The Shepherd's Crown (Discworld #41) by Terry Pratchett

Having previously read and enjoyed almost all the Discworld books, I approached this one with some trepidation. Would it live up to the rest of the series, or would it be a disappointment, and therefore affect my memory of Discworld as a whole.
While not the funniest of the novels, that award goes to the early ones, it still has some great humour. This is mostly generated by the Nac Mac Feegles - always up for a fight, never up for thinking, they provide the comedy and the muscle when it is needed. The story centres around Tiffany Aching and the return of the Elves to our world, but things have changed. No only does Granny Weatherwax die early in the story, but the Discworld has progressed and we have trains.
In many ways it is a story about a young woman (don't dare call her a girl) maturing under difficult circumstances. She has already proved her worth (in a previous book), but must now establish herself, and in the most difficult of roles - the 'head' witch.

It is a compelling read, and an up-to-date commentary on our times, it is not in the top half of the series in my opinion, and lacked a really good tense fight scene. The fight was left too late and covered in too little detail, so it was over before the struggle had hardly got under-way. Nevertheless it is a good read.

Nation - Terry Pratchet

Nation is not a disk world book, but something slightly different. The alternative reality is not so alternative. There will be times when you have to ask if there is any alternative here at all, but you won't get as far as asking about reality - that's solid enough. A boy is going through his right of passage to become a man when a tsunami hits the island. He is the only survivor because he was the only one not on the island waiting for the party to start. Others arrive, a ship - the Sweet Judy - arrives in the trees of the rain forest, from the more technologically advanced world. There is only a young girl left alive. Then there are survivors from other islands, as they arrive the world is slowly revealed.

As always it is a very good read. The characters are well created, and the claim that there has been thinking happening is clearly substantiated. There is the usual preponderance of discussion and thinking about God. This occurs at many levels, and the culture has a complicated set of gods. There is an ultimate creator, all the way through to ancestor worship. Some of this is rejected by some of the main characters, and some isn't. Quite why this is I have not worked out yet. Perhaps I need to do more thinking, but it seems to give the book an anti-religious sentiment for a while. The visitors also bring there own views and gods into the equation. As life returns to the island, and the world impinges on it more and more a reality returns, and an innocence is lost.

Humor is always a feature with Pratchet and Nation is no exception. While this book cannot be described as hilarious, the parrot is used to good effect most of the time, its interruptions breaking the tensions and generating a laugh.

At its root, Nation, is a love story, (not a romance - not quite) although you would not necessarily see it like that until close to the end of the book. I don't think that I've given anything away.

Making Money (A Discworld Novel)

Terry Pratchett
Transworld Publishers (Double Day)

ISBN 9780385611015

The latest book in the ever lengthening Discworld series again concentrates on Moist von Lipwig as the central character. The environment is familiar and Ankh-Morpork is still ruled by Vetinari. Most of the characters though are new. The wonderfully comic Cosmo, who is completely mad, and his relatives, and a small dog all vie with Moist for ownership of the Ankh-Morpork bank. The bank has been under performing for years and requires the same type of transformation as the Post-Office (see the previous book in the series – Going Postal). Then there's the Golden Golem, the Golem Trust, and the possibility of war with the other cities on the Disc. Unseen University, Ponder Stibbons, and the Necromancy department Department of Post-Mortem Communications, are there to help out and avoid catastrophe, or contribute to it. A full cast list can be found in lspace.

We also come across another type of computer this one is water based and the whole area where is is operated is wet. It models the economy (read the book to find out how). When Moist is introduced to it, he says to it's programmer “Hello, I'm Moist”, to which the reply is “I should have put the umbrella closer to the door”. That's my type of quote!

It is clear from this novel that Pratchett does not have a high level of respect for banks. What is there that's of real worth – could it be Gold? As unlikely here as it is on the Discworld, but nonetheless something that people are drawn to. The gold standard is abandoned, as it has been in the sphere world. The story develops with its usual flourish, and a good deal of comedy, but here the characters themselves are more obviously comic in their own right. This is an easy and enjoyable read. Unlike most of the other novels in this series, its pace does not pick up dramatically at the end, which is no bad thing.

My last review of a Pratchett book was Wintersmith.

WINTERSMITH

Wintersmith
Terry Pratchett

Doubleday
ISBN 978-0-385-60984-5

Tiffany Aching is almost thirteen, she live on Disc World, and is a trainee witch. Tiffany has voices in her head that help her, and us, see what is really going on. She is also frequently surrounded by very small blue men, they are called the Nac Mac Feegles. They have a duty of care over Tiffany, although they would not necessarily express it like that, so when ever she's in trouble they are watching over her and do their best to help. The Nac Mac Feegles have no fear, except of women, especially angry women, and of course witches. Otherwise they are always up for a fight. They provide the lighter moments in the book, and prevent us from taking the story too seriously. Tiffany is the typical precocious child, and will not do as she's told. She's not bad, quite the reverse, but her sense of independence gets her into trouble. She's looked after by an older witch, who is supposed to be training her. She's taken to see the dance where summer and winter swap as the dominant elemental for the new season. The dance is the Black Morris. -She joins in – always a bad idea, and gets mistaken for the Summer Lady. That's when the trouble starts, the wintersmith falls in love with her, and all sorts of dangerous things begin to happen.

Its Mistress Weatherwax (the hag 'o' hags as the Nac Mac Feegles call her) who's really looking after Tiffany and training her and testing her. She is one of the original characters in Disc World, and appears in many of the books. Here we see a softer side of her, but only just.

Using elements from various mythological stories, new ideas and twists, and of course the setting of disc world itself we have another brilliant story from Terry Pratchett. If you've read any of the Disc World stories, you'll already know what a good story teller Pratchett is. The characters are developed nicely from the previous book in the series, and you have a feeling there is more to come. Which we certainly hope there is.

THUD

THUD
Terry Pratchet
Doubleday ISBN 0385 608675

Another excellent book in the Discworld series from Terry Pratchet, and another one without chapters.  The dwarves and the Trolls have never been friends, rather they have been enemies.  Now there are so many of them in the city that trouble is about to occur in Ankh-Morpork. The ONLY one who can sort it out is Commander Vimes of the city Watch (police).  This is more that just a war story (well not a war story at all really), it has some good characterisations, some new characters, and the usual cast of old friends.  There is also some nice comment on the modern world.  I especially like the organiser – it is actually useful here!  The i-pod was a bit more un-believable, but this is a magic world after all. Sam actually scores a point off Vetinari.  If you have a good imagination there’s also a wonderfully comic scene with cabbages.  


If you haven’t read it already, then I strongly suggest you put a day or two aside, because you won’t want to put it down.