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Lords and Ladies (Discworld #14)

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 25,022 ratings · 391 reviews

'When you start believing in Spirits, you start believing in demons, and then before you know where you are, you're believing in Gods. And then you're in trouble.'

Reality is all very well in small doses. It's a perfectly conventional and convenient way of neutralising the imagination. But sometimes when there's more than one reality at play, imagination just won't be neutr...more

Paperback, 400 pages

Published August 1st 2005 by Corgi (first published 1992)

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Jan 12, 2013 Kat Lowe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, humor

Ah ha! I now see why my better read Pratchett friends consider Magrat Garlick to be a worthy sort. After this book, I shall have to consider dropping the "wet hen" label for Magrat (no promises). Perhaps that is what this addition to the Discworld universe is really about: getting past our foolish preconceptions.

I really enjoyed the spin Pratchett gave to elves, casting them as glamour encased, selfish, superficial beings. And the fact that he also portrayed the average human as a deluded, star-...more

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Jul 30, 2007 Jono rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, hilarious

i agree wholeheartedly, this is my FAVORITE of the Witch series. I love Granny v Lily in "Witches Abroad," but if you delighted in Mrs. Weasley gettin all Sigourney Weaver on Bellatrix L in the last Harry Potter, YOU'LL LOVE the whole last third of the book. i squirmed with glee as soon as Magrat put on that armor. the principle of a cat in a box being any of 3 various states till you open the box: alive, dead, bloody pissed off is all i know about physics, or need to know.

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Feb 07, 2012 Gavin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

In my last review I admitted that I was a big fan of re-contextualised mythology, and I think anyone who has any interest in fantasy will find that they are too.

In Lords and Ladies, Pratchett re-draws the boundaries where elves are concerned. Trying to push the fae folk back from Tolkien's ("pretty = lovely") vision towards their German/Scandinavian folkloric roots ("pretty = dangerous") is -to this day- an almost entirely unique direction to head in, and an interesting one. After all, people ar...more In my last review I admitted that I was a big fan of re-contextualised mythology, and I think anyone who has any interest in fantasy will find that they are too.

In Lords and Ladies, Pratchett re-draws the boundaries where elves are concerned. Trying to push the fae folk back from Tolkien's ("pretty = lovely") vision towards their German/Scandinavian folkloric roots ("pretty = dangerous") is -to this day- an almost entirely unique direction to head in, and an interesting one. After all, people are statistically more liable to forgive an attractive person than an ugly one.

This book also represents the point at which the limitations Pratchett had placed on himself -in particular "one story, one book"- started to chafe. Lords and Ladies is the fourth book in the Weatherwax Canon (though Equal Rites' Granny was clearly an entirely different character) and Pterry himself admits that it had indeed become a canon in the foreword.

On my first read I was really surprised by the inclusion of a few choice Faculty members in the narrative, and while it was absolutely necessary for Ridcully to be there, it did feel as though the Librarian/Bursar/Stibbons were along to ensure more plot-important characters were able to go where they needed to. These (and other, similar) bits of word-flab were what kept the book from being as good as his best (Witches Abroad/Reaper Man). He seemed to spend so much work establishing the elves as a threat and writing everyone to where they needed to be that when the final confrontation started happening it was over again before any credible danger was presented.

However; even when he's writing sections that would be dull in the hands of other authors it's incredibly difficult to complain and pick fault because it's still Terry Pratchett at the top of his game writing the words. Hodgesaargh and his hawks, Mr Brooks and his bees, Jason Ogg and the Morris Men, Magrat and Queen Ynci, Iron and elves. The sheer volume of quality ideas and the subtlety of their presentation is indicative of someone who knows exactly what they are doing, and even when you're wandering the woods with bit-parters it is presented in such an entertaining way that you neither realise nor mind.

The action is tight and efficient, the characters are (by this point) superbly drawn and understandably motivated and the idea of the King waiting in his barrow for the Iron In The Head to rust is absolutely fantastic. Lords and Ladies was the start of a run of books that changed the way I read. I have rustled through it more times than I dare think about and I still did not have to force myself to turn a single page.(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Barbara78e rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ingredienti: una base di Shakespeare, appena un pizzico di Tolkien, un accenno di multiverso, stregoneria quanto basta, filosofia in abbondanza e qualche cerchio nel grano come guarnizione. Frullare il tutto con umorismo metafisico per almeno 334 pagine, assicurandosi che il frullatore sia Pratchett. Leggere tutto d'un fiato, lasciando riposare per qualche giorno in modo da assimilare per bene le frasi più straordinarie.
Solo Pratchett può usare questi ingredienti e tirare fuori una storia ricca...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Smcleish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here in July 2001.

