Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel: 3

£9.9
FREE Shipping

Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel: 3

Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel: 3

RRP: £99
Price: £9.9
£9.9 FREE Shipping

In stock

We accept the following payment methods

Description

Standing out was the Head Librarian, again, and Simon. And of course, our little witch was fun to follow but, unfortunately, she's not Tiffany. When the eighth son of an eighth son has a daughter who is mistaken for a boy at her birth, a wizard leaving his legacy to someone who is destined to be incredibly powerful becomes somewhat of a problem. Untrained wizards are dangerous. But who is going to take responsibility for Esk, a girl who wants to be a wizard? But Weatherwax seems to be not quite fully formed here. Isn't that odd? Or perhaps it isn't. This is the first time we see her and I have nothing but fond memories of the woman she reveals herself to be later. BUT, of course, such things always come with time. Thankfully, the wizard/witch battle was still brilliant. :) I have now read the first 3 books in the series and this is the first about witches. I have to say that I felt this was a bit serious. I know there were jokes in it, but Granny Weatherwax is a bit serious and it really makes for a serious tone. It gets sillier toward the end of the book when they get to Unseen University. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the humor in this book, but it was serious. Esk, of course, had not been trained, and it is well known that a vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you're attempting can't be done." pg 61, ebook.

The story is about a wizard who is dying who passes his staff the eighth son of an eighth son (which is required to become a wizard). Unfortunately for him, he was a bit careless and the eighth son was actually a daughter. So this girl goes on an adventure to become a wizard in an all-male university. There are over 40 books in the Discworld series, of which four are written for children. The first of these, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. In 2008, Harper Children's published Terry's standalone non-Discworld YA novel, Nation. Terry published Snuff in October 2011.

It is, at its core, a novel about breaking down the walls that the sexes tend to put up to keep the other side out. Witches can be wizards and vice-versa. :) Equal Rites has the most straightforward and dare I say traditional fantasy setup of any book in the series that I've read so far - it lends itself to easy summary, to the point where the setup sounds suspiciously like your typical YA fantasy adventure. The book starts with a dying wizard accidentally bestowing his powers on a newborn - what was intended to be the eight son of an eight son, who would carry on a proud tradition of wizards in the Disc. Unfortunately, the child turns out to be a girl named Esk. Her early magical education therefore falls to local witch Granny Weatherwax, until Esk decides to travel to Ankh-Morpork and attempt to get accepted to the Unseen University, where (strictly male) wizards are trained. He used to be human, but due to a magical incident during Rincewind's adventure, he was turned into an Orang-Utan and decided to stay an ape because that was easier (and he likes the bananas).

Okay. Almost every word in the English language has a whole slew of historic associations. People on the Disc can't possibly speak 'English' but I have to write in English. Some carefully-positioned 'translations' like 'It's all Klatchian to me' can work, but if I went the whole hog and 'discworlded' every name and term, then the books would be even more impenetrable and would probably only be read by people who like learning Klingon. I do my best -- French fries can't exist on Discworld, for example -- but I think 'gypsies' is allowable." Witch supreme (or that's what I'm calling her) - and that only because of her stare, to say nothing of her actual magical talents. And yes, I can totally see Maggie Smith playing her in a movie! I love the wit in Sir Terry Pratchett’s writing. You never know what to expect in his descriptions. They can be interesting like this: The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard (on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are ascribed to seven in the real world), Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor. Reading this after I've just finished the Tiffany Aching Discworld books makes me draw a lot of parallels. The Tiffany books is probably where Terry was going with this, but couldn't quite manage it. This is only the third Discworld novel, and that is apparent, and it's quite a short read. There are quite too many our-world mentions and weak gags and occasionally the plot stutters, but altogether it is impossibly wonderful.

Thankfully Granny Weatherwax, the Discworld’s most famous witch, has plenty of experience ignoring the status quo. With Granny’s help, Esk sneaks her way into the magical Unseen University and befriends apprentice wizard Simon. In its day, in 1948, this was the height of desirability -- so much so that for its first few years it was only available for export. Even in the Nineties, a fair number of Moggies are still going, "strong" and, particularly the split-screen ones, are very definitely collectors' items. Qué ganas tenía de releer esta saga. Es una de mis favoritas de Pratchett (por el momento). Esta novela la encontré de casualidad en una tienda de segunda mano en Oviedo. En ese momento estaba leyendo la saga de la muerte. Otra saga que también recomiendo bastante y también pendiente de releer ( tengo más lista pendiente de relecturas que de nuevas lecturas pero en fin). Overall this book had to do something right, because I pretty much tore through it in a weekend, which despite it's short length is still rather fast for me. This was lovely, very different from any other Discworld novel I've read - more charming and less hectic. It also works as a great standalone story, regardless of its place within the Discworld series.



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
  • Sold by: Fruugo

Delivery & Returns

Fruugo

Address: UK
All products: Visit Fruugo Shop