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Witches Abroad (Discworld #12)
Be careful what you wish for...
Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named Desiderata who had a good heart, a wise head, and poor planning skills—which unforunately left the Princess Emberella in the care of her other (not quite so good and wise) godmother when DEATH came for Desiderata. So now it's up to Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg to hop on br
...morePaperback, 320 pages
Published
February 1st 1993
by Roc
(first published 1991)
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What happens when provincial professionals take a "business" trip and must reconcile the fact that things aren't quite done the same everywhere? This story shows that a good working knowledge and belief in oneself and abilities can adapt even when the language and lexicon
changes.
Ok, the plot is about a witch who inherits the position of fairy godmother and must stop a princess marrying a prince in a faraway kingdom. The previous FG knew she'd need help so she employed 'headology' to make sure he...more
changes.
Ok, the plot is about a witch who inherits the position of fairy godmother and must stop a princess marrying a prince in a faraway kingdom. The previous FG knew she'd need help so she employed 'headology' to make sure he...more
Bello! Si ride molto con questo libro e si ride con un certo stile e questa è la cosa che mi è piaciuta di più. Quindi... comprerò tutti i libri di Pratchett! (o perlomeno tutti quelli della serie Mondo Disco):)
First, I have to confess I am listening to these out of order. I've already heard The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30) and the other Tiffany Aching books(run out and get them, now!). I also heard The Color of Magic but it was so-so ish. I thought I'd skip to the witch books, but after listening to the sample I concluded I'd rather listen to a six-year old, learning phonics, painfully struggle to read it aloud than hear that woman read so much as a page.
So I skipped ahead.. to this one.
The true tes...more
So I skipped ahead.. to this one.
The true tes...more
I've completed 6 Discworld titles so far (The Wee Free Men,The Color of Magic, Equal Rites, Mort, Sourcery,Wyrd Sisters) and I have to say this is my very favorite one thus far. I love the way Terry Pratchett takes things that most of us can relate to, such as traveling abroad, and turns them into hilarious and at the same time fantastic Discworld adventures. The three Lancre witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat are some of my favorite characters in the whole series, not to mention N...more
"Защото Вселената била изпълнена с невежество, а ученият я пресявал като златотърсач, надвесен над планински поток, за да отдели златото на знанието от чакъла на глупостта, пясъка на несигурността и малките осмокраки мустакати плаващи твари на суеверието."
"Но бедата била там, че невежеството ставало все по-интересно, особено онова очарователно невежество за големи и важни неща като материя и сътворение. А хората преставали да градят търпеливо своите малки къщи от късчета разум в хаоса на Вселе...more
"Но бедата била там, че невежеството ставало все по-интересно, особено онова очарователно невежество за големи и важни неща като материя и сътворение. А хората преставали да градят търпеливо своите малки къщи от късчета разум в хаоса на Вселе...more
Pratchett is not being subtle in this one: the themes are the importance of free will and (as usual) the unwillingness of the average person to see what's in front them. Anyone who misses these points needs some remedial reading comprehension training.
But there's also plenty of fun typical Discworld story in the book, along with an interesting angle on Granny Weatherwax's character, which I don't recall, previously, as having much more depth than "smart and cantankerous."
The three witches (Grann...more
But there's also plenty of fun typical Discworld story in the book, along with an interesting angle on Granny Weatherwax's character, which I don't recall, previously, as having much more depth than "smart and cantankerous."
The three witches (Grann...more
I am late to discover Terry Pratchett, but having discovered him, I am a fan and have enjoyed nearly everything I have read. I laugh out loud because of his sense of humor, but I am awed by his sly commentary on life.
I take stories seriously: so seriously that I spent part of one summer at the university of Minneapolis studying Fairy Tales and critical literacy.
Therefore, I loved the introduction that dealt with the role of stories.
"... on the Discworld people take things seriously.
Like stori...more
I take stories seriously: so seriously that I spent part of one summer at the university of Minneapolis studying Fairy Tales and critical literacy.
Therefore, I loved the introduction that dealt with the role of stories.
"... on the Discworld people take things seriously.
Like stori...more
Originally published on my blog here in June 2001.