The third novel to feature the coven of witches from the Discworld kingdom of Lancre follows on directly from Witches Abroad, as the three of them return home so that Magrat can marry the king. All is not well, however, as the sinister elves are trying to take advantage of a weakness in the fabric between worlds to attack the Discworld from which they were excluded centuries earlier. (Elves here are not the noble and beautiful creatures you might...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Brooke Banks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: funny, fantasy, written-reviews

I loved this book. It's Pratchett. If you don't know what that means, you just need to read one to understand it.

Pratchett books always have lots of pop culture, science and literature references. There's introspection on life and everything in it, from creaking doors to societal oppression and stereotypes. It's witty and funny, with jokes from high brow to low. He certainly has a writing style, like the Elves, witches or cats. Especially like Greebo the Cat who hunts wolves and Nanny Ogg, the...more

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Apr 25, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Lords and Ladies is one of my favorite Discworld novels. Although it's full of top-flight Pratchett punnery and humor, it is also a brilliant dark fantasy that turns genre conventions upside down while mocking and paying homage to Shakespeare. Rather like Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Pratchett turns to earlier traditions of elves and fairies instead of Tolkienian or pulp-fantasy tropes. There are numerous references to the very dark elven ballads of Tam Lin, Thomas the Rhyme...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Emily Dingman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like any Prachett book, this book is an amazingly fun read. Pratchett's sense of humor always leaves me in stitches and I rarely find myself skimming any portion of his books. There really isn't much I can say about this book that can't be applied to every Discworld book out there. The characters are fun and feel like people, the world has little curiosities thrown through it and it takes a classic element of fantasy literature and reexamines it.

In this case it was the elves. Instead of the tree...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Христо Блажев rated it 5 of 5 stars

Елфи сеят ужас в “Господари и господарки” на Пратчет
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/10/b...

Те чакат. Живеят в приказния си безвременен свят и знаят, че рано или късно преградите ще изтънеят достатъчно, за да се завърнат на Диска. Където всичко е позволено и колкото то е по-жестоко, толкова по-добре. Господарите и господарките чакат. Както ловецът чака плячката си. Елфическото време отново ще дойде…

Пратчет смело сграбчва легендите за приказните елфи и ги преобръща с хастара навън. В неговия свя...more

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May 31, 2011 ambyr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: acquiredㅡbought-new, authorㅡmale, genreㅡfantasyㅡsecondary-world, ownㅡcurrently, protagonistㅡfemale, read-aloud

Once upon a time, my boyfriend and I carpooled on a commute that was 1.5 hours plus each way. I don't drive, so I provided the read-aloud entertainment. We got through about a book a month.

. . .and then I got a different job, and we stopped carpooling, and our read-alouds ground to an almost complete halt, revived only on long road trips. If I remember right, we'd started this book right before I switched jobs, which means we've been working on it for over a year and a half. Finally done!

Oh, but...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love Pratchett's spin on fantasy. He takes a well-known faerie tale (elves) and shines a totally different light on them:
"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Nenia Campbell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-series-bk-14, x-1990s, magic-and-sparkles-and-shit, send-in-the-roflcopter, witches-not-bitches, faeries-and-elves, reviewed

You can read more reviews on my blog, The Armchair Librarian.

Faeries and elves, like vampires, have been ruined by what serves as vogue in current YA mythology (with few exceptions). Faeries are effing creepy. They steal you away and replace you with evil faerie copies (changelings), or they might keep you around as a plaything until it's time to send you to hell (tithes). Faeries, in short, love screwing with humans.

Lords and Ladies pokes fun at the "Oh, but they're just a bunch of harmless tin...more You can read more reviews on my blog, The Armchair Librarian.

Faeries and elves, like vampires, have been ruined by what serves as vogue in current YA mythology (with few exceptions). Faeries are effing creepy. They steal you away and replace you with evil faerie copies (changelings), or they might keep you around as a plaything until it's time to send you to hell (tithes). Faeries, in short, love screwing with humans.

