”. Or perhaps the “rosebud mouth” used of Dickensian heroines throughout his career, from Rose Maylie in “Oliver Twist” to Rosa Bud in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”. Again, there is a wealth of traditions and symbolism to do with flowers: roses and rosebuds especially, known to Victorians, but largely forgotten by us. “Rosebuds” symbolised innocence and purity, not only in literature but in the wider world; even being carved on tombstones.

There are a host of motifs a keen reader of Dickens might spot, but I doubt that they were put in to “test” us, or that Terry Pratchett began his novel thinking, now how can I get children to read Dickens? Surely all it shows is that Terry Pratchett, like those who pick these motifs up, was a keen reader of Charles Dickens, and liked to include little jokes.

Terry Pratchett once said:

“[to write], you must read extensively, both inside and outside your chosen genre … and to the point of “overflow””.

It is clear from this novel that Terry Pratchett knew the works, concerns and stylistic features of Charles Dickens’ writing very well indeed. Dodger is steeped in Dickensian London, both in its foggy, grimy setting, its traditions and slang, and the lives of its inhabitants. And underlying everything is the stink of the sewer.

In his afterword, Terry Pratchett apologises for the fact that this is a work not of historical fiction but of historical fantasy. The story is set “broadly in the first quarter of Queen Victoria’s reign,” which would be between 1837 and 1853. However, he had to “tweak” history a little, as he says, to get the combination of persons he wanted in place. For instance Sir Robert Peel is Home Secretary in the novel, a role he filled under Queen Victoria’s predecessor, William IV.

If you want depth and complexity, it is all there in Dodger. But unlike so-called “literary” novels, it is not compulsory to analyse each sentence to appreciate and enjoy this novel. I recently read a literary novel which presented a mystery about the writing of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”. It had no humour whatsoever, and did not capture the feeling of Victorian London—nor the personalities of its real life characters—who just seemed to be included willy-nilly. It did not feel English, (it wasn’t, in fact), it reduced Charles Dickens to a bland Everyman, but worst of all, it was just so very boring! It is a serious omission for anything purporting to be “Dickensian” to lack humour.

Does our hero escape from his dark and smelly subterranean life? Well that would be telling. But I can assure you that you will have fun finding out! And if you think of the satisfying endings of Charles Dickens' novels, where everyone gets their just deserts, that gives you a big clue. As Mister Charlie says:

“After all, my young Dodger, what exactly are you? A stalwart young man, plucky and brave and apparently without fear? Or, possibly, I suggest, a street urchin with a surfeit of animal cunning and the luck of Beelzebub himself.”

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodger by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs  
I listened to this on audio, and I dug the narrator. I dug him a lot!
 
This book was funny and fun. A lot of the humor was laugh out loud funny and a lot of the fun was in spotting the real folk amidst all the fictional characters.
 
I had a blast listening to this and if I could afford it, I would listen to the entire Discworld series narrated by Mr. Briggs. Alas,  I cannot, so I guess I still have to read them.
 
 

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without wanting to get in to yet another debate with 30 something adults about the legitimacy of said adults reading novels meant for tweens is there another author working in the YA field who treats said YA's with as much respect and intelligence as Terry Pratchett? I seriously doubt it. If there were I wouldn't hold the publisher manufactured genre in such contempt.

Dodger is most assuredly a YA novel, a softening of Pratchett's usual intelligent discussion of humanity and witty banter but not to the extent that it is painful to read for those of us with a more adult reading level. Taking his most wondrous creation of Ankh-Morpork back to its roots, the documented reality of Victorian London, and exploring the origin and nature of many of his past favourite protagonist/heroes once more, this time in the form of the cheeky geezer, tosher extraordinaire Dodger. Dodger follows the well trodden path of Vimes, Carrot and most recently Moist von Lipwig from inauspicious beginnings through a series of sticky adventures to come up smelling of roses; I don't think it is a coincidence that Pratchett often writes mysteries as they are perfectly suited to the somewhat grey heroes he likes to create.