At the time when this came out, I thought it one of Pratchett's least successful Discworld novels; now, on re-reading it, I have a higher opinion.
It is one of the stories involving the three witches in the coven in the remote village of Lancre. One of them has a magic wand left to her, as well as the responsibility of being fairy godmother to a girl many miles away in the town of Genua. Unfortunately, the wand doesn't come with instructions, and...more
At the time when this came out, I thought it one of Pratchett's least successful Discworld novels; now, on re-reading it, I have a higher opinion.
It is one of the stories involving the three witches in the coven in the remote village of Lancre. One of them has a magic wand left to her, as well as the responsibility of being fairy godmother to a girl many miles away in the town of Genua. Unfortunately, the wand doesn't come with instructions, and...more
“Hey, do we already have this one?” I asked Schwern. He paused and blinked. “It’s 35¢. Who cares.” The Title Wave on 55% off day, everybody.
Anyway, this is an upper-mid-tier Discworld book, and that is about all needs saying about it, other than that it’s a witches book and I’ve been jonesing for some Granny Weatherwax.
I have this thought about how Weatherwax and Sam Vimes are the twin moral cores of Discworld and how it’s their integrity that lets them accomplish the impossible, but Vimes has t...more
Anyway, this is an upper-mid-tier Discworld book, and that is about all needs saying about it, other than that it’s a witches book and I’ve been jonesing for some Granny Weatherwax.
I have this thought about how Weatherwax and Sam Vimes are the twin moral cores of Discworld and how it’s their integrity that lets them accomplish the impossible, but Vimes has t...more
Sep 26, 2012
La Stamberga dei Lettori
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sakura87
Perché le storie sono importanti. Si crede che sia la gente a creare le storie. In realtà è il contrario.
Le storie esistono indipendentemente dai loro personaggi. La conoscenza di questo fatto è potere.
Le storie, grandi nastri svolazzanti di spazio-tempo, sventolano e si srotolano nell'universo fin dall'inizio dei tempi. E si sono evolute. Le più deboli sono morte. Le più forti sono sopravvissute e sono ingrassate a forza di racconti... storie che fluttuano nell'oscurità.
La fata madrina Desid...more
Le storie esistono indipendentemente dai loro personaggi. La conoscenza di questo fatto è potere.
Le storie, grandi nastri svolazzanti di spazio-tempo, sventolano e si srotolano nell'universo fin dall'inizio dei tempi. E si sono evolute. Le più deboli sono morte. Le più forti sono sopravvissute e sono ingrassate a forza di racconti... storie che fluttuano nell'oscurità.
La fata madrina Desid...more
I love the Witches series of Discworld. Pratchett is always a great story, great characters, with witty dialog memorable descriptions and a message. Everything means something in Discworld. Well, obviously being intelligently designed and all. ;)
I think one of the best things about Terry Pratchett and Discworld, is that nobody is excluded or discriminated against. It's not racist or sexist, or transphobic. It's not stereotypes. Pratchett punches up, not down. I love Pratchett's view of the world...more
I think one of the best things about Terry Pratchett and Discworld, is that nobody is excluded or discriminated against. It's not racist or sexist, or transphobic. It's not stereotypes. Pratchett punches up, not down. I love Pratchett's view of the world...more
This is an extremely important piece of writing. Pratchett is dealing with the base of all our story telling, what was the phrase - the Ur Stories? What are these stories anyway, where do they come from and what role do they play in our cultural history? Are they inevitable in their endings or what? How close are good and bad? Any teacher doing a fairy tale unit should make sure to read this first because it's a lot more fun than the ethnological studies and makes more sense. We meet Red Riding...more
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The more I read about the witches of the Disc, the more I like them. When I first started reading Discworld books, I was skipping around, focusing on books that had characters I liked and I skipped the witch books because I thought, much like a lot of other authors, Terry Pratchett might let me down in the area of female driven stories. It seems as though many an author thinks "strong female character" equates to "bitchy and opinionated" and I was very happy to find out that Terry Pratchett does...more
As always, Terry Pratchett is brilliantly entertaining--and, as always, he has a serious message at heart, one that is actually very relevant to the current climate of non-stop-regulation-for-our-own-good. The witches come to a city whose ruler enforces happiness and happy endings on everyone--but, as Granny Weatherwax says, "You can't make things right by magic. You can only stop making them wrong. . . No more stories. No more godmothers. Just people, deciding for themselves. For good or bad. R...more
Anytime I need a pick-me-up, I turn to Terry Pratchett and the Discworld. This is an old book about Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, three witches who go on the road to fulfill the wishes of another witch who passed on. They need to prevent the marriage of a princess and a prince in the far off land of Genua - usually someone needs to get 2 people to marry, not prevent it.
