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Discworld #32
A Hat Full of Sky
WE SEE YOU. NOW WE ARE YOU.
No real witch would casually step out of their body, leaving it empty.
Tiffany Aching does. And there’s something just waiting for a handy body to take over. Something ancient and horrible, which can’t die.
To deal with it, Tiffany has to go to the very heart of what makes her a witch . . .
No real witch would casually step out of their body, leaving it empty.
Tiffany Aching does. And there’s something just waiting for a handy body to take over. Something ancient and horrible, which can’t die.
To deal with it, Tiffany has to go to the very heart of what makes her a witch . . .
Audiobook
First published April 29, 2004
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About the author
Terry Pratchett
680 books46.2k followersSir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983–2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,948 reviews
January 10, 2025
One of Terry Pratchett’s best.
I don’t often gush for a book, but this one was very good. Pratchett’s 2004 Discworld story Hat Full of Sky (and second featuring Tiffany Aching and her friends the pictsies – the Nac Mac Feegle wee free men) was a joy to read.
I’d like to see this made into a film just to see how a clever and talented director handled Miss Level. Like all of Pratchett’s Discworld books, this is wryly funny and sardonically playful and he takes on some heavy themes like family, tradition, peer pressure and isolation but wrapped up in a fun sized parade of interesting characters and entertaining scenes. Sir Terry also mixes in some serious horrific elements with the invasive Hiver.
Part of the fun was Pratchett’s devilishly inventive way of weaving in popular references and I was thrilled to pick up on the Frank Herbert Dune - Bene Gesserit allusion (witches). Pratchett had a mischievous streak and this wink and nod silliness comes across and makes our PRATCHETT-SMILE-O-METER work overtime.
This one also had that little something extra that makes a book special, it all came together nicely as a Los Angeles rug belonging to Maude’s mom. This may seem like an oblique comparison, but I was reminded of Charles Portis’ 1968 western novel True Grit. In that wonderful book, Portis had two of his most enigmatic characters share the stage. In Hat Full of Sky, Pratchett spends plenty of time with Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany and their interactions and dialogue is what makes this rise above the rest.
Highly recommended.
*** 2021 reread -
Great book, one of his best.
While I know that Tiffany and Granny Weatherwax are two of my favorite Discworld characters, during this read I paid closer attention to the rest of the cast and am again amazed at Sir Terry's wonderful ability to create such colorful and yet completely believable players.
Miss Tick and Miss Level, two witches who help Tiffany begin her apprenticeship, are drawn with fantastic detail to their makeup. We again spend time with Rob Anybody and the rest of the Wee Free Men Nac Mac Feegle, any now Rob is the Big Man. We also see again The Toad, the Feegle's attorney.
The character that stood out was Jeannnie, the Feegle clan's kelda. Early on she let Tiffany know that was her clan, but Pratchett has demonstrated a more complex and multi-faceted characterization for her than I realized the first read.
*** 2025 reread -
This is my favorite Tiffany Aching book. It has the Hiver and the Witch trials and Granny Weatherwax. Simply brilliant.
I don’t often gush for a book, but this one was very good. Pratchett’s 2004 Discworld story Hat Full of Sky (and second featuring Tiffany Aching and her friends the pictsies – the Nac Mac Feegle wee free men) was a joy to read.
I’d like to see this made into a film just to see how a clever and talented director handled Miss Level. Like all of Pratchett’s Discworld books, this is wryly funny and sardonically playful and he takes on some heavy themes like family, tradition, peer pressure and isolation but wrapped up in a fun sized parade of interesting characters and entertaining scenes. Sir Terry also mixes in some serious horrific elements with the invasive Hiver.
Part of the fun was Pratchett’s devilishly inventive way of weaving in popular references and I was thrilled to pick up on the Frank Herbert Dune - Bene Gesserit allusion (witches). Pratchett had a mischievous streak and this wink and nod silliness comes across and makes our PRATCHETT-SMILE-O-METER work overtime.