In this adventure Dodger saves the life of a damsel in distress one stormy London night and sets in motion a series of events that will change both of their lives forever, taking in several historical figures along the way. Sir Robert Peel, Henry Mayhew, Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Babbage, Joseph Bazalgette, Angela Burdett-Coutts and V&A themselves are amongst the celebrity cameos shoehorned in to the story all of which irritated the cynical side of me, who will usually abhor this kind of shortcut to bond with a lazy reader, but Pratchett goes about it in such a way that it is both entertaining and educational, they are there for a reason not just because it's cute and gimmicky; whereas the first appearance of a certain Mister Charlie Dickens made me groan quite loudly in exasperation and sadly it never felt important to the plot that this particular character be Charles Dickens, in my opinion there is never really a reason for using Dickens or Poe amongst others in your fiction but the author should at least make proper use of the baggage such a famous historical figure carries, and for once Pratchett disappointed on this count.

As with almost all Pratchett novels this is a wonderfully entertaining and fast paced read that surely will not disappoint anyone, Dodger is another first class example of a master storyteller in full command of his abilities. Once more two middle fingers are being stuck up firmly in the face of the disease currently at battle with Terry Pratchett and long may they continue to do so.

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.


So it wasn't horrid. But I didn't really care for it either.

First off, this must be said, it didn't feel like a Terry Pratchett book. At all. No zany magic that makes no sense (which was fine). None of his trademark humor (which was not). No likable characters. Just a mystery novel that didn't even feel like a mystery. Boo.

The cover: IT LIED. It promised a cute and fun mystery with an adorable small boy main character. Not a bit.


Dodger was okay. His character was really rather boring. And do I need or want boring characters? I think not.



Plus, it was insinuated that he got around a bit. Ugh. Really?

Simplicity. Could you have been more of a non-entity love interest? Probably not. And I felt that for losing her baby, she really didn't have the proper reaction. At all.

I wasn't feeling the love. They just ...were. Also, (yes, they attempted to fix this at the end and her husband was trash) she was still married at the end.


Being set in London at the time that it was, there was, of course, some crude comments and innuendo, though not overly so.

There were a few moments where I applauded Dodger's ingenuity. But, ultimately, I was never intrigued. Never cared what did or did not happen to the characters. Never laughed. So...



I truly was not impressed with this one.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I mostly enjoyed Dodger, I don't think I'll be reaching for more Terry Pratchett books. His narrative style, if Dodger is indicative at all of the rest of his work, is a bit too... extra for my taste. The wit, the cleverness, the puns - it gets tiresome. Also, this kind of writing I find more fitting for children's books, and this one wasn't exactly that, although Dodger feels more like a 12-year old boy most of the book, that is until he makes it clear he is ready to get married.

IMO, in this book, Pratchett was at his best when writing his original characters - Dodger, Simplicity, the handsy cook whose name I can't remember. The real personas of the past - Sweeny Todd (albeit fictional), Charles Dickens, Disraeli, Queen Victoria - I could have done without them. Their existence in the story made Dodger's light speed ascend from rags to riches made it ever so more implausible.

Pretty fun romp down London sewers nevertheless, although I wish Pratchett stuck with writing an original mystery rather than putting all these famous figure at the center of it all.

[Daniel Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most unexpectedly fun read of the year is Terry Pratchett's Dodger. With an unmatched skill, Pratchett shows himself to be a writer akin to to Mark Twain and as adept in the historical world of 19th century London as he is in the imaginary world of Ankh-Morpork.

A month ago or so, Britt came home with a book on CD for a road trip.

"It's called Dodger," she said as we set off down the road. "By some guy called Terry Pratchett."

"Discworld?" I asked from the driver's seat.

"Disc-what?" she said. "No, it's won some award." She flipped to the back. "It looks like is about Charles Dickens...and Sweeney Todd?"

"Hm...I wonder if it's the same Pratchett."

She popped in the first CD, and we began one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable books of the year. And yes, it is the same Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame.