The book is all about stories and their power. Another witch is using stories to control events in Genua and...more
The book is all about stories and their power. Another witch is using stories to control events in Genua and...more
This book is really a lot of fun. It's a great metafictional riff on stories and fairy tales.
It's also a delightful little fairy tale in its own right, incorporating story lines from or making strong allusions to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Wizard of Oz as well as bits and pieces from numerous other folk tales.
There's even a nice bit of playful yet important philosophical and existential questionin...more
It's also a delightful little fairy tale in its own right, incorporating story lines from or making strong allusions to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Wizard of Oz as well as bits and pieces from numerous other folk tales.
There's even a nice bit of playful yet important philosophical and existential questionin...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I'm embarrassed to admit that for me the funniest thing about this book was Nanny Ogg and her entertaining openness about her *ahem* romantic adventures. And also her drinking (how many people do you know who could knock down six glasses of absinthe and only feel a little uncomfy? okay, I admit I don't know exactly how bad that would be, but it's absinthe! it must be pretty bad, right? I just now learned that vodka is usually 80-100 proof, and absinthe is something like 120-140 proof. so there y...more
Book 12 of the Discworld series sees a return of Granny Weatherwax. This time, with her partners, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, they go travelling. Their aim: to stop a servant girl from marrying a prince. Based around fairy tales, namely The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella, the three witches travel abroad to fight mirror magic and happy endings.
As usual, Pratchett has delivered a treat. I love the Discworld books. None of them have disappointed me. Pratchett writes in a way that draws you in; he is...more
As usual, Pratchett has delivered a treat. I love the Discworld books. None of them have disappointed me. Pratchett writes in a way that draws you in; he is...more
A wonderful book about wishful thinking, the absurdity of forcing the world to follow your minds image of it and the joys of travelling far abroad.
I still think that the witches are a good deal too "slapstick" for my liking and would always prefer the city watch, Moist or the wizards of the UU as protagonists, but the closer i come to having read them all the less choice i've got and for a book i have quite the bias against the cast it was hilarious and very entertaining!
I blame Magrat for servi...more
I still think that the witches are a good deal too "slapstick" for my liking and would always prefer the city watch, Moist or the wizards of the UU as protagonists, but the closer i come to having read them all the less choice i've got and for a book i have quite the bias against the cast it was hilarious and very entertaining!
I blame Magrat for servi...more
I enjoyed this book greatly, staying up to almost 3 in the morning just to finish it. The humour is there, as expected from a Terry Pratchett discworld novel, and the Witches arc is quickly becoming one of my favorites to pursuit. As you can tell from the title, it's pretty much about Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and new-to-godmothering Magrat Garlick traveling out of their little town to a faraway land to, well.. go Godmothering (Margrat anyway). I love how the story gives lovely telling of wit...more
Next time someone thinks about deconstructing fairy tales (I'm looking at you, person responsible for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters), they read this book and then think long and hard about their lives.
This book also demonstrates why I think everyone should read Discworld.
Part of TPerry's amazing world-building, where witches are pillars of the community and stubbornly insist on following cliches, when witches go wrong and start playing roles in fairy tales, it doesn't end well for anyone.
Set...more
This book also demonstrates why I think everyone should read Discworld.
Part of TPerry's amazing world-building, where witches are pillars of the community and stubbornly insist on following cliches, when witches go wrong and start playing roles in fairy tales, it doesn't end well for anyone.
