Witches Abroad: Discworld, Book 12

What a joy it was to realize that there was a Discworld book I hadn't read! Witches Abroad was the 12th Discworld book, which means that coming to it late means going back to a Discworld where the Watch is still a bit of a joke, where Tiffany Aching has yet to emerge, and where so many of the social changes with regard to the less human creatures of the Disc had yet to occur.What it also meant was returning to a time when Terry Pratchett wasn't quite using the series to explore profound truths like he would later. (It would hit that landmark in a big way in the next book, Small Gods.) That's not to say that Pratchett had nothing to say here; Witches Abroad is fascinated by the power of stories in our lives, from urban legends to fairy tales, and how we so often use the power of stories to override sense and logic, throwing our lives and passion after a plot line that always works on paper. That's rich fare, and if Pratchett would revisit it to some degree more effectively and powerfully in Hogfather, that doesn't detract from the great ideas he's tossing around here.But none of that really has any impact on just how much fun reading Witches Abroad is. Pratchett tosses in any number of fairy tales, letting his wonderful trio of witches - the elderly, unbeatable, and determined Granny Weatherwax; the dotty, pleasure-seeking Nanny Ogg (and her terrifying cat Greebo); and the inexperienced but enthusiastic Magrat Garlick - crash their way through them, leading to any number of "fractured fairy tales" filled with anarchy and absurdity. And with Pratchett being Pratchett, that's not enough for him, so he takes on bull-running, Cajun cooking, Mardi Gras, vampire stories, the self-image of cats - oh, and sibling rivalry, political power, the importance of belief, and more. There's no shortage of social commentary here, ranging from the important to the trivial, and all of it feels insightful, funny, and deeply humane. (Also, his descriptions of Cajun/creole cooking are so accurate as to hurt.)And as always, it's written in classic Pratchett style, with nary a sentence passing without a joke, a great aside, or a clever bit of phrasing. And why play a scene normally when you can pack the book with silliness, including what it's like when animals become people, the divide between magic and just messing with people's heads, a few surprisingly racy double entendres, and what it means to be "foreign". In other words, it's what made me fall in love with Pratchett: the fact that he combines a slew of ideas, a wondrous imagination, clever prose, satirical bite, great insights, and rich plotting, and makes it all look easy. I don't know how he did it, but I can say that there will never be another like him again, and I'm just glad that I got my last chance to jump in fresh to a classic Discworld novel.

Once upon a time in this 12th Book of Discworld, a witch doing extra duty as a fairy godmother dies and leaves her magic wand to another witch with very little instruction except to not let Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax help with the fairy godmothering. No other instructions could have ensured more help from those two. In Discworld, the world is a flat disc, balanced on the backs of four elephants which are standing on the back of a giant turtle. There are many novels set in Discworld, and most of them are clever, witty, and rapid-fire novels. Almost all of the Discworld novels fall into different categories: Tiffany Aching, Rincewind, the three witches, Sam Vines and the guards, and Death. This is a book of the three witches. Terry Pratchett is a master of satire that somehow remains timely. (He writes for example toward the beginning: “But the trouble was that ignorance became the more interesting, especially big fascinating ignorance about huge and important things…” Sounds timely to me.) This book is a fractured retelling of fairytales, a great journey through mangled but recognizable locations, and magic gone wrong. That sounds like a train wreck of a mash-up, but do not forget that this is a Terry Pratchett book and he can make nonsense make sense. It is also satirical, absurd, and occasionally silly. For example, the wand seems only to make pumpkins, but you would be surprised how occasionally pumpkins are helpful. There is method to the madness. Terry Pratchett does a wonderful job of maintaining the integrity of his absurd world and his characters while keeping everything fresh and creative. As always, the humor is wrapped around serious themes. It may be absurd, but it can also be thought provoking. I cannot read too many of them in a row, but when I need something different, a Discworld novel is the perfect metaphorical palate refresher. Like all the Discworld books, the tone is satirical and clever. These books do not contain any scenes, language, or images that would rate even a PG-13 rating at the movies. If a reader does not have sufficient maturity, much of the book will be wasted, because you won’t get the jokes or understand the satire.

Read this on my kindle and loved the story. The book shifts points of view frequently which is fine but in the kindle format it was very confusing as there were no breaks at all to indicate.

The humor is crisp and startling, the story fast paced and engaging. The characters are memorable and unique.What’s not to love???

What can I say about it? Three of my favorites out to fix up fairy tales gone wrong in the only way lancre witches can. Plenty of winks to the reader and carefully hidden references lurk in a land that may not be New Orleans, but really close

I bought this book for a friend. She didn't end up reading it, but her daughter did, and it sparked her interest in Sci/Fi/Fantasy. This is my favorite series of books by my favorite author. If I could give this more than five stars I would.

Pratchett takes the concept of fairytales and stories and turns in on its head. He explores, deconstructs and satirizes familiar childhood stories. The book was fun to read and I loved the interaction of the three witches. Not my favorite in the series so far but it’s close.

Funny and engaging

Funny great book.

Yet again Mr Pratchett delivers a superb story - couldn't put it down. Captured me from.beginning to end. Loved it!

Très bon opus de la série Pratchett

Witches abroad is a great read, funny and insightful and at the risk of a pun, holds a mirror up to society.