strange and random happenstance

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 1st, 2015
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
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Time doesn't stand still. Time is always moving forward. A witch, more then most, knows about life and death and the inevitability of both. The inevitable is about to happen in Lancre as Granny Weatherwax cleans her house for the last time and prepares to walk with DEATH. The rest of the witches can't believe that Esmerelda Weatherwax would do something so predictable as dying. At least her final wishes cause a stir as she leaves her steading to the young Tiffany Aching. But Tiffany isn't about to let Granny down! She will prove to all the other witches that Granny Weatherwax knew what she was doing, because didn't she always? Though the death of such a powerful witch has sent a shudder through the world. What was once safe and secure is now vulnerable, permeable, and those who were kept out sense it too. The fairies have long been trapped in their realm, unable to hunt among the humans, unable to enslave musicians, kidnap children, and kill indiscriminately. The Queen had an unforgettable encounter with Tiffany Aching and since that time the Discworld has become more and more inhospitable to their kind, banding the world in iron and steam. But the Lord Peaseblossom defies the Queen and decides that it's time for the fairies to take back the human world. Only they have one problem. Witches.

When Terry Pratchett died earlier this year I might have cried more than a little. Here was one of the most amazing authors I've ever read whose life was cut way too short. I had seen him only four years earlier, and sadly in those four years it was a rapid decline for him. He had all these stories left to tell and in the end he gave us one more before going. It's not just the nostalgia in me, this book really did feel like one more for the road. Before even picking it up I just intuited that Granny Weatherwax was leaving this world, because Terry was taking her with him, moreso than the other characters. It was his way to say goodbye. Granny Weatherwax organized her little cottage, put everything in order, let her wishes be known, and walked with DEATH hand in hand out of this world. This was the goodbye Terry wanted to leave us with, his work was as done as it could be and he and DEATH walked together, with a very opinionated witch by their side. This slim volume has everything there that you could want in a Discworld novel, but it lacks that final something. It's not unfinished, it's unpolished. The text wasn't pushed to it's furthest point and repetitive phrases weren't excised. This makes it even more bittersweet. The goodbye we were given was a hasty one. Everyone has one last quick cameo and then they shuffle off, stage right, living on through their stories though their creator is no more.

Terry has admitted more than once that his favorite character he created was Tiffany Aching, and that is perhaps why his fanbase, me included, have connected so strongly with her. Therefore it makes sense that the last tale to tell was one from Tiffany. But there's a part of me which is asking why. Why write it? Why write The Shepherd's Crown at all? This might seem ungrateful, like asking someone to take back this great gift they have given you, but might I rejoinder with I Shall Wear Midnight. Five years ago Terry Pratchett released what was to be the final Tiffany Aching story, I Shall Wear Midnight. This book is amazing, brilliant, perfection. It was a flawless ending. Tiffany came into her own and you could see the shape of her future. You could see her happily ever after. Then along comes The Shepherd's Crown and pokes holes in that happily ever after. Yes, we got to see more of her future and her inheritance from Granny Weatherwax, but I don't think that future needed to be spelled out, implying it was enough. Instead of envisioning this lovely future with her working side by side with Preston, the perfect match for her, we see their relationship fraying, and one can't help hoping that Tiffany and Preston's future doesn't mirror that of Granny Weatherwax and Mustrum Ridcully. We are told that work is more important then love. Perhaps in the end work was what was most important to Terry, finishing the stories he still had in him. But he was surrounded by people who loved him and fans who still love him. Love not duty seemed a better tone to end on, even if it's not as realistic.

Yet I can counter my own argument by saying, this wasn't so much a Tiffany Aching story as it was a witches story and therefore partially exempt from my displeasure. Prior to Tiffany coming along and hijacking all the witches plot lines they had six books of their own. Despite her being the protagonist here, it's more like those first six books with her filling the figurehead status that Granny Weatherwax did in those books. Therefore I guess you could say it's a more conventional Discworld book and perhaps that's where it fell a little flat for me, I like the individual character studies a little more. The threat isn't just a threat to Tiffany, and therefore her story, it's a threat to all witches, and therefore their story. So the gang is all here. Every witch that has ever graced the pages of Pratchett's writing, and even a wizard, show up. Magrat Garlick threw off her mantle of Queen and once more embraced her witchiness. Agnes took time out from singing to do battle. And of course Nanny Ogg was Nanny Ogg (and if one day she isn't played by Dawn French in some kind of movie or miniseries my life will have been in vain). It was great to see not only the newer witches but those who have been relegated to asides and background characters come to the fore again. Magrat has even got her battle armor on! Though this again brings about that nostalgic feeling. They're being let out for one last battle, one last moonlit broom ride before leaving us forever. Sigh.