Set...more
Another fantastic entry in the Discworld series. This is the third of the "witches" novels, and so far my favorite of the three by a long shot. In fact, I'd rank this one right up with my overall favorite Discworld books (maybe in third place, with number one being Small Gods and then Men at Arms). This novel's main strength is it's great cast of characters. Nanny Ogg makes me laugh as much as any Pratchett character, and Esme Weatherwax is pretty badass for an old lady. Other highlights include...more
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this next (3rd) book in the Witches series of the Discworld. I have to admit that I was disappointed that Magrat was not seeing King Verence at the beginning of the book, but I hold out hope that things will change in the future. Terry Pratchett writes so wonderfully. The characters are so relatable and TP never gets bogged down in descriptive writing, which can happen among the fantasy authors. I'm grateful that his world building is subtle, and often used as footno...more
This book is both a mediation on the power of stories, and a spoof of fairy tales and intercontinental travel. It stars the fabulous witches, Granny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax and poor put-upon Magrat. Magrat has become a fairy godmother, and the three need to travel to Genua (hence the travel spoof) and stop the beautiful maiden from marrying the handsome prince. I will say that while I (almost) always enjoy reading Pratchett, Witches Abroad made me laugh out loud in a few spots.* This book is a ho...more
Terry Pratchett has a way with words. He has a way with humor. He has a way of putting the two together in such a way that you find yourself laughing while actually caring about the characters, which is a tough trick with books based in humor.
Witches Abroad is, as the title infers, a story about the witches (Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat) and what happens when the local fairy godmother dies and passes her wand on. Pratchett takes the opportunity to talk about the power of stories while...more
Witches Abroad is, as the title infers, a story about the witches (Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat) and what happens when the local fairy godmother dies and passes her wand on. Pratchett takes the opportunity to talk about the power of stories while...more
What better way is there for comic relief than reading a Discworld novel? I was saving this one for a rainy day - and boy did it deliver! The Discworld novels don't even need plots to make them interesting; the characters and dialogue provide more than sufficient entertainment. And so a good plot just adds to the overall package.
In Witches Abroad a power-hungry fairy godmother is bent on making people live their lives as characters in a fairy tale would. It is up to the three Lancre witches- Gr...more
In Witches Abroad a power-hungry fairy godmother is bent on making people live their lives as characters in a fairy tale would. It is up to the three Lancre witches- Gr...more
Interesting. Books 1 and 3 of the Witches trilogy take off on Shakespeare plays, but this middle book is a riff on fairy tales, with a layer of satire about the English abroad (Nanny Ogg’s idosyncratically-spelled postcards home, for example). The line between good and evil is as tricky as that between witches and fairy godmothers: Granny Weatherwax looks and acts like a stereotypical witch but is willing to sacrifice herself for the good of others, while her fairy godmother counterpart does wha...more
Witches, godmothers, and mirrors, oh my! This is perhaps my favorite of Pratchett's books. In this postmodern twist of popular fairy tales, Granny, Nanny, and Magrat set off to save the princess from an undesirable marriage to a prince with clammy hands and dubious heritage. Greebo, another beloved character of the series, is at his best, and my whole family laughed at his antics. Pratchett's genius is at his best here as well. He makes us laugh, but he also makes us look at our social world cri...more
Jun 22, 2012
Sarah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
british-books-challenge
Witches Abroad was first published in 1991 and is the twelfth discworld novel. As you can probably guess from the title, this novel is third in the witches line. It focuses, like Wyrd Sisters before, on Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick.
This time, old Desiderata Hollow, who was not only a witch, but also a fairy godmother, dies and leaves her wand to Magrat, asking her to travel to a faraway city called Genua and prevent a story from happening. Knowing the older witches, Desiderata...more
This time, old Desiderata Hollow, who was not only a witch, but also a fairy godmother, dies and leaves her wand to Magrat, asking her to travel to a faraway city called Genua and prevent a story from happening. Knowing the older witches, Desiderata...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Stamberga dei ...: Streghe all'estero di Terry Pratchett | 1 | 10 | Sep 24, 2012 06:43am |
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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“Progress just means bad things happen faster.”
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“Blessings be on this house," Granny said, perfunctorily. It was always a good opening remark for a witch. It concentrated people's minds on what other things might be on this house.”
—
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