In a departure from the comings and goings of the denizens of Ankh-Morpork, Pratchett delves into the world of Dickens' London, when the sun never set on the British Empire, but the streets stunk and the poor lived a miserable life.

The story opens on a dark, wet night(almost the cliched "a dark and stormy night" but Pratchett never lets you see it) as a carriage comes careening through the streets, carrying a damsel in distress, under threat of death. Out of the darkness comes Dodger, a whirl-wind beating off thugs and saving the day.

And we're off. Little more than a child of the streets, Dodger falls for the girl in the carriage, and soon find himself on a path carrying him directly away from the sewers and into the halls of Parliament, the rich, and the powerful. Including appearances--and more--from Charles Dickens, Sweeney Todd, Benjamin Disraeli and others, Dodger, and its title character, take the reader on a clever and delightful ride, full of the language, color, and flavor of 19th century England.

I've read several of Pratchett's previous novels, including from the Discworld novels and his The Long Earth (with Stephen Baxter) and Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman). With Dodger, though, Pratchett proves his skill as a wordsmith and story-teller. Constantly colorful and always witty, Dodger is fun, inventive, and thoroughly enjoyable.

If you've never read Pratchett before, Dodger is a great place to start.

[Shovelmonkey1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terry Pratchett saved me just as I was blundering into my teenage years and wondering how to make the leap from books designed for little kiddiewinks to the adult side of the library where all the books were hefty and hardback and full of secret promise. I am so old that the whole concept of the tweenager did not yet exist and so you were faced with the stark choice Enid Blyton or Jackie Collins when you wandered into a library. Of course there was Judy Blume but her books take about five minutes to ingest and that included at least three minutes wondering why you needed a belt to wear sanitary protection... apparently JB was writing in the days of pre self-adhesiveness?!

Before I started in the Pratchett I'd already flirted with the writing of Stephen King, Dean R Koontz, Wilbur Smith and Shaun Hudson. I was about eleven and once I'd started learning things that were probably a bit beyond my ken at that point (Snuff movies in the book Dead Heads for example) I felt it was time to try and find a safe non sexy, non murdery half-way house for junior teens. Et voila, up steps Pratchett.

Most of Pratchett's books are aimed at adults but they're written in such a way that they're easily accessible to those making the kid reads to adult reads transition without too much mental scarring (see above re snuff movies). And so my love of Pratchett and the colourful historically and culturally skewed other-worldness of the Discworld has sustained me well into my adult years.

Dodger was no different although it did take a little longer to get into, perhaps suffering from a slight dilution in Pratchettyness because it is closer to the real world being set in Dickensian London, rather than the streets of Ankh-Morpork. Dodger is a loveable rapscallion who earns a living as a Tosher, a subterranean coin collector - a sort of drain pirate who is constantly seeking buried treasure. Unfortunately in a London drain the treasure tends to be buried in poop rather than dreamy golden sand but treasure is still treasure.

An unexpected encounter leads to Dodger rescuing a damsel in distress and as events unfold, Dodger finds himself the unlikely hero in a number of unusual scenarios and the subject of much public interest, particularly from Sir Robert Peel (twice PM and infamous adversary of Ben Disraeli, not to mention founder of the modern police force) and Charles Dickens (um, if you're not sure who he is then I think you might have taken a wrong turn here on goodreads... were you perhaps looking for an online shopping website or skysports?)

Despite the occasional nod to the darker side of poverty stricken life in London, the Pogroms in Europe and those that end up face down in the Thames, this was generally a light hearted jaunt through the streets and sewers of old London town. The spark of the Discworld was lacking but another diverting read from Pratchett nonetheless.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the Prachett novels I've read ha ing been set in his famous Discworld series, where as Dodger is firmly based in the early Victorian era of London.

While this had all the hallmarks of a Prachett novel with plenty of turn of wonderful phrases, it felt more educational than humorous.
Obviously that's not a bad thing, but I did miss the numerous footnotes that you associate with his novels.

Our main protagonist Dodger is a Tosher (a scavenger in the sewers) who comes to the aid of a battered young lady who's been flung from a carriage.
Two gentlemen Charlie and Henry who is impressed with the young boys actions suggest Dodger finds out more information as the why the girl was attacked.