This one also had that little something extra that makes a book special, it all came together nicely as a Los Angeles rug belonging to Maude’s mom. This may seem like an oblique comparison, but I was reminded of Charles Portis’ 1968 western novel True Grit. In that wonderful book, Portis had two of his most enigmatic characters share the stage. In Hat Full of Sky, Pratchett spends plenty of time with Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany and their interactions and dialogue is what makes this rise above the rest.
Highly recommended.
*** 2021 reread -
Great book, one of his best.
While I know that Tiffany and Granny Weatherwax are two of my favorite Discworld characters, during this read I paid closer attention to the rest of the cast and am again amazed at Sir Terry's wonderful ability to create such colorful and yet completely believable players.
Miss Tick and Miss Level, two witches who help Tiffany begin her apprenticeship, are drawn with fantastic detail to their makeup. We again spend time with Rob Anybody and the rest of the Wee Free Men Nac Mac Feegle, any now Rob is the Big Man. We also see again The Toad, the Feegle's attorney.
The character that stood out was Jeannnie, the Feegle clan's kelda. Early on she let Tiffany know that was her clan, but Pratchett has demonstrated a more complex and multi-faceted characterization for her than I realized the first read.
*** 2025 reread -
This is my favorite Tiffany Aching book. It has the Hiver and the Witch trials and Granny Weatherwax. Simply brilliant.
June 13, 2008
The Nac Mac Feegles hae got me tawkin' lae 'em. Crivens! It's a wee bittie story o' hags right enough, the big wee hag o' the hills bein' the verra center o' it all, but it may gi' ye a bad case o' the thinkin'.
I dinna like tae stop readin'.
(To the the Bigjobs: Discworld just keeps getting better and better. Keep a sharp eye out and you will see many references to other stories hidden in the telling.)
I dinna like tae stop readin'.
(To the the Bigjobs: Discworld just keeps getting better and better. Keep a sharp eye out and you will see many references to other stories hidden in the telling.)
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February 20, 2019
"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."
[First read: 8th June, 2013. 4 Stars.
Second read: 23rd July, 2018. 4 Stars.]
The second of the Tiffany Aching series on Discworld came quickly after the first, with only one other Discworld novel separating them. Tiffany is now a few years older and is off to start learning Witching from Miss Level, a witch living in a cottage in the middle of the woods, far away from the open land of the Chalk where Tiffany knows she belongs.
We meet Tiffany once more and she's much the same as she was in The Wee Free Men, headstrong and wonderful, wanting to learn, needing to find things out and general being an amazing little girl indeed.
In A Hat Full of Sky, however, Tiffany gets the Pratchett treatment even more than she had before, and that includes a bag full o' flaws put right in to her. Tiffany isn't perfect and that's why she's so wonderful. She's a little plain (no funny coloured hair or differently coloured eyes, thank you ) and, whilst she has extraordinary witching power, she's got hang ups just like the rest of us. Tiffany can be a little childish, a little selfish, a little annoying, a little big-headed and a little too proud. She's fully developed and three-dimensional and that is the freshest of breaths of fresh air.
"It was too easy to slip into careless little cruelties because you had power and other people hadn't, too easy to think other people didn't matter much, too easy to think that ideas like right and wrong didn't apply to you."
The plot is pretty much standard Discworld with a childlike twist (considering this is a children's book at it's heart). The Wee Free Men of the previous book (the Nac Mac Feegle or pictsies to you) return, but this time they don't have a huge and central starring role, and that gives the book a better outlook and readability. Whilst the Nac Mac Feegle are a great addition, in The Wee Free Men it always felt like they were taking over the entire book.
A Hat Full of Sky is also bolstered by a bigger starring role from Granny Weatherwax and it's here you can clearly see the similarities between Tiffany and Granny, and you get the feeling that Tiffany is the younger version of Granny that Terry always wanted to write about in-depth. They have a kinship about them beyond the "we both of us are witches" and the general sharing of power. Whilst no-one could ever hold a candle to Granny, Tiffany certainly has a certain edge to her, and it's shown here very well.
[First read: 8th June, 2013. 4 Stars.
Second read: 23rd July, 2018. 4 Stars.]
