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Sir Terry Pratchett was best known for his bestselling Discworld novels.
Terry’s first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published by Colin Smythe – the start of what would become a phenomenally successful series, 41 books strong and translated all over the world.
Transworld Publishers, a division of Penguin Random House, bought the paperback rights and have published the Discworld paperbacks ever since. Gollancz took on the Discworld hardbacks in 1987 – Terry was their first fantasy author – and continued to publish them until 1998, when Transworld took over the entire list.
www.terrypratchettbooks.com/…
For anyone who isn’t familiar w/Discworld:
“The world rides through space on the back of a turtle. This is one of the great ancient world myths, found wherever men and turtles were gathered together; the four elephants were an Indo-European sophistication. The idea has been lying in the lumber rooms of legend for centuries. All I had to do was grab it and run away before the alarms went off.
There are no maps. You can't map a sense of humour. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragons? On the Discworld we know There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs.”
― Terry Pratchett
www.goodreads.com/...
The Colour of Magic first appeared in Britain in 1983. It was essentially a spoof of all the (bad) heroic fantasy being published at the time.
But there weren’t too many spoofs before Pratchett started writing social satire. And that’s when his novels get most interesting to me.
Wyrd Sisters first introduces us to Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax, and Magrat Garlick, a coven of three, with the two old ladies bossing young Magrat around. Nanny Ogg has been married three times, is the terror of her daughters-in-law, and makes an apple drink that is...seriously alcoholic.
Granny Weatherwax is perhaps the most powerful witch in all of Lancre. (And that’s Mistress Weatherwax to you, you peasant, lol.)
Magrat’s the third witch for Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad but she’s going to get married, so won’t be a major player in the last two witch Discworlds. That role will be taken by Agnes Nitt, who sometimes styles herself as Perdita.
And now that you’ve been introduced to the dramatis personae, on to the books!
Wyrd Sisters
Witches Abroad
Maskerade
Carpe Jugulum
(I can’t find my copy of Lords and Ladies.)
The Tiffany Aching novels are YA, so while Tiffany turns into quite a good witch, I can’t deal with THAT many novels in one post!
And I’m ignoring Equal Rites b/c that witch wanted to be a sorcerer. Also, I haven’t read it in about 30 years. 😉 Feel free to discuss it in the comments, though!
So: Wyrd Sisters introduces the Lancre coven. Lancre is high in the mountains; a small, friendly kingdom. It is also Pratchett doing MacBeth, as only he can do:
King Verence I of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, Duke Felmet, after his ambitious wife persuades him to do so. The King's crown and child [Tomjon] are given by an escaping servant to the three witches. The witches hand the child to a troupe of travelling actors, and hide the crown in the props-box. ✂️
Granny Weatherwax explains that Tomjon is the rightful king, and he is due to be crowned. However, Tomjon does not want to be king; he is an extremely talented actor and wishes to continue his career with his adopted father, Vitoller. Instead Granny Weatherwax tells the town that the Fool is in fact the king's son from another mother, and Tomjon's half-brother, and he is crowned King Verence II of Lancre.
en.wikipedia.org/...
Witches Abroad takes our coven to Genua (a thinly disguised New Orleans), where a certain witch has been abusing her power viz. mirror magic. This is Pratchett having fun with fairy tales: Red Riding Hood, big bad wolf, woodsmen. Nanny Ogg brings her cat, the ferocious Greebo; they stay at an inn along the way; Greebo gets the bat that is really a vampire; the locals rejoice. (Ding Dong the Vampire Is Dead? Because a house is going to fall on Nanny Ogg. Fortunately she has a very fortified hat. But also red boots….)
Following the death of the witch Desiderata Hollow, Magrat Garlick is sent her magic wand, for Desiderata was not only a witch, but also a fairy godmother. Having given the wand to Magrat, she effectively makes Magrat the new fairy godmother to a young woman called Emberella, who lives across the Disc in Genua.
en.wikipedia.org/...
Unfortunately, Magrat doesn’t know how to use the wand. Everything she points at turns into a pumpkin. Of course, among the three of them, and with some help from the local Voodoo witch, they will establish Emberella in her proper role as heir to the throne of Genua. Magrat will also marry the king of Lancre after this book.
Maskerade finds Nanny and Granny in Ankh-Morpork b/c Agnes Nitt, their new maiden in the coven, has gone off to be a singer there. She can sing in harmony with herself (!) — a manifestation of her magical ability. She’s going to end up at the opera, being a sort of Marni Nixon to Christine, who has star power and a lousy voice.
This one’s my favorite witch novel. Pratchett rags on opera & then musicals are born. It’s not a dedication, exactly, but Pratchett writes:
My thanks to the people who showed me that opera was stranger than I could imagine. I can best repay their kindness by not mentioning their names here.
Meanwhile, Nanny Ogg has written a cookbook, signing it as The Witch of Lancre and of course Granny takes offense b/c she’s the Witch of Lancre. But she also insists they meet with the publisher, who seriously underpaid on the royalties!
Along the way, in the coach, they meet Henry Slugg, originally of Ankh-Morpork. Who performs opera as Senor Basilica and is just about desperate for a plate of slumpy, an Ankh-Morpork, um, specialty?
The witches determine that the finances of the Opera House, which are a complete mess, have been made so intentionally in order to hide the fact that money is being stolen, with the murders being used either as a distraction or to cover evidence.
en.wikipedia.org/...
So it’s a murder mystery, a spoof of opera & publishing, and a rollicking good story. And remember, Nanny Ogg is a witch w/an excellent libido. Her recipes have a certain je sais crois. Ice water might be advised. 😁
Carpe Jugulum demonstrates WHY it’s a really bad idea to invite vampires to your daughter’s christening. Once in, they refuse to leave: and they have lots of magic, too. Verence has none. It will take Magrat, Verence’s wife & a witch, along with Agnes, Granny & Nanny, to evict the vampires.
en.wikipedia.org/...