Though for me, the best part of this book wasn't any witch or wizard, it was You. And by You I mean Granny Weatherwax's cat. Since that little white fuzzball first appeared I have been fascinated how she and Granny Weatherwax have gotten along, but more then that, how she is kind of a totem for Granny Weatherwax. While a cat would be the first to admit that they are in no way representatives of any person, being their own creatures, I think that cats might just induct Granny into their species, what with her prickly attitude and superior demeanor. After all "witches were a bit like cats. They didn’t much like one another’s company, but they did like to know where all the other witches were, just in case they needed them." Terry Pratchett just has this supernatural ability to understand cats. How You herself is just a fuzzy living bit of magic, able to get from one place to another with the simplest of ease, even if it takes Tiffany hours and hours to get between the two locals. Also, by having You approve of Tiffany it cements her status as Granny Weatherwax's successor. More than missing Terry, I'm going to miss his insights into those furry little mass murderers I love.

As for the real fault in the book? It has nothing to do with it's lack of finish and all to do with the villain. So therefore, no matter how much I could have loved this book if it was 100% finished, I would still end up at the level I feel now because of the fairies. OK people, especially you writers on Doctor Who, I don't like Big Bads coming back. I like fresh villains, wraiths with no eyes, the spirit of Winter, stuff like that, that's original. Cybermen, Daleks, no. The fairies again? No thank you. So far there have been two witches books dealing with these damn fairies, Lords and Ladies and The Wee Free Man. Why are they back? Why why why? It's not good enough to say because they ALWAYS come back. They always come back because writers are lazy and think if it worked once it will work again and readers on the whole like the predictable. For me this doesn't make interesting reading, it makes me bored. It makes me sit back and check out a little, occasionally tuning in to see if they have moved on yet. I will admit in the height of the battle I was a little caught up in the action, but overall, no. But the real truth? If I could get a few more Discworld books and Terry Pratchett back, I would read about as many fairies as he cared to write.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Big Bad, Cats, DEATH, Discworld, Doctor Who, Fairies, Granny Weatherwax, I Shall Wear Midnight, Lords and Ladies, Nanny Ogg, Terry Pratchett, The Shepherd's Crown, The Wee Free Men, Tiffany Aching, Witches

Wintersmith (Discworld Book #35) by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper Teen
Publication Date: 2006
Format: Paperback, 450 Pages
Challenge: Terry Pratchett, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★
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Tiffany has been assigned to Miss Treason. After the oddity that is Miss Level, with her two bodies, one person, a blind witch who will use your eyes to see and is into all the trappings of what a witch should appear to be, Tiffany doesn't have too many issues. Issues that drove every other young witch ever to leave Miss Treason, sometimes before the first night was out. But Tiffany understands Miss Treason. The crone with the skulls and the clock that is her own heart, plus the profusion of cobwebs, they all seem to be feeding into the mysticism of witches. They are in fact, pure Boffo! Miss Treason, at the young age of 113, knows that what sells a witch is the stories that have formed around her, and she's worked damn hard to make up some good ones! To the villagers she tends it's pride, my witch is witchier than your witch. So when Miss Treason tells Tiffany that she will be dead soon, after all, 113 is getting up there, the opening of her steading becomes a hotly debated issue among all the witches. Despite Tiffany's young age, she knows the area, and all the other witches think this will lead to Granny Weatherwax bestowing her vote on Tiffany... but of course, Annagramma is the senior witch, so it should go to her. What better way for Granny Weatherwax to prove her point of Tiffany's suitability than by letting Annagramma take over and fail, or rely heavily on Tiffany and the other young witches. But the dispute of a witch's steading is not that important to Tiffany at the moment. One night in the woods she did something beyond foolish and stupid. She went with Miss Treason to watch a dance, because it had to be witnessed. The key is witnessed, not participated in. The Dark Morris is the dance of winter. It lacks the bells and good cheer that bring about summer. As it rightly should, this dance brings about the cold and the snow. The Wintersmith dances while there is a hole for the lady of summer, a hole that Tiffany thinks she'd fit quite nicely into... well actually, she didn't think, she just leaped and spun and danced. Summer and winter never meet, but Tiffany has disrupted this. The Wintersmith thinks that he has found his lady walking above the frozen ground. The Discworld itself starts to think the same as her tread on the earth brings forth new growth, as she's able to see other gods and goddesses, and she gets a very nice cornucopia, which can at least feed everyone while the winter goes on without end. Because the Wintersmith has decided to show Tiffany that not only is he all powerful, but that he can be the man for her... with iron enough to make a man. But if Tiffany cannot defeat the Wintersmith and end eternal snow, that just happens to have snow flakes that resemble her, people are going to die, through cold or starvation, and as for the little lambs down on the chalk, they don't stand a chance. With the help of the Nac Mac Feegle and the Baron's son, Roland, hopefully Spring will return.