The second of the Tiffany Aching series on Discworld came quickly after the first, with only one other Discworld novel separating them. Tiffany is now a few years older and is off to start learning Witching from Miss Level, a witch living in a cottage in the middle of the woods, far away from the open land of the Chalk where Tiffany knows she belongs.
We meet Tiffany once more and she's much the same as she was in The Wee Free Men, headstrong and wonderful, wanting to learn, needing to find things out and general being an amazing little girl indeed.
In A Hat Full of Sky, however, Tiffany gets the Pratchett treatment even more than she had before, and that includes a bag full o' flaws put right in to her. Tiffany isn't perfect and that's why she's so wonderful. She's a little plain (no funny coloured hair or differently coloured eyes, thank you ) and, whilst she has extraordinary witching power, she's got hang ups just like the rest of us. Tiffany can be a little childish, a little selfish, a little annoying, a little big-headed and a little too proud. She's fully developed and three-dimensional and that is the freshest of breaths of fresh air.
"It was too easy to slip into careless little cruelties because you had power and other people hadn't, too easy to think other people didn't matter much, too easy to think that ideas like right and wrong didn't apply to you."
The plot is pretty much standard Discworld with a childlike twist (considering this is a children's book at it's heart). The Wee Free Men of the previous book (the Nac Mac Feegle or pictsies to you) return, but this time they don't have a huge and central starring role, and that gives the book a better outlook and readability. Whilst the Nac Mac Feegle are a great addition, in The Wee Free Men it always felt like they were taking over the entire book.
A Hat Full of Sky is also bolstered by a bigger starring role from Granny Weatherwax and it's here you can clearly see the similarities between Tiffany and Granny, and you get the feeling that Tiffany is the younger version of Granny that Terry always wanted to write about in-depth. They have a kinship about them beyond the "we both of us are witches" and the general sharing of power. Whilst no-one could ever hold a candle to Granny, Tiffany certainly has a certain edge to her, and it's shown here very well.
January 13, 2009
This is technically a young adult book (and yes, I do read grown-up books, I just went on a bit of a YA tear after my Powell’s extravaganza), but the only reason for so labeling it is that the main character is a teenager. It is hard to explain how great this book is if you haven’t read any Pratchett, but, then again, why haven’t you read any Pratchett? His books about the Discworld started out a pun-filled parodies of fantasy novels, and have evolved into satires on our modern world that usually leave me with more profound thinking to do afterward that most “serious fiction.” A Hat Full of Sky is a sequel to The Wee Free Men and is about Tiffany Aching’s apprenticeship as a witch, far from her home on the chalk country. It’s also about being true to yourself, whoever you are and accepting the good of yourself with the bad, and trusting your instincts. But it isn’t hokey, or preachy, just true. And funny as hell – I will never stop laughing at the Wee Free Men.
So, go out and read some Pratchett, by gum! Start with the Wee Free Men, even if they are “kids books”, and then bust out the rest of the Discworld. You won’t regret it.
So, go out and read some Pratchett, by gum! Start with the Wee Free Men, even if they are “kids books”, and then bust out the rest of the Discworld. You won’t regret it.
April 11, 2015
Dedicated to the memory of Sir Terry Pratchett, who passed away soon after I started reading the book.
I have made, over the past twenty years, many friends among the inhabitants of the wacky disc-shaped world sailing through space on the backs of four elephants, carried in their turn by a giant turtle. Starting with Rincewind, then with Sam Vimes and his Ankh-Morpork guards, Lord Vetinari, the wizards of the Unseen University, the banana loving Librarian, the sentient multi-legged Luggage, Moist von Lipwig ... I could go on and on, but what I wanted to say that, out of all of them, I believe Tiffany Aching is the one that I love and admire the most.
Technically, the Tiffany books are Y.A., and have little connection with the rest of the series – mainly the presence of Granny Weatherwax as the chief witch on Discworld, not that witches have ranks or care much about authority. In her first outing, Tiffany Aching is too young to be a witch, but that didn’t stopped her from doing what needs to be done and stopping the Queen of the Faeries from invading her beloved Chalk . With the help of the Pictsies, Tiffany demonstrated that the most important talent a witch needs is to keep her eyes open and use her common sense, just like her beloved Granny Aching used to do.
