Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith is at once an age old story of how a God falls in love with a mortal, it's also a story of how the God (really the elemental of Winter, the Wintersmith) doesn't get his own way (cough) because he falls for a mortal who is also a witch the 13 year old Tiffany Aching.
There's little add to this - the Discworld is faced by eternal winter, unless Tiffany can spurn the advances of the Wintersmith and a certain young boy can complete a dangerous task. We also meet some of the Discworld's best characters again, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, and are treated to the formers superb "Headology".
A couple of times, I wondered whether I'd read some of this before - the descent into hell, that forms part of the quest felt a little like Will and Lyre's trip into a similar place in the third volume of Phillip Pullman's wonderful "His Dark Materials" trilogy. And is it just a coincidence that Tiffany's true love, setting out on his world saving quest is called Roland?
Nevertheless this is a fun read for all Pratchett fans, though definitely not a good starting point for someone new to the series, and can I add how lovely it is to read a good novel in hardback, something that I rarely get a chance to do.
Related Reviews
Pratchett - Thud
Pratchett - Going Postal
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Hi! I welcome you to the Non-Fiction Five Challenge! You said that non-fiction isn't much of a challenge for you, but that's okay...I'm glad you still want to participate with us. :) I look forward to seeing your choices and I'm sure others will find them of interest as well.
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ReplyDeleteWhy are you letting crazy people comment on your nice blog?
I hope I'm not one of those crazy people mentioned above. Just wanted to thank you for visiting my blog. I enjoyed reading your reviews. What fascinating books. I plan on reading Pratchett sometime soon. And "England, My England" is going on my TBR list.
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