The novel blends the fiction characters like Dodger with the likes of Charles Dickens and Henry Mayhew.
Dickens is clearly and inspiration for Prachett.
Though I have to confess that I wasn't as familiar with Mayhew, confounder of Punch magazine and advocate for reform.

Theres plenty of other nice additions from this era but the repetitive nature for the younger target audience to learn about this period made the plot drag a little too much for my liking.
It's still worth reading but be mindful that it's not as enjoyable and took longer to get through than a normal brilliant Discworld book.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpected pleasure from browsing the library of our neighboring small city of Paso Robles, which has a much better collection of SF/F than my hometown library (which has close to nothing). Plus, actually browsing the library! (masked and boosted, of course). And -- finding a new-to-me Pratchett right there on the shelves! Which turns out to be a first-rate book. Just barely fantastic (and that mostly because Pterry says so in his afterword.) Alright, I'm not going to do a full review of a 10-year-old book that already has close to 3,000 reviews here. It's actually close to being a Dickens pastiche: Dickens himself is a character in the book, as Charlie, which I'm guessing is historically accurate?

So: here's my GR friend Althea Ann's nice full review of the book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . She says it might be her favorite Pratchett. So, if you missed it, you have a treat in store!

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's some pleasure to be had in Terry Pratchett writing about actual *London*, instead of Ankh-Morpork, but this is weak stuff.

There are also some points for Terry's basic humanity and his fondness for reformers like Charles Dickens and Henry Mayhew. But every character who isn't an historical person falls utterly flat: the cheeky Cockney rascal, the canny Jewish elder, the smelly dog, there's even a reference to a whore with a heart of gold, I think.

A rare, unexpected moment that works makes us sympathize with a tortured Sweeney Todd, traumatized by the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.

But it all falls to bits on the plot, and especially the love interest. Terry knows how to write women characters, a bit, even if he often resorts to stereotypes. He's better than this. But the character in "Dodger" is a barely-conscious McGuffin, a featureless blonde "reward". She doesn't really have a name, she's just there to be beaten or rescued or occasionally to simper over the protagonist.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my initiation to Mr. Pratchett's work - and I liked it. Didn't love it, but liked it. I enjoyed the riff off Dickens, and adding in contemporaries. But I really liked the descriptions of Dodger's thought process, his cleverness and how knitted Prachett's Dodger was to Dicken's . . . it was believable to me that this was the same character.

Where the blip was, for me, was when marriage was considered and executed . . . .all along I felt this character was much younger somewhere from 14 - 18. . . .not a person others in the story, including the love interest who seemed older, thought was 18+ and marriageable - just seemed mighty abrupt. . . anyway, may have just been me not in sync.

I liked it - 3 stars.

[Marta Álvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro con un estilo divertido (¡es Terry Pratchett!) y una trama de aventuras/misterios que no está mal... Pero si algo cautiva en Perillán es su descarado y extrañamente honesto protagonista, y su ambientación, el Londres victoriano más crudo y sucio que no deja ser, a su manera, un personaje más de esta historia.

[Paulo (not receiving notifications)]

Sir Terry Pratchett labelled this novel of his as a "historical fantasy" and not "historical fiction", because of the liberties he took with real-life historical figures, making characters out of them and part of the universe of the main character, the tosher Dodger, set in Victorian-era London.
The term "tosher" refers to individuals who scavenged in the sewers, particularly in Victorian London.

The list of characters in the book is like a Who’s Who of Victorian London. Among the multitude of secondary characters, we have:
Charles Dickens (no introduction is needed, I believe)
Benjamin Disraeli (a British statesman, who served as Prime Minister of the UK, twice)
Sweeney Todd with PTSD (everyone saw or heard about the film, I suppose)
Henry Mayhew (an English journalist and defender of the working classes.)
Sir Robert Peel (twice Prime Minister of the UK and regarded as the father of the modern British police service, being the founder of the Metropolitan Police Service)
Angela Burdett-Coutts (British philanthropist, one of the wealthiest women in Victorian England)
Sir George Cayley, (Engineer and inventor, was one of the most influential researchers in the history of aeronautics.)
Sir Joseph Bazalgette (Chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, created the sewerage system for central London).
And probably many others that I didn't manage to identify.

