Author: Terry Pratchett
Plot: (4th book in the Tiffany Aching series)
Most people think that witches are cackling old ladies with warts and cauldrons Hansel and Gretel, wearing midnight black dresses and pointy hats. Tiffany Aching is a witch, and she knows that these points are not altogether accurate. For one, most witches have terrible difficulty getting proper warts, so if you see one with a full set, it probably because they bought them at Boffo's Joke Shop. And they may be stirring bubbling cauldrons, but it probably stew which they will take to those too feeble cook their own. However, many witches do where black clothing, but not midnight black, but the kind of scuffed up black you get from hard work. Tiffany herself prefers blue and green dresses. The pointy hat though, that is non-negotiable. And sensible people can see that a witch has the hardest job of anyone- making everything that isn't anyones job their job, including helping mothers (and sheep, if you live in the hills) give birth, keeping the sick company on their beds, giving bed bound old men a shave, or bringing down the fever of sick children. Unfortunately when something strange happens in a community, it's often easiest to blame the old lady in the little cottage on the hill with the broom stick. Then the mobs come, with the pitchforks and the fire and the rough music that drowns out rationality. In a community that depends on a witch's dedication this will rarely happen, but when Tiffany's actions stir the soul of a long dead witch hunter, an evil is unleashed on the land, and evil goes where evil is welcome...
Alex's Opinion:
I really have enjoyed the "Tiffany Aching" series within the discworld series. Tiffany is a really likable character, and her fierce and comedic friends the tiny blue "Nac Mac Feegles" make any tale amusing. This is the fourth, the final, and my favorite of the Tiffany Aching series. It brings back all the great old characters, introduces a slew of fantastic new ones, and has a wonderful feel good message that is somehow serious in light of the ongoing comedy in a way that only Pratchett can deliver. A tale of good, evil, human nature, right, wrong, love, friendship, and Horace the sentient cheese.
Who would like it:
Fantasy lovers will love this amazingly crafted piece of literature, although I would advise you start with the first book in the series, "The Wee Free Men". If you like a story with a unique and plucky heroine you can't find a better one than Tiffany, one of my favorite characters in Discworld.
Read it!
Amazon Kindle
(Read a sample for free on your computer!)Amazon Paperback
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