I read your review before I bought Nation and, well, it's spot on. I think Terry has produced a masterpiece. There is humour there, lots of it, as well as tragedy and pathos. It brings to mind many of the better adventure stories I read as a boy ... I'm a year older than Terry is, so its likely we both came across the same books. But it is an original work, with its own mythology and deep history behind it. The people, as always in Terry's books, are real people. The ending works very well - I found my eyes getting moist, which doesn't happen often when reading a book intended for young people!

I didn't find it so hard a book to get into as you did. The early parts were less gripping, but that's because Terry read them to us at the Con so I knew what was coming. I think if I was coming to it fresh I would have been even more impressed - its a very powerful story in its own right.

As I always do with good books, I'm now into my third re-read and still finding nuances and details that I missed before.

To anyone who is undecided: buy it! read it! It would also make a superb book to read aloud to older primary/younger secondary children.