The main character, Dodger, is based on the Artful Dodger, a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist. Known as Jack Dawkins, he's a pickpocket of great skill and cunning. The Dodger's nickname reflects his expertise in this occupation and became this novel's title.
This recounting of his life and adventures by Sir Terry Pratchett is a fascinating, humorous, and delightful exploration that captivates the imagination.

I always enjoy Pratchett's wry wit and insightful, satirical commentary on various aspects of life, and this book doesn't disappoint in that regard. It's a great hero story with well-developed characters. The book is excellently written despite the large use of Victorian English slang, which was, for me that I was born non-English speaking, hard to understand sometimes. However, this is not a book that one "MUST" read. It doesn't have the qualities that made "Nation" an extraordinary book nor the sublime amusing prose of most books in the "Discworld" series. However, it's not a bad book; I don't believe Sir Terry Pratchett could have ever written a bad book, but this one just doesn't meet his usual high standard.
That said, if you read it, you won't be disappointed.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

“People are what they do, and what they leave behind.”

If you’re ever in the mood for a cute, light, fluffy, heartwarming story, then you should really think about picking up Dodger.

The book’s eponymous protagonist is an orphaned street urchin who lives in Victorian London and works as a “tosher”--that is, someone who goes into the sewers to find treasures in the trash. When he pops out of a sewer to be ”the knight in soaking armor” to a lady in distress, he suddenly finds that one small act of kindness will change his life in ways he could not have imagined.

Dodger is quite different from the typical Pratchett book, and not just because it doesn’t take place in a flat world travelling on the back of a giant turtle. It’s a gentler story than his other books, even including his young audience books like Amazing Maurice or Wee Free Men. The plot and humour are a bit softer around the edges, and while Pratchett’s love of footnotes and wordplay are still apparent, they’re a little less incisive. Even so, there were a few quotes that stood out in my memory:

“I recall, if you go around telling people that they are downtrodden, you tend to make two separate enemies: the people who are doing the downtreading and have no intention of stopping, and the people who are downtrodden, but nevertheless -- people being who they are -- don't want to know. They can get quite nasty about it.”

The plot itself rather reminds me of the vintage heartwarming variety of nineteenth- or early twentieth- century children’s stories--Cheaper by the Dozen, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, Enchanted Castle--that sort of thing. Like those stories, Dodger isn’t particularly suspenseful--it’s clear from the first scene that Dodger will triumph over all adversity-- but it’s fun watching him stumble into serendipitous good fortune. Almost all of the characters are nice people, and they’re not just nice; they’re the type of people you’d enjoy being around. I especially loved Solomon, Dodger’s housemate and unofficial guardian. Much of the enjoyment of the story comes from watching how circumstances conspire to bring about favourable outcomes for the protagonist. It’s the type of book that brings an unconscious smile to your face.

Some of my favourite parts of the story were the cameos from various famous Victorian figures, both historical and apocryphal. The book is practically a Who’s Who of famous and infamous Victorians. As one might expect, a certain Charles Dickens plays a prominent role, but we also have everyone from Robert Peel to Angela Burdett-Coutts to Benjamin Disraeli to Henry Mayhew to the Queen herself. (Guess whether or not she is amused.) Jack the Ripper appears to be active, and Dodger runs across a shellshocked barber named Sweeney Todd. Solomon has a tendency to tell stories about the friends he met on his travels, including a guy named Karl who had an obsession with proletariats.

This isn’t a great choice if you’re in the mood for suspense or shock or enlightenment, but if you’re looking for a light, fun, and above all, cute story, then Dodger is well worth a look.

[meikoyim · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first ever Terry Pratchett.