In this second book, young Tiffany must leave the Chalk and be apprenticed to a more experienced witch who can show her how to develop and control her native talents, beyond making cheese – a sort of going to Hogwarts, but in a private tutoring form. Her destination is described as:
“Miss Level, Cottage in the Woods Near the Dead Oak Tree in Lost Man’s Lane, High Overhang, If Out Leave Letters in Old Boot by Door”
To complicate matters, Tiffany is unknowingly chased by a space entity ( ‘a hiver’) that homes in on users of magic like a guided missile , trying to lodge into their brains and subvert their will. Just when she needs their help most, she must leave the Pictsies back in the Chalk, under the supervision of their new hive queen.
The Nac Mac Feegle (also called Pictsies, The Wee Free Men, The Little Men, and “Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed”) : they are the most dangerous of the fairy races, particularly when drunk. They love drinking, fighting, and stealing, and will in fact steal anything that is not nailed down. If it is nailed down, they will steal the nails as well. [...]
The average Feegle man (Feegle women are rare – see later) is about six inches high, red haired, his skin turned blue with tattoos and the dye called woad, and, since you’re this close, he’s probably about to hit you.
These little blue scoundrels were responsible for most of the fun I’ve had with the first Aching novel, so I hoped they will not be absent for long. Indeed, I don’t think I reveal a major spoiler if I mention that Rob Anything, Slightly Sane Georgie, Daft Wullie, Awf’ly Wee Billy and their ‘pished’ mates will soon follow Tiffany into her exile, up to their usual hilarious and boisterous antics.
I wouldn’t love the Tiffany books so much if they were only about having fun. They prove in fact that Young Adult books can and should deal with the most important issues of self and destiny as the so-called ‘literary’ fiction. The lessons Tiffany learns in High Overhang will serve her for a lifetime.
Always face what you fear. Have just enough money, never too much, and some string. Even if it’s not your fault, it’s your responsibility. Witches deal with things. Never stand between two mirrors. Never cackle. Do what you must do. Never lie, but you don’t always have to be honest. Never wish. Especially don’t wish upon a star, which is astronomically stupid. Open your eyes, and then open your eyes again.
I don’t intend to go into details about Tiffany’s adventures in the company of her tutor, Miss Level, or about the rivalries with the other young witches in training. Most of them can be boiled down to the choice the young girl has to make between being true to her inner core of values and the wish to conform, to be popular and appreciated. Even the part of the chasing ‘hiver’ is used to reveal the fact that the demons we are often fighting are of our own making, uncomfortable truths about ourselves that we pretend we know nothing about, like streaks of meanness and selfishness and greed.
My favorite passage in the book is rather long, but it is an important illustration of the offbeat definition Pratchett gives for superpowers and how they are best deployed. In answer to why Granny Weatherwax sent her to a rather dumpy and unimpressive ‘research’ witch for training, Tiffany must chew on this:
Because she likes people. She cares about ‘em. Even the stupid, mean, drooling ones, the mothers with the runny babies and no sense, the feckless and the silly and the fools who treat her like some kind of servant. Now that’s what I call magic – seein’ all that, dealin’ with all that, and still goin’ on. It’s sitting up all night with some poor old man who’s leavin’ the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin’ their terror, seein’ them safely on their way ... and then cleanin’ ‘em up, layin’ em out, making ‘em neat for the funeral, and helpin’ the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets – which is, let me tell you, no errand for the fainthearted – and stayin’ up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin’on your door ‘cuz his wife’s havin’ difficulty givin’ birth to their first child and the midwife’s at her wits’ end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again ... We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better’n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. That is the root and heart and soul and center of witchcraft, that is. The soul and center!
