Pratchett's Dodger

The english best selling author Terry Pratchett, known for his fantasy novels (specially for his Discworld series, which has more than 40 volumes) has published Dodger, a novel that promises everything that Pratchett can bring: humour, great plot, believable characters, and pure invention of a world-of-fantasy.

The novel, inspired by Charles Dickens' life, is set in early Victorian London, when a young woman falls from a carriage and is attacked by two men. Dodger, a gamin and a tosher, saves her from the assault and they both are taken by two other men (Charlie and Henry) to heal the woman's injuries. The woman is named Simplicity.

As the novel evolves, Dodger must get information concerning Simplicity's background (who is she? where she came from?). As Dodger starts gathering information, he will face some incidents that ultimately will lead him to heroic acts, but also to the lost of anonimity.

Dodger and Charlie will eventualy know that Simplicity has married a man from the German States, which causes a whole political problem, thus putting Simplicity in danger of life.

Persecuted by a misterious professional  killer, the Outlander (a woman), and guessing the likelihood of Simplicity's being murdered, Dodger decides to fake Simplicity's death. She then is renamed Serendipity.

Pratchett's Dodger is a novel you can enjoy all the way through, because it has everything you look for. It's the story of a man that, coming from the bottom of society and using his talents to its limits, conquers the respect and admiration of the whole community.