Lords and Ladies pokes fun at the "Oh, but they're just a bunch of harmless tinkerbells, eh?" stereotype (I imagine he'd have just as much fun riposting the emo fae-boys that are just SO LONELY OH GOD I JUST NEED TO BE LOVED so prevalent these days). It's got elements of A Midsummer Night's Dream in it, but Pratchett satire can be all-encompassing. Everything from sex to sorcery, he laughs at everything.

(Even Death.)

Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth book in the Discworld series. They can all serve as standalones, however, so if you find yourself with a Pratchett book that isn't The Color of Magic (a.k.a. the first book), never fear! It isn't even one of the best novels in the series, but some people like reading Discworld in order just because of the hipster cred.

It features the three witches, Margrat (the overweight but generally kindly witch who tends to be the odd one out), Nanny Ogg (rapacious and lecherous, hornier than a horny old goat reared on Viagra), and Granny Weatherwax (she could look up at the sky and, with a single glare, and make the gods desperately feel like their mothers are calling them). They need to save the world from evil elves intent on crashing a wedding--

Oh, and taking over the world.

I always experienced mixed feelings about reading Terry Pratchett books. The quality varies by quite a bit, so you never know if you will be embarking upon one of the better journeys until it is too late. Also, his beginnings are a lot stronger than his endings. I suspect that this ties into his attempts to be all-encompassing; if you're going to create a gigantic world, it might be hard to girdle it, if you know what I mean.

Lords and Ladies was a fun, lighthearted read that I really appreciated after all the dystopian sci-fi I've been reading. I don't think I'll ever be one of those die-hard Discworld fans, but I do read the ones I come across.

Recommended for fans of fun, flippant fantasy fiction (try saying that five times fast).

2.5 to 3 stars.(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 Tracyfood rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, fiction, escapism

HERE THERE BE A MILD SPOILER:

Other people would probably say: I wasn't myself. But Granny Weatherwax didn't have anyone else to be. (p. 53, 18%)

This may be my new favorite Discworld book, and that's saying something. Then again, I am a complete and utter sucker chump for all things Granny Weatherwax, and that's that.

HERE THERE BE POSSIBLE SPOILERS I DUNNO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

"I don't hold with paddlin' with the occult," said Granny firmly. "Once you start paddlin' with the occult you start bel

...more HERE THERE BE A MILD SPOILER:

Other people would probably say: I wasn't myself. But Granny Weatherwax didn't have anyone else to be. (p. 53, 18%)

"I don't hold with paddlin' with the occult," said Granny firmly. "Once you start paddlin' with the occult you start believing in spirits, and when you start believing in spirits you start believing in demons, and then before you know where you are you're believing in gods. And then you're in trouble."

"But all them things exist," said Nanny Ogg.

"That's no call to go around believing in them. It only encourages 'em." (p. 60, 20-21%)

The point was that Granny Weatherwax had a feeling she was going to die. This was beginning to get on her nerves.

Knowing the time of your death is one of those strange bonuses that comes with being a true magic user. And, on the whole, it is a bonus....

People think that they live life as a moving dot traveling from the Past into the Future, with memory streaming out behind them like some kind of mental cometary trail. But memory spreads out in front as well as behind. It's just that most humans aren't good at dealing with it, and so it arrives as premonitions, forebodings, intuitions, and hunches. Witches are good at dealing with it... (pp. 61-2, 21%)

There are indeed such things as parallel universes, although parallel is hardly the right word— universes swoop and spiral around one another like some made weaving machine or a squadron of Yossarians with middle-ear trouble.

And they branch. But, and this is important, not all the time. The universe doesn't much care if you tread on a butterfly. There are plenty more butterflies. Gods might note the fall of a sparrow, but they don't make any effort to catch them. (p. 83, 29%)

"Being a witch meant knowing exactly who you were and where you were, and she was losing the ability to know both." (p. 150, 52%)

(less)

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Jun 23, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comic-fantasy, 2012-reading-challenge

As a character, Granny Weatherwax first appeared in the third Discworld novel Equal Rites, which was about, well, Equal Rights for both sexes. She then re-appeared (and beacem the unofficial head of her coven) in both Wyrd Sisters (where the broad outline of the plot bears a striking resemblance to certain Scottish play) and Witches Abroad (fairytales as you've never heard them before!). This is thus the fourth Discworld novel to include her as a main character, this time taking its inspiration...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Daveski rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another very good entry in the Discworld series. Pratchett takes on elves, bees, magnets, quantum physics, and A Midsummer Night's Dream in a novel mostly starring the witches of Lancre. This wasn't one of my favorites, but it was quite funny and was a great quick read. Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax are two of the best characters in any of Pratchett's work, and they are supported by a pretty good cast of secondary characters too. I was pleasantly surprised by Magrat here - she's been a good ch...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Spuddie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: keepers