I know, I know, I'm behind in the game, what with Discworld taking up half (well, quite a sizeable proportion at least) of my to-read list.

Dodger is the story of a nobody with a gallant heart, and with wits about him as people living on the streets in the days of Victorian London would have to have in order to survive. It is about his past as well as his future, about the change that befell him one stormy night.

I must say I enjoyed the read rather more than I would have expected.

Big names in literature often lead to my hesitation in picking the works up, despite having heard countless recommendations. But this was approachable, and quite easy to lose oneself into.

I enjoyed the little cameos thrown in as well, I suppose you could sum this novel up as about a nobody being at the right place at the right time, doing and/or saying the right things, and thus getting to know the right people.

A bit of a play of fate, if you will.

And whilst the currency gave me a headache and the slang usage took some getting used to, I must confess I spent a lot of time afterwards on the internet and more specifically wikipedia looking at titbits and detailed (albeit maybe not entirely accurate) accounts on the historical personnel that played a role in this book.

I doubt there will be another volume in the story of Dodger, though I certainly wouldn't mind reading more about him, both before and after the incidents described in this book.

I suppose I shall await someone someday making a tv movie out of it instead.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love clever stories about clever young people forming convoluted plots and tricking people. When an author manages to give me that, Charles Dickens as a newspaperman, Sweeney Todd, the drains of London, Jews escaped from the pogroms of Russia (including Karl), a noisome dog named Onan, and more, well, I'm pretty much beside myself with glee through the whole thing. A big old sack of awesome. And now, I've got to get a hold of Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, Vol. 3.

Still need convincing: not since Dickens has anyone written about slums with the clear understanding that real people do actually live in them, people who get on with their lives as best they can. Contrast this with say The Bonfire of the Vanities with its racism and sexism and general mean-spiritedness.

Library copy.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se terminó... :(

Un largo bloqueo lector y un seguido de problemas personales han hecho que tardara un mes en leerlo, pero, ahora que lo he terminado, me da muchísima pena separarme de esta historia. Ha sido toda una aventura victoriana llena de valores y que demuestra que, incluso en el mayor ambiente de miseria, podredumbre y desesperación, existe gente buena en el mundo.

Debo decir que algunas partes del argumento me ha costado entenderlas. También me ha parecido que no tiene tanto humor como otros libros del autor, o quizá sea yo que no he captado todas las referencias (soy bastante joven y tengo mucho que aprender), pero aún así tiene momentos y frases capaces de sacar una sonrisa a cualquiera.

Y cómo no, Perillán y Simplicity son OTP total. Hacía tiempo que una pareja literaria no me encandilaba tanto. Me encantan, de verdad.

Gracias por tanto, maestro Pratchett.

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun take on Charles Dickens and the Artful Dodger in fairytale Victorian England.

[Huw Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, if a rather perplexing one. The story is set in Victorian London and thereby lies some of my confusion. Firstly, it very bravely sucks real figures of the time into the storyline (e.g. Dickens, Mayhew, Burdett-Coutts, Peel) which is potentially dangerous. Secondly, everybody knows that Pterry writes about Discworld so I found myself constantly expecting to encounter the denizens of Ankh-Morpork at every turn. There are so many parallels between Victorian London and A-M that the two are effectively interchangeable so it paid to keep my feet very firmly in the world of Queen Victoria, not the Patrician.

Dodger is a tosher, a searcher of sewers to find valuables that have fallen into the system. Fortunately for the squeamish this is set before Bazalgette redeveloped the system and the majority of human waste is collected in cesspits, emptied by the nightsoil men with their honey wagons. He survives on his wits and his ability to find enough money to feed himself. He is the archetypal diamond in the rough. One night he emerges from his toshing to witness an assault and to drive off the assailants, which sucks him into a scandal that, potentially, has international ramifications.

