Shakespearean – DaneCobain.com

Title: Wyrd Sisters

Author: Terry Pratchett

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 336

Rating: 8/10

Terry Pratchett – Weird Sisters

At book number six, Wyrd Sisters is a relatively early entry in the Discworld series, but even then, Pratchett’s way with words and story line is very much apparent. Here, we follow the story of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick as all sorts of shenanigans happen. Unlike most of my Discworld reviews, I’m not going to go into detail about the story line – it’s actually pretty complicated, although it does make sense when you read it. You need time for each aspect of the story to sink in, but that works well because it gives you some natural stopping points.

One of the cool things in Wyrd Sisters in particular is that Pratchett makes a number of Shakespearean references, although I suppose that you have to when you’re writing about three witches. I’m not going to point any of them out, but you should be aware that they’re there before you start reading so that you can keep your eyes peeled.

Wyrd Sisters is the second Discworld novel to feature the witches, following close on the heels of Equal Rites, and it’s one of the better books in my opinion. That said, I’d recommend reading them in order if you can – the miniseries has some of the best dialogue in Pratchett’s early work, and it’s almost a shame that he didn’t continue to feature them so prominently in his later work. That said, he has lots of other fantastic characters for you to choose from, and so you’ll never run short.

Overall, Wyrd Sisters has a special place in my heart because of the fact that it was one of the earliest releases – it’s actually older than I am, which is always pretty cool. I’d definitely recommend checking out some of Pratchett’s earlier work if you’ve only read later books, and Wyrd Sisters is as good a place as any to start. Have fun, folks!

Terry Pratchett

Click here to buy Wyrd Sisters.

Terry Pratchett – Lords and Ladies | Review

Title: Lords and Ladies

Author: Terry Pratchett

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 384

Rating: 7/10

Terry Pratchett – Lords and Ladies

Lords and Ladies is one of Pratchett’s earlier Discworld novels, and it’s an unfortunate sufferer of EPS – Early Pratchett Syndrome. By that, I mean that there’s nothing inherently wrong here – after all, Pratchett is like the Douglas Adams of the ages, and all of his work is worth reading eventually, but this is far from his best.

That said, it does have its merits, and one of its big strengths is the fact that Granny Weatherwax is there – a perennial favourite, even from the early days. It’s also a lot more Shakespearean than you’re likely to find in another Discworld novel, which is either a strength or a weakness, depending upon how you look at it.

For my part, I read this fairly early on, when I was first falling in love with the Discworld. It left an impression, but a fleeting one, and I haven’t re-read it since. This is one of the problems that you run up against when you attempt to review every book you’ve ever read – sometimes you come up against something like this, which I read and forgot about immediately afterwards. Sorry about that – sometimes, running a book review site has its problems.

Terry Pratchett

But doesn’t that say something about Lords and Ladies? Even back then, when I first read it in my formative years, I didn’t go back to it – meanwhile, I read Feet of Clay a couple of dozen times, because I loved it. I just can’t bring myself to love this – if you think about books as the babies of the author who wrote them, this particular Pratchett baby is illegitimate, and the result of a one night stand.

Sure, it’s worth reading, if you’ve read the rest of the Discworld ouevre, but I’m certainly not in a hurry to recommend it – it was professional, and competent, and all of those other buzzwords that sound good but that point to mediocrity. It’s a bit like getting a B in a test – it’s good, but is it great? Possibly not great enough, when you consider Pratchett’s high standards.

I’m going to leave it up to you to decide whether to buy it or not – consider it, before purchasing.