#14 in publication order in the humorous fantasy Discworld series. We're once again back in Lancre with Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and...well, Magrat Garlick used to be the third member of their witches' coven until King Verence proposed. Now she's Queen-in-waiting, planning her wedding and bored silly, so not able to help much when Granny and Nanny make their plans to take on the Lords and Ladies--the elves--who are trying to get through to this dimension through a stone circle in the Ramtops...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Michael Clemens rated it 3 of 5 stars

Have you read this book before? If it was Moving Pictures then yes, you quite nearly have. Like the events of its predecessor, the Disc is again threatened from creatures living where the curtains between realities are worn a bit thin. Like Moving Pictures, the wizards make a large, comic, and generally ineffectual muddle of it all -- except for the Librarian, of course, who alone of the faculty keeps control. Unlike the other book, though, this has witches and witchy-related mayhem cover-to-cov...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Claudiu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Books like 'Lords and ladies' are the reason why I seem to return to Pratchett's universe time and time again. You can always count on this author to produce something new with his already established character sets and settings...and that's a fantastic draw.

I won't go into summary for the plot or story. There are tens of reviews written already that have that covered...so I'll just justify those 5 marks up there. And since I feel I'll be adding this to any review I write, the stars do not repr...more Books like 'Lords and ladies' are the reason why I seem to return to Pratchett's universe time and time again. You can always count on this author to produce something new with his already established character sets and settings...and that's a fantastic draw.

I won't go into summary for the plot or story. There are tens of reviews written already that have that covered...so I'll just justify those 5 marks up there. And since I feel I'll be adding this to any review I write, the stars do not represent an objective opinion (as they really shouldn't) but rather a way of turning the level of enjoyment into a numeric value. Kind of crude if you think about it, but that's just the most direct way of saying "I don't/like this".

Anyway. I've been reading Pratchett in order for quite some time now and I find my preferences to waver quite a bit from book to book. It's a massive universe he's built so that's bound to happen. I never found myself terribly impressed with the Witches but this one may have been the one that completely rewrote it for me.
While exploring some very genre changing themes for the race of Elves, Pratchett manages to squeeze in a fair share of character development that's quite unlike him. Sure, his books do offer fantastic characters, but you could usually count on them to be the same ponies at the end, which I'm happy to say has changed now. Granny Weatherwas, Magrat, even Nanny and Ridcully get a fair share of development, and a deep look into who they really are and what they can achieve in life.
Of course, visits from favorites like Ponder Stibbons, Death and the Librarian are a huge plus as well, but those first four really stole it this time.

Pratchett worked myth like I have yet to see him do it. It's a refreshing take that got a well deserve spotlight in this story of growth and change. Although generally things stay the same, it feels as if the Discworld is truly alive through this story, and through its characters that are heartwarming to watch struggle and explore what makes them tick.
Of course, the humor's still there and it's better than ever. The last couple of books I've read from Terry Pratchett have been on an ascending slope regarding both humor and the quality of the story so I'm hoping that this will continue in the future.

As usual, there's always very little to say about a good book...or an enjoyable one, if you prefer this phrasing. I could talk about how fascinating Lancre is (for such a small and gray kingdom), about how interesting Granny Weatherwax is as a powerful character (aside from the Patrician, there are few powerful characters on the Discworld, that aren't so just for the sake of the story), about how much you can grow attached to the Librarian even with his short presence or some rather interesting themes like what it really means to be the best.
But I won't go into those details. As you can see, I am a fan. If you are one as well, you'll read this with the same pleasure you would otherwise; if you're not a fan, there's no point in spoiling things for you, now is there?

As such, I enjoyed this book, I count it among Pratchett's best and I wish the next ones will be even half as interesting and good as this. (less)

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Jul 12, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british-books-challenge

Lords and Ladies is the second discworld novel originally published in 1992. Overall, it's the 14th book, and the fourth from the witches storyline.