It may sounds preachy here, out of context, but I believe the novel argues in a fun and moving way the case for treating people with kindness and for using your common sense in dealing with problems. The title becomes explicit later in the novel, as Tiffany has to choose what kind of pointy hat she will use now that she has been acknowledged by her brethren: a fashionable star-spangled one from the best shop in the village? Or Granny Weatherwax’s old, battered hat that she won in a prestige competition? or better yet, one that she will fashion herself from everything that is valuable and close to her heart? Until I get to read the next Tiffany Aching book, I will say goodbye to her, and sadly to her creator Sir Terry Pratchett, with one last quote that will serve well as a metaphor for why we are reading books, and with my gratitude for the journeys of wonder they have had me embark upon:
Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
The words ran through Tiffany’s mind as she watched the sheep, and she found joy – at the new lambs, at life, at everything. Joy is to fun what the deep seea is to a puddle. It’s a feeling inside that can hardly be contained.
I’ve come back! she announced to the hills. Better than I went!
I have made, over the past twenty years, many friends among the inhabitants of the wacky disc-shaped world sailing through space on the backs of four elephants, carried in their turn by a giant turtle. Starting with Rincewind, then with Sam Vimes and his Ankh-Morpork guards, Lord Vetinari, the wizards of the Unseen University, the banana loving Librarian, the sentient multi-legged Luggage, Moist von Lipwig ... I could go on and on, but what I wanted to say that, out of all of them, I believe Tiffany Aching is the one that I love and admire the most.
Technically, the Tiffany books are Y.A., and have little connection with the rest of the series – mainly the presence of Granny Weatherwax as the chief witch on Discworld, not that witches have ranks or care much about authority. In her first outing, Tiffany Aching is too young to be a witch, but that didn’t stopped her from doing what needs to be done and stopping the Queen of the Faeries from invading her beloved Chalk . With the help of the Pictsies, Tiffany demonstrated that the most important talent a witch needs is to keep her eyes open and use her common sense, just like her beloved Granny Aching used to do.
In this second book, young Tiffany must leave the Chalk and be apprenticed to a more experienced witch who can show her how to develop and control her native talents, beyond making cheese – a sort of going to Hogwarts, but in a private tutoring form. Her destination is described as:
“Miss Level, Cottage in the Woods Near the Dead Oak Tree in Lost Man’s Lane, High Overhang, If Out Leave Letters in Old Boot by Door”
To complicate matters, Tiffany is unknowingly chased by a space entity ( ‘a hiver’) that homes in on users of magic like a guided missile , trying to lodge into their brains and subvert their will. Just when she needs their help most, she must leave the Pictsies back in the Chalk, under the supervision of their new hive queen.
The Nac Mac Feegle (also called Pictsies, The Wee Free Men, The Little Men, and “Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed”) : they are the most dangerous of the fairy races, particularly when drunk. They love drinking, fighting, and stealing, and will in fact steal anything that is not nailed down. If it is nailed down, they will steal the nails as well. [...]
The average Feegle man (Feegle women are rare – see later) is about six inches high, red haired, his skin turned blue with tattoos and the dye called woad, and, since you’re this close, he’s probably about to hit you.
These little blue scoundrels were responsible for most of the fun I’ve had with the first Aching novel, so I hoped they will not be absent for long. Indeed, I don’t think I reveal a major spoiler if I mention that Rob Anything, Slightly Sane Georgie, Daft Wullie, Awf’ly Wee Billy and their ‘pished’ mates will soon follow Tiffany into her exile, up to their usual hilarious and boisterous antics.
I wouldn’t love the Tiffany books so much if they were only about having fun. They prove in fact that Young Adult books can and should deal with the most important issues of self and destiny as the so-called ‘literary’ fiction. The lessons Tiffany learns in High Overhang will serve her for a lifetime.
Always face what you fear. Have just enough money, never too much, and some string. Even if it’s not your fault, it’s your responsibility. Witches deal with things. Never stand between two mirrors. Never cackle. Do what you must do. Never lie, but you don’t always have to be honest. Never wish. Especially don’t wish upon a star, which is astronomically stupid. Open your eyes, and then open your eyes again.
I don’t intend to go into details about Tiffany’s adventures in the company of her tutor, Miss Level, or about the rivalries with the other young witches in training. Most of them can be boiled down to the choice the young girl has to make between being true to her inner core of values and the wish to conform, to be popular and appreciated. Even the part of the chasing ‘hiver’ is used to reveal the fact that the demons we are often fighting are of our own making, uncomfortable truths about ourselves that we pretend we know nothing about, like streaks of meanness and selfishness and greed.
