Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Wyrd Sisters
Book Review: Kind of misleading, but still great Discworld.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought Wyrd Sisters expecting little. Equal Rites, for lack of better definition, [wasn't good]. I saw great potential in the characters, but I remember laughing only once or twice throughout the whole book. Thank God Pratchett lived up to the character's potentials this time.The back cover of the book says the main plot is about royal trouble, while it really is a parody of theatrical plays. Some of the scenes are laugh-out-loud funny.
The book is pretty slow in the beggining, but it speeds up gradually. If you ever chuckled at one of the previous discworld novels, you will love this one. Yes, the improvement is that huge.
Book Review: Lancre's coven revealed!
Summary: 5 Stars
Parodying Shakespeare is a cottage industry among novelists. Few, however, have the talent to weave sound philosophy within the narrative. Pratchett introduces some thoughtful notions along with his compelling characters. From the introduction of Esme Weatherwax in Equal Rites, he fills out the coven residing in the kingdom of Lancre with her cohorts. Each brings a highly unique style to the craft. Esme, acknowledged but undeclared head witch, is traditional, effective and highly sensitive to what's "good for people". Magrat Garlick, well-read, modern and innocent [if you can reconcile those viewpoints] personifies perfectly the modern "Wiccan" mystic. Nanny Ogg almost oozes practicality - having gone through three husbands and is served, if resentfully, by her phalanx of daughters and daughters-in-law. The story itself, however, concerns another matter - one far more pertinent to today's world.What is, or should be the role of monarchy in modern society? Pratchett uses the Hamlet example to examine this question in a new and penetrating manner. Kings can rise and fall through many means. Duke Felmet, desirous of disciplined rule, fells the incumbent. According to Pratchett, assassination is a "natural cause" of death for monarchs [as is execution, but that's elsewhere in the series]. The coven, aware that the former King Verence of Lancre has been murdered by a potential usurper, becomes protector of the heir. It "protects" him by shipping him off with a troupe of mummers. Thus Shakespeare as example is supplanted by parody of the playwright and his work. The coven, however, senses what Shakespeare never expressed - monarchy's role in regard to the land and the people.
In Shakespeare's day, Elizabeth, the ruling monarch, expressed her love for "her people" and "the country". She was nearly unique in that view. Pratchett, always sensitive to nuances, employs this concern in this tale. On a world ruled by magic, the land itself discerns the injustice of the murder, reacting with anger and pain. Esme, who "borrows" minds, perceives the grief and gathers the coven to go beyond merely hiding the heir. Larger questions are at stake.
Pratchett's ability to weave philosophical questions into what is advertised as "humorous fantasy" is what keeps him at the forefront of the genre. His witty approach gives the widest possible audience the chance to examine the issues he raises. If you miss them or overlook them, he still offers a fine story told in his engaging style. If you are new to Pratchett, you can start the Discworld series comfortably here. If you are an established fan, you will discover this to be one of his better efforts. It is something to read more than once without eroding the pleasure of the first encounter. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Book Review: Lend me your ears - the pointy ones
Summary: 5 Stars
Pratchett at his best is the best comic writer alive, and long may he flourish, but reviewing his books isn't easy. Anyone who reads them for the plot has probably lost it or never got it in the first place. A week after reading this I could barely remember what happened, but I still thought it was the funniest book I'd read all year. You don't have to be a fantasy fan. Folklore, literature and history are ransacked, and it helps to be a know-all to get all the jokes, but you don't have to be. You can be twelve years old and still love it. Harry Potter, go play with broomsticks.
What's it about? Witches, kings, ghosts, strolling players, neurotic landscape, time dilation. The one where an old lady tells you the way and if you don't offer to share your lunch with her you're in Trouble. A rube who knows his rights, including scotage, potage and munchage for half a cow on the common. Magrat Garlick, witch J.G., hailed by a dwarf: "Good...old...er, miss?" A failed jester who turns out to be the lost prince or at least a good stand-in. I don't know, just read it. Read them all.
Ed: could we be a bit more specific?
Sorry. Duke Felmet, egged on by his ferocious wife, stabs the old king and grabs the throne of Lancre, a sort of bijou Scotland inhabited by English yokels. The true heir is spirited away to safety by the Three Witches, but when he grows up, which happens overnight due to time dilation, he decides he would rather be an actor, so the claim passes to his double, the Court Fool (don't ask). Meanwhile, Felmet has gone interestingly mad and still hasn't worked out how to exercise his droit de seigneur. There is a cameo appearance by Death. Afterwards they all lived, or in Felmet's case died, happily for quite a long time.
Some reviewers have detected Philosophy too, which accounts for the final line: "There is a school of thought that says witches and wizards can never go home. They went, though, just the same."
Book Review: MacBeth-The Pratchett version
Summary: 3 Stars
Take Granny Weatherwax- Pratchett's witch extraordinaire who everyone respects and fears just a bit, Nanny Ogg- The witch everyone actually likes, and Magrat Garlick- a New Age witch who really thinks a coven would be a good idea and Pratchett has on hand a cast that will play delightfully on The Fates, MacBeth, and the theater in general. The Kingdom of Lancre has put up with their less than beneficent rulers for some time, but when the kingdom is usurped by Duke Felmet and his rather power hungry wife, things get out of hand as the wanton acts of cruelty against the land and its people can no longer be tolerated. Enter the newly formed and rather dysfunctional coven, the king's fool, whose loyalty is threatened by newly found notions of romance, and a theatrical group who have a member who has a particular impact on the future of the kingdom. The story moves along quickly, bouncing from the duke's gradual descent into madness with the witches' comic infighting, with aplomb. Although the character of Tomjon has a bit too much Carrot Ironfoundersson in him with his ready command of those around him, Pratchett does pull a nice switch at the end as the king is perhaps not the best man but the right one. Not as strong as some of the other books but a fun read.Book Review: Macbeth, Hamlet, fairy tales oh my
Summary: 4 Stars
The three witches are my favorite characters in Discworld. This book is hilarious throughout. It lost me a bit with the moving the whole kingdom 15 years into the future. Besides that it is a great read.