The first thing that surprised me here was that it does, in a way, stand on it's own, but there is a review of former books, especially Witches Abroad, the previous witches novel. Lords and Ladies picks up the story of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick at their arrival in Lancre, when Magrat is informed that she will be married to King...more Lords and Ladies is the second discworld novel originally published in 1992. Overall, it's the 14th book, and the fourth from the witches storyline.

The first thing that surprised me here was that it does, in a way, stand on it's own, but there is a review of former books, especially Witches Abroad, the previous witches novel. Lords and Ladies picks up the story of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick at their arrival in Lancre, when Magrat is informed that she will be married to King Verence II. soon. She doesn't really mind, but is of course very upset because she has apparently no choice in the matter; even the wedding dress has already been ordered without consulting her. Still, that is nothing to an argument she has with Granny Weatherwax, prompting her to give up witching and move into the castle even before the wedding.
It's only Granny and Nanny Ogg, then, who discover that someone had been dabbling with magic at the Dancers, an old stone circle protecting Lancre from Fairyland, which isn't at all as people think it is. They try to prevent the worst, but in the end, elves come through, taking over the kingdom. To really own the land, though, the Queen of the Elves has to marry the king, and Magrat won't have any of that... Neither would the other two witches, of course, but both are distracted by, well, men.

To me, Lords and Ladies was special because I've already read the much younger Tiffany Aching series, which starts with another invasion of the elves. It is very different from this one, but I remember that it was mentioned somewhere that Granny Weatherwax once got rid of the Queen, but wouldn't say how. Now I know.
Another thing that sets this novel apart from the other witch novels is the behaviour of Granny Weatherwax. She is uncertain, confused and a bit weak, absolutely not her usual self. And she has been planning ahead, manipulating people... To be honest, she reminded me a lot of Dumbledore (you know, Harry Potter). It was interesting to watch/read, and what made it even better were hints at her past.

Important guest roles this time were: Ridcully, current Archchancellor of Unseen University, together with the Bursar, the Librarian and Ponder Stibbons, Reader in Invisible Writings. Then there was Casanunda, the second greatest lover in the world and Nanny Ogg's flirt from Witches Abroad. On a side note, Mr. Ixolite the Banshee (from Reaper Man) is also mentioned.
Who is totally missing this time, though, is Death.(less)

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Dec 20, 2011 Jen Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was always one of my favourite Pratchett books; indeed, I read it over and over again as a kid. Reading it again now is a glorious pleasure.

It includes all my favourite aspects of the Discworld - the Witches, folklore, Ridcully, the people of Lancre... and Elves. When I first read Lords and Ladies I was also obsessed with another book about the Fair Folk - Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. The two books combined introduced me to the idea of elves being sinister, alien creatures, and I a...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, humor

My first Terry Pratchett book - good stuff! A tad confusing in the beginning to get into for me, but no surprise as this is part of a series I just kinda dove into.

A couple things:

"People think that they live life as a moving dot traveling from the Past into the Future, with memory streaming out behind them like some kind of mental cometary tail. But memory spreads out in front as well as behind. It's just that most humans aren't food at dealing with it, and so it arrives as premonitions, forebo...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, humour

So you thought the elves were fun, if a little tricksy, did you? It takes all three of Lancre's witches to send them back where they belong and even they need the help of the local morris dancers, "our Sean" who is a castle guard, "our Jason" who is the local blacksmith, and the elven queen's husband. Elves will take everything and leave you only fear. They have no emotions, particularly no compassion and anything they don't take they'll ruin.
A quote:" Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
E...more

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May 07, 2012 Rebecca Brothers rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’m at Terry Prachett again because I just can’t help myself. I’m busy as a bird dog these days, and escaping from it all right before I go to sleep is the aim with my reading time. So I take a world where the best librarian is an orangutan, and that gets me pretty far. Lords and Ladies is a lovely little book about some pretty evil entities: FAIRIES. These are not the nice little buggers with wings who grant wishes. These are nasty creatures, goblins, really (except Prachett fans will tell you...more I’m at Terry Prachett again because I just can’t help myself. I’m busy as a bird dog these days, and escaping from it all right before I go to sleep is the aim with my reading time. So I take a world where the best librarian is an orangutan, and that gets me pretty far. Lords and Ladies is a lovely little book about some pretty evil entities: FAIRIES. These are not the nice little buggers with wings who grant wishes. These are nasty creatures, goblins, really (except Prachett fans will tell you goblins are a specific species and these ain’t it). But it’s what most of us think as evil little creatures. What I like best about Prachett’s fairies is that they bend our perceptions completely. They glamor us into thinking they are lovely and we are totally unworthy, not at all unlike the most beautiful girls you went to high school with. Their beauty diminishes you until you decide to just kill yourself to put the world out of pain for your existence. These things are that bad.

