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Product Description
Review
'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift, he is a satirist of enormous talent' - The Times. 'One of the perennial joys of modern fiction' - Mail on Sunday. 'One of the pleasures of the book is the way in which literary classics float effortlessly through them in a way that would be pounced on as inter-textual in another author but is never allowed to become strident or allenating in Pratchett's work' - Guardian"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
Witches are not by nature gregarious, and they certainly don't have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly regarded of the leaders they didn't have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe ...
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truly wonderful escapism,
By
This review is from: Wyrd Sisters (Paperback)
We return to Granny Weatherwax in this installment from Discworld, and a hilarious parody of Shakespeare's MacBeth, of princes threatened and exiled, lost and then found, only to discover the play is the thing.As always, imaginative, witty, often downright silly. Truly wonderful escapism.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Continuing Story of the Witches,
This review is from: Wyrd Sisters (Mass Market Paperback)
Wyrd Sisters continues the story of Granny Weatherwax, who we first met in the Discworld novel Equal Rites. In this book, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have joined with another witch, Magrat, new to the Discworld novels, to form a coven. Magrat has some odd ideas of what witchcraft involves, such as rituals, candles, and herbs, but the other two humor her. We also get a visit from our old friend Death. We also get introduced to some new characters. The old ruler of the kingdom, Verence, was murdered and is stuck being a ghost, bound to the stones of the castle. Hwel is a playwright given the job of writing a play to make the current evil ruler and his wife look better in the eyes of the people. The witches get involved in the royal intrigue, despite wanting to not get involved in matters outside of the coven. The land is unhappy with the new ruler, and the witches know it. Wyrd Sisters abounds with references to Shakespeare, namely MacBeth. Filled with witty dialogue and amusing parodies, the Discworld novels keep getting better and better.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End,
By
This review is from: Wyrd Sisters (Paperback)
Terry Pratchett's first novel, "The Carpet People", appeared in 1971. "Wyrd Sisters" is the sixth novel in his hugely popular Discworld series and his second (after "Equal Rites") to feature Granny Weatherwax, the Discworld's greatest witch. It was first published in 1988 and was later made into a cartoon. Pratchett won the 2001 Carnegie Medal for "The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents" and was awarded the OBE in 1998.Granny Weatherwax is joined in "Wyrd Sisters" by the two other members of her recently formed coven. One, Nanny Ogg, is the raucous head of the Ogg clan based in Lancre town. (She also owns a fearsome, one-eyed tomcat with an unbridled libido called Greebo). The other is Magrat Garlick, who has a few fanciful ideas about magic that Granny doesn't altogether approve of - dancing, occult jewellery, runes and the healing power of colours, for example. The trio are caught up in Lancre's political affairs when Duke Felmet decides it's time for his cousin, King Verence, to 'retire' - and kindly plants a dagger into the King's back. The King's infant son and the Kingdom's crown are delivered into the witches' hands by an escaping servant loyal to the deceased King - who now haunts the castle, desperately longing for the ability to eat. The coven, in turn, christens the royal orphan 'Tomjon' and, for his protection, put him in the care of a travelling theatre. The new king, however, is such a disaster they realise Tomjon must return to the throne as quickly as possible. Although "Wyrd Sisters" is most obviously a parody of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", you don't have to have read the Scottish play to enjoy the book. Having said that, even a basic awareness of the Bard's work should increase the number of laughs. Hwel, the dwarven playwright for the travelling band of actors, seems to owe a little to Shakespeare himself and when the troupe settle in Ankh-Morpork their home theatre is named "The Dysk". (Shakespeare's, of course, was called "The Globe"). Hwel, at various points, was also on the verge of 'inventing' the Discworld's versions of the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. Duke Felmet's Fool, who falls in love with Magrat, not only hates his job but is clearly a good deal more intelligent than his paranoid boss. (The Fool and the young witch also deliver what is quite possibly the longest kiss in literature). However, it's Nanny Ogg - with her fondness for a 'knees up' and a vulgar song - who is my favorite character. Thoroughly recommended !
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