My favorite passage in the book is rather long, but it is an important illustration of the offbeat definition Pratchett gives for superpowers and how they are best deployed. In answer to why Granny Weatherwax sent her to a rather dumpy and unimpressive ‘research’ witch for training, Tiffany must chew on this:
Because she likes people. She cares about ‘em. Even the stupid, mean, drooling ones, the mothers with the runny babies and no sense, the feckless and the silly and the fools who treat her like some kind of servant. Now that’s what I call magic – seein’ all that, dealin’ with all that, and still goin’ on. It’s sitting up all night with some poor old man who’s leavin’ the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin’ their terror, seein’ them safely on their way ... and then cleanin’ ‘em up, layin’ em out, making ‘em neat for the funeral, and helpin’ the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets – which is, let me tell you, no errand for the fainthearted – and stayin’ up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin’on your door ‘cuz his wife’s havin’ difficulty givin’ birth to their first child and the midwife’s at her wits’ end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again ... We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better’n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. That is the root and heart and soul and center of witchcraft, that is. The soul and center!
It may sounds preachy here, out of context, but I believe the novel argues in a fun and moving way the case for treating people with kindness and for using your common sense in dealing with problems. The title becomes explicit later in the novel, as Tiffany has to choose what kind of pointy hat she will use now that she has been acknowledged by her brethren: a fashionable star-spangled one from the best shop in the village? Or Granny Weatherwax’s old, battered hat that she won in a prestige competition? or better yet, one that she will fashion herself from everything that is valuable and close to her heart? Until I get to read the next Tiffany Aching book, I will say goodbye to her, and sadly to her creator Sir Terry Pratchett, with one last quote that will serve well as a metaphor for why we are reading books, and with my gratitude for the journeys of wonder they have had me embark upon:
Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
The words ran through Tiffany’s mind as she watched the sheep, and she found joy – at the new lambs, at life, at everything. Joy is to fun what the deep seea is to a puddle. It’s a feeling inside that can hardly be contained.
I’ve come back! she announced to the hills. Better than I went!
January 31, 2020
*sighs contently*
Only a few days ago I talked to a GR friend about those authors and their books that make you feel at home, all cozy and comfy. Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series is my ultimate home. I cannot stress that enough.
This 32nd volume was another in the sub-series about Tiffany. It's been a few years since the last Tiffany book. She's slightly older now and her parents are tricked into letting her become an apprentice - making cheese. Unfortunately, it also means Tiffany has to go away from the Chalk for a while. Then again, a great thinker once said that you have to leave in order to really appreciate what you're coming back to.
Naturally, Tiffany's studies aren't ONLY about cheese.
There are bullies in her school. There are some talents that are getting away from here as well, so of course she needs to be kept grounded before she starts cackling! And who better to help her than the Nac Mac Feegles! After all, they need their big wee hag because she tells the country what it is and it tells her who she is.
But great power poses the danger of it getting (in-)to your head - literally. And let's not forget the danger of wishes!
So yes, Granny makes an appearance on top of all the other witches, tea and biscuits and all. Yay!
It's easy to see this as just another fantasy book with a coming-of-age story. But that would be like seeing only the flat bits of Earth. ;)
What sets Sir Terry so firmly apart is how effortlessly he mixes a funny adventure including some raunchy "pixies" with very deep thoughts about death / coping mechanisms as well as the corruption by power and what really matters in life.
Just look at those quotes I liked/highlighted to see what I mean!
I seriously love his version of witches who barely ever use actual magic but instead show how pointless it often is anyway since you can use headology or just plain common sense. Actually listening to people, actually seeing things, actually paying attention, caring and applying some knowledge (medicine and other kinda scientific methods) while working people (no, not WITH people *lol*). Taking responsibility when nobody else wants to. Gets to me every time. And it's one of the reasons why the books involving Granny and other witches are my favourites of the series. Yes, still and always.