It’s a witch book, what with Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax and Magrat Garlick. The three are all in a tizzy because it seems Magrat really is going to marry the local king, whether she wants to or not. And she wanted to, but it would have been nice if he had actually asked her to marry him instead of planning the wedding while she was away. Noble guests from all over the Disc are invited, including a contingent from the Wizarding school of Unseen University (librarian, too! OOK!). But some witchy-wanna-be’s from surrounding villages have been dancing around the local standing stones and generally making mischief they don’t understand. They wake up the Fairy Queen and all hell breaks loose. It is ugly. And very, very, very funny.

I love how Prachett does not take himself so seriously. He gives us a very self-aware, self-deprecating kind of fantasy that lets you nerd it up comfortably, because you’re making fun of it/yourself at the same time.

Oh, yeah, and it's Prachett's treatment of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream!
(less)

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Oct 29, 2011 Ryan Patrick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-2011

I always enjoy Granny Weatherwax, and this ran a Shakespearean underplot, but while it had its moments, it it seemed to drag a bit. Maybe my life got in the way a bit. My biggest complaint is that Pratchett's weakness seems to be writing action scenes. Everytime some real action happens, it hard to follow who's doing and saying what. He's better at building up slow parodies, I guess.

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Apr 26, 2012 Candy Wood added it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

An author’s note, which the Kindle edition unhelpfully puts at the end, identifies this book as the third in a sequence beginning with Wyrd Sisters and continuing in Witches Abroad, but I didn’t feel any more out of the loop than I have reading other Discworld books out of order. It does seem as though Lords and Ladies has a higher quotient of contrived jokes, starting with the basic situation that reworks Midsummer Night’s Dream with the wedding uniting a king who used to be a Fool and a queen...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Melki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, humorous-fiction, witches

The gals have been gone a while, and lots of things can happen in eight month's time.

Magrat is still planning to marry the new king (and former fool) of Lancre, and anyone who's everyone will be attending the Royal Wedding, including our favorite Librarian. (If only they can get him to put on some clothes...)

But wait...strange things are happening. (Well, stranger things than the strange things that normally happen in Discworld.)

Even the bees are worried.

Granny Weatherwax is reunited with an ol...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Gavin Felgate rated it 4 of 5 stars

The fourteenth Discworld novel is a direct sequel to Witches Abroad, taking place immediately after the events of the previous book. Magrat Garlick receives a marriage proposal from King Verence, but the proceedings are threatened by the appearance of a sinister band of elves, so it is up to Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat to sort them out.

For the second time, Terry Pratchett has turned to Shakespeare for his inspiration when writing this book, this time parodying A Midsummer Night's Dre...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Chipshop-Forks rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've come to Terry Pratchett only in the last 18 months, having been put off for years by the terrible covers and recommendations of him in his early days from fat geeks with a pewter wizard collection and Red Dwarf t-shirts.

However, coming to Pratchett many years later, and starting with the Vimes/City Guard series (outstanding) and making my way onto the Granny Weatherwax/Witches series. The books make a lot more sense reading them by series, rather than starting with the (still dodgy to my mi...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book, I feel, marks a change in the series. Until this point, the books have stood pretty well alone. Characters may have appeared in more than one book, but understanding their actions has not depended on having read the previous book, but here that changes. They also start getting somewhat longer, developing both characters and more complicated plot lines.

This features the Lancre witches, but without having read Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad, much of what occurs here would make no sens...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Sho rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: discworld, fantasy, series

Ah, the witches. And the wizards. The librarian and elves. What's not to like about the magic of the Discworld?

I'm like a lot of others and really enjoy the Discworld novels when Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg make an appearance. And I definitely have a very soft spot for the librarian.

But, as usual, it's impossible to summarise the plot so here's the blurb:

THE FARIES ARE BACK - BUT THIS TIME THEY DON'T JUST WANT YOUR TEETH...

Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven are up against real elves.

It's M

...more

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About Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel,...more

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“If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” — 2,815 people liked it

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Lords and Ladies (Discworld #14)

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