Tiffany is growing up. Besides her responsibilities as a witch, which do tend to age one rather fast, she is getting into uncharted territory, mainly boys. Now while many witches retain the "Miss" their whole life, it's not a hard a fast rule. Look at Nanny Ogg, she has had, what, three husbands so far. Coupled with the fact this Wintersmith doesn't know what it's like to be human, let alone a boyish swain, and things get complicated fast. When infatuation brings about blizzards and death, it's a hard row to hoe. And there won't be another harvest ever again if the Withersmith has his way. The Nac Mac Feegle, in their direct and logical way, realize that a hero is needed, someone close to Tiffany's heart. There really is only one choice, Roland. Tiffany and him have always had a connection because of their differences to all others. So what's a little epic myth making thrown in when Roland must go down to the underworld to retrieve Summer. But to me, it's not this teenage angst that is the thread that holds this story together, but the thread of story weaving itself. More than the previous books I love that this story centers on what makes something worthy of myth and legend. It's not how you are, but the legends and lore you weave about yourself. You create your perception of yourself, and it's this that people latch onto. A witch must be a hag, with skulls and cobwebs, if not, she's not much of a witch is she? To prove your love you must battle through the underworld like Orpheus in search of Eurydice. You must make the leap and do that which is epic. Gather enough iron to make a man. You must kiss the winter and bring forth the sun. If at the same time you're able to cheat DEATH and annoy him a little, that's all the better.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: DEATH, Discworld, Eurydice, Granny Weatherwax, Miss Level, Miss Treason, Nac Mac Feegles, Nanny Ogg, Orpheus, Reading Challenge, Roland, Terry Pratchett, Tiffany Aching, Wintersmith

Carpe Jugulum (Discworld Book #23) by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper Torch
Publication Date: 1998
Format: Paperback, 378 Pages
Challenge: Terry Pratchett, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★★
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Up in Lancre there is a big to do. King Verance and his Queen, Magrat, have had their first child and a party is called for. In his attempt at dragging Lancre into the Century of the Fruit Bat, Verance has invited people from all over the Disc to celebrate the naming of his daughter. So what if he really didn't think it through when sending the invites to Ubervald and the Magpyrs. This is diplomacy, and you can't not invite vampires because they are vampires now can you? But while Verance has sent out the invites to all the wrong sorts, the most important person has not received hers. While Nanny Ogg and Agnes are at the castle dealing with Mightily-Praiseworthy-Are-Ye-Who-Exalteth-Om Oats, who, while presiding over the naming, comes from a church that used to burn witches, which Nanny Ogg can't abide, Granny Weatherwax is mysteriously absent. She who is going to be the princess' godmother is missing. Or more importantly, her invite is missing, and she is never one to go where she isn't invited or wanted. Who knows, in Granny Weatherwax's mind she might have been made obsolete... she was always the crone, and now with Magrat has become a mother, Nanny Ogg becomes the crone and Esme is just pushed aside. But when the Magpyrs decide to stay permanently in Lancre, usurping Vernance's thrown, they need Granny Weatherwax more than anything. Because these vampires seem to have everyone under their spell... except Agnes, who's always in two minds about things, the second mind being Perdita, who the vampires seem unable to entrance, and Oats, whose religion seems to actually make him immune. With a convenient "spontaneous" mob, they hope to force the Magpyrs and their "new" ideas about vampirism out. But instead they bite Granny Weatherwax and the witches take to the road, ending up in Ubervald, hopefully the last place the vampires will look for them. Of course, with a few little blue men lurking about, there's no knowing how this will end up. Crivens!

The thing that I love about Pratchett is, that, while on the outside it looks like a simple science fiction story about witches and vampires, it is about so much more. From the human mentality to want a leader, if said leader stays within preconceived notions of leadering, to faith, and how it's not so much the God, but the faith behind it. To the idea of evil, and how those who behave evil and admit it are at least not trying to hide what they are behind progress and the common good. Evil is so much easier to handle in an evil package. Pratchett understands the underlying psychology of people and how they want their leaders to be leaders and their evil to be evil, but with a dash of dark humor. Plus, in today's world of all these "good vampires" it's a surprisingly current book, even though twelve years old. Here we have "mainstreaming" vampires! They actually think they're good and not evil! But savagely attacking strangers in the night is nowhere near as bad as lining up your peasants to be drained, even if you did give the town a nice new clock tower. But even amongst the weightier issues, it's the witches that drive this story. Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat and Agnes are some of my favorite characters in all of Discworld. They are just as messed up as everyone else, but they are able to see the big picture and understand how people think. As Granny Weatherwax would say, it's all Headology, and somehow these witches know how to get into my head and make the world a little better through their being present. Plus, no harm can be made by throwing in some Nac Mac Feegle, my little six inch tall swearing blue Scotsmen. Ah, how I love you fighting and drinking and fighting while drinking, you brighten my day as well, only please, don't drop by, I don't have any good whiskey.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Agnes, Carpe Jugulum, Crivens, Discworld, Granny Weatherwax, Lancre, Magpyrs, Nac Mac Feegles, Nanny Ogg, Reading Challenge, Terry Pratchett, Vampires, Whiskey