As with all Pratchett's writing the book should be judged on the quality of the language. He excels himself, using the street slang of the time, giving the book a Dickensian feel but retaining a Pratchett style. All his real life characters respond to the author's direction without a murmur, allowing the plot to proceed at pace. By the way, look out for the Housekeeper who is a direct descendent of Mrs Malaprop or Mr Dogberry.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge Pratchett fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Dodger - a non-Discworld tale of an heroic tosher working in the squalor of Dickensian London who saves a mysterious girl from a savage beating one stormy night.
And so begins a quite fantastical tale involving Sweeney Todd, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli and other historical figures as our hero seeks to save a damsel in distress and prevent an international incident and an improbable war.

The author's style has changed noticeably during the course of his last few books, presumably because he has had to adapt the way he writes since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. His characters are more verbose and tend to moralise and monolgue which can make the text feel stilted at times, and the puns don't flow as thick and fast as they did in his older books. Despite this, Dodger is still pure, enjoyable Pratchett. Heroes triumph and villains are despatched in short order. All in all a very amiable and uplifting book.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.7 stars rounded up. Set in a fantasy based Victorian London. Dodger is a 17 year old guy who is a sewer scavenger and his life changes one day when he rescued a young girl from a beating. In his adventures he meets people like sweeny tod and Charles Dickens. I've been wanting to give Terry Pratchett another go for quite some time now but don't know where to start. But I decided to pick Up Dodger as it sounded interesting enough. It wasn't terrible but definitely didn't make me feel any magic and greatness for the book as I've thought I would. The plot didn't really interest me that much but I'm not giving up on Terry Pratchett just yet. Just need to find a better way to start the journey.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main conflict revolves around a young woman fleeing from an abusive husband, and Dodger, in the tradition of knights in shining armor clothes covered in sewer muck everywhere, comes to her rescue. She turns out to be complicated, therefore everyone refers to her as Miss Simplicity. Dodger finds himself being pursued by policemen and an assassin, but also hobnobbing with the prime minister and a very rich aristocratic lady, even meeting Queen Victoria. At the end, he has to devise a daring rescue….

This is a favorite of many, it is pure adventure and Dodger and everyone is drawn with Pratchett’s trademark understanding humor. However, as he acknowledges in the afterword, Pratchett always writes fantasy, even if he abstains from magic and fantasy creatures: none of this rags to riches story is even vaguely possible. Most readers would not care, but I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to historical accuracy, so there were a lot of things that bothered me and got me out of the flow. There is no way that the aristocracy would let a known sewer rat into their midst as an honored guest, even if he is a hero, without some thorough scrubbing and teaching of manners, not to mention be gently forgiving when they find their handkerchiefs stolen. The dialog was often completely unbelievable for the same reason, and I could find no real attraction between the two young lovers. Writing romance was never Pratchett’s strong suit and it us ok if it is a small part of the story, but here it was more central.

Overall I think most people would love this, unless you are a stickler for historical detail, like me.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently "mopping up" any Pratchetts I have neglected to read over the years. Dodger was next on my list.

Dodger isn't a laugh out loud book but it is liberally sprinkled with humour. It tells a version of Charles Dickens "Great Expectations" based solely on our eponymous hero. Frankly, he always did make a much more interesting protagonist than Oliver, who things happened to, rather than Dodger who makes things happen. In this case he comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and the rest of the book is spent trying to punish the bad guys and getting the girl.

There are lots of reasons to like this novel, not least of which is the extremely engaging Dodger, who meets up with several characters - real and fictional - through the book. I think my favourite was his encounter with Sweeney Todd, whose story has a surprising end. But the funniest (aside from the continuing presence of Charles Dickens) were the meetings with Sir Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli.

I liked this reimagining of a fictional work. It certainly has the Pratchett twist to it, which always a good thing.

I listened to the audio version, which was perfectly narrated by Stephen Briggs.

Definitely recommended but don't expect Discworld.

Onwards to Nation (no, I cant believe I've never read it either).

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who really knows me know that I have an extremely soft spot for Sir Terry Pratchett (I've met him several times and have more than a few autographed Discworld books) and it goes without saying that if it wrote it I'm going to totally love it, and this book is no exception!

