Sub-series: Witches #2
Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Maigrat have fairy godmother-dom thrust upon them.
I love Pratchett's writing. The way in which he twists and morphs Shakespeare and folk tales as he winds his way through his own version of Hamlet is amazing. Granny Weatherwax is also one of the greatest witches from any story.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as his previous books, I think a lot of this is down to having seen the animated film version of Wyrd Sisters and for me that dulled some of the jokes.
It is a good story though and granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are fantastic characters, I loved how no matter what the situation Nanny will not be fazed. The fact that these characters are so good makes the rest of the cast no so likeable.
I did enjoy how this reality keeps trying to break through Hwel's dreams. References to Charlie Chaplin kept popping up.
The book is a good read, just not as good as previous books.
"Granny turned slowly in her seat to look at the audience. They were staring at the performance, their faces rapt. The words washed over them in the breathless air. This was real. This was more real even than reality. This was history. It might not be true, but that had nothing to do with it.
Granny had never had much time for words. They were so insubstantial. Now she wished that she had found the time. Words were indeed insubstantial. They were as soft as water, but they were also as powerful as water and now they were rushing over the audience, eroding the levees of veracity, and carrying away the past."
"There was something here, he thought, that nearly belonged to the gods. Humans had built a world inside the world, which reflected it in pretty much the same way as a drop of water reflects the landscape. And …
"Granny turned slowly in her seat to look at the audience. They were staring at the performance, their faces rapt. The words washed over them in the breathless air. This was real. This was more real even than reality. This was history. It might not be true, but that had nothing to do with it.
Granny had never had much time for words. They were so insubstantial. Now she wished that she had found the time. Words were indeed insubstantial. They were as soft as water, but they were also as powerful as water and now they were rushing over the audience, eroding the levees of veracity, and carrying away the past."
"There was something here, he thought, that nearly belonged to the gods. Humans had built a world inside the world, which reflected it in pretty much the same way as a drop of water reflects the landscape. And yet . . . and yet . . . Inside this little world they had taken pains to put all the things, you might think they would want to escape from – hatred, fear, tyranny, and so forth. Death was intrigued. They thought they wanted to be taken out of themselves, and every art humans dreamt up took them further in."
I did like the parts about words and how powerful they can be, in this one. The point is brought home nicely. However, in general I found some parts uneven and not so much to my liking. Thus, a three.
This is actually 3-1/2 stars...
Terry Pratchett is always fun, though I admit to being a little disappointed with this one. It's not the author's fault, though, that I seem to prefer the stories that take place in Ankh-Morpork and involve the Night Watch. They're so much funnier than his witches, though I did enjoy Nanny Ogg. Oh, and DEATH is hardly in this one, and I missed him, too.
Somewhat entertaining, but pretty slight story-wise. The witch characters leave me particularly cold, but your mileage may very. Overall, this installment was fluff, even for Pratchett.
T'was an okay read, although in my opinion not as strong as some of the other books. The Witches in general, I feel, serve as poor main characters (at least in the two I've read so far). Reading books revolving around them feels more like a chore to get to the next book involving someone else than anything else.
That said, there are many good bits, like in any Pratchett novel. The Shakespeare jokes are appreciated, both the obvious and subtle. Tomjon is likable, as is his fathers' ghost, but I feel that the Witches themselves are more annoying than anything else.
This is the sixth book in the Discworld series, but a good place to start if you haven't read any others. It introduces the small mountaintop kingdom of Lancre and the witches, wonderful characters who will continue to feature in several subsequent Discworld books.
Like all Pratchett's books there are levels on levels on levels of jokes, and those familiar with Shakespeare's plays (especially Macbeth) will find lots of in-jokes and references, while those who are not will not enjoy the book any the less for not catching every allusion.
The book introduces the Discworld's version of witchcraft, while taking a sharp and irreverent look at theatre, royalty, fairy tales, human nature, and the nature of destiny itself, as always in an extremely irreverent and hilarious way.
Typical Pratchett - hilarious and zany.