The book revolves around a very Dickensian London and is the tale of a young man by the name of Dodger. No, this Dodger isn't the infamous Dicken's Dodger this Dodger is a very different kettle of fish altogether. This Dodger is what is known as a tosher, a sewer scavenger who eeks out some kind of living from things he finds in the sewers, things that people have lost like coins, gems and the like. He has no family to speak of but does have a series of aquaintances that you get to meet during the course of the book and some of them are pretty interesting.

Dodger is a total nobody until the day he steps in to save the life of a stranger under attack by thugs. Little does Dodger realise what a fateful decision he has made by stepping forward and saving the young girls life.

Life rapidly alters for Dodger when he decides that he can do a better job of protecting his young lady than the adults can and he finds himself in the midst of an adventure, in the company of some rather infamous people..... reporter Charlie Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli and Sweeney Todd among many more.

This is a wonderful book and is Sir Terry at his best. The story twists and turn in so many unexpected ways as you explore a London of the past with Dodger. The world is beautifully written as you would expect and the humour is obvious through-out and is firmly tongue-in-cheek as you would expect. Dodger is a fantastic character and so very likeable despite the fact that he is a very naughty young man indeed, the proverbial cheeky chappy! Dodger's relationships with all the various characters throughout the book are wonderful, some are sweet, some are a little more tense but some are just genius, such as Charlie Dickens, who is a touch of class and brilliant character introduction.

This may be classed as a children's book but as an adult reading I can say that you wouldn't necessarily realise that fact if you didn't know it. Terry Pratchett had again written a book for younger viewers that is just as good for adult and as I said if you didn't know you wouldn't know the difference and I think that is one of the many things that Sir Terry is so talented at doing.

I am a HUGE fan of the Discworld novels but once in a while it's very refreshing to read a story that isn't based there, as in this case. It may not be classic Discworld but this book is still a treat for the senses and I would highly recommend it to young and old!

[Erastes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't sure what to expect, to be honest - I thought it was a Discworld novel, with Dickensian overtones with an Ankh-Morpork Dodger character so it was a pleasant surprise to find it set in actual Victorian London(although, as Pratchett himself says, a London with a bit of a shine on it.)

I was seriously impressed by the writing and to me it seemed as though Pratchett has been leading up to this book via the YA books, particularly Maurice, and the Watch novels. There are undertones of much of Nobby Nobbs, Vimes and others but they are nothing much more than ghosts which leave no trace in this interesting world. Flavourings, but nothing more.

Dodger is a great character and I hope that Pterry visits him again soon - he's certainly left the door open for that to happen - the kind of "hero" that's the opposite side of Vimes in many ways, but still still a hero for all that. The kind of man who will set fire to a stables, but will gently take out all the horses and put them somewhere safe before doing so. The man who will rob a embassy of everything his sticky fingers can get on, but never consider himself a theif, for that is behind him.

He's a Tosher, which was someone who would "mine" the sewers for the coins and jewellery that would be swept away and got stuck in the ancient brickwork. He's good at it, and makes a decent living. He does border on the Gary Stu, it has to be said. He's good at everything he tries his hand at, disguise, toshing, theifing, and even wins the heart of a good woman despite his tendency to smell of poo (i'm sure lye soap doesn't remove all the smells.)

I got slightly bored at times when we are told over and over again how he's a dodger, a tosher, a geezer, a cove and what all these terms mean, and I wasn't really convinced of the INSTA-LOVE between Simplicity and himself. i can see what he saw in her, but the other way, was so easy to swallow.

The only part I didn't like at all was the section involving Sweeney todd. Pratchett does say that the story is a historical fantasy, rather than a historical novel, but in his afterword he goes into detail telling the reader who existed - Robert Peel, Disraeli, Charles Dickens and others and he never mentions Todd which might lead some readers to believe that, like the other characters mentioned, Todd existed when he didn't. I liked the writing and the plotting of that section, and I liked the way that Todd was portrayed and the reasons behind his murderous bent of mind, but I simply thought that including him was a mistake. But each to his own.

all in all though I really enjoyed the book, and would give it four and a half, if the rating system allowed me to do it.