Granny Weatherwax no longer needs any kind of introduction or summary. But it is important to note that Tiffany herself has already become a very special character - and this is only her second book! She might be only 11 in this volume, but she's already thoroughly fleshed out, has her head and heart in the right place and I'm now convinced where this is headed (I had a hunch before but this made it clear, though I don't want to think about it yet). She's smart, quirky, loveable, headstrong ... a proper hag. ;)
We weren't in a familiar surrounding this time but the magical problem, the lessons we learn alongside Tiffany, the fun we always have when following the Nac Mac Feegles (whether they are drinking, stealing, fighting or saving their favourite hag) - it's all rather magical after all.
Only a few days ago I talked to a GR friend about those authors and their books that make you feel at home, all cozy and comfy. Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series is my ultimate home. I cannot stress that enough.
This 32nd volume was another in the sub-series about Tiffany. It's been a few years since the last Tiffany book. She's slightly older now and her parents are tricked into letting her become an apprentice - making cheese. Unfortunately, it also means Tiffany has to go away from the Chalk for a while. Then again, a great thinker once said that you have to leave in order to really appreciate what you're coming back to.
Naturally, Tiffany's studies aren't ONLY about cheese.
There are bullies in her school. There are some talents that are getting away from here as well, so of course she needs to be kept grounded before she starts cackling! And who better to help her than the Nac Mac Feegles! After all, they need their big wee hag because she tells the country what it is and it tells her who she is.
But great power poses the danger of it getting (in-)to your head - literally. And let's not forget the danger of wishes!
So yes, Granny makes an appearance on top of all the other witches, tea and biscuits and all. Yay!
It's easy to see this as just another fantasy book with a coming-of-age story. But that would be like seeing only the flat bits of Earth. ;)
What sets Sir Terry so firmly apart is how effortlessly he mixes a funny adventure including some raunchy "pixies" with very deep thoughts about death / coping mechanisms as well as the corruption by power and what really matters in life.
Just look at those quotes I liked/highlighted to see what I mean!
I seriously love his version of witches who barely ever use actual magic but instead show how pointless it often is anyway since you can use headology or just plain common sense. Actually listening to people, actually seeing things, actually paying attention, caring and applying some knowledge (medicine and other kinda scientific methods) while working people (no, not WITH people *lol*). Taking responsibility when nobody else wants to. Gets to me every time. And it's one of the reasons why the books involving Granny and other witches are my favourites of the series. Yes, still and always.
Granny Weatherwax no longer needs any kind of introduction or summary. But it is important to note that Tiffany herself has already become a very special character - and this is only her second book! She might be only 11 in this volume, but she's already thoroughly fleshed out, has her head and heart in the right place and I'm now convinced where this is headed (I had a hunch before but this made it clear, though I don't want to think about it yet). She's smart, quirky, loveable, headstrong ... a proper hag. ;)
We weren't in a familiar surrounding this time but the magical problem, the lessons we learn alongside Tiffany, the fun we always have when following the Nac Mac Feegles (whether they are drinking, stealing, fighting or saving their favourite hag) - it's all rather magical after all.
February 1, 2020
Looking back on all the Tiffany Aching books in Discworld, I have nothing bad to say about any of them except that they are sometimes.... not that special.
Damned by faint praise!
In actuality, the whole thing is very charming, often clever, and it is definitely an eye-opener for our 11-year-old witch. But as for learning the witchy trade? Yep, it's fairly cool and definitely a trip for the heads-that-be, but other than having a hive-mind baddie that wants a very special wish, the whole thing is a light adventure in dealing with classmates and bad teachers.
I still enjoyed it, though. This is Pratchett! He's almost always funny! :)
Damned by faint praise!
In actuality, the whole thing is very charming, often clever, and it is definitely an eye-opener for our 11-year-old witch. But as for learning the witchy trade? Yep, it's fairly cool and definitely a trip for the heads-that-be, but other than having a hive-mind baddie that wants a very special wish, the whole thing is a light adventure in dealing with classmates and bad teachers.
I still enjoyed it, though. This is Pratchett! He's almost always funny! :)
October 30, 2021
І все ж таки цикл про Тіфані - це мій космос, моє "Ким я хочу стати, коли виросту", але ніколи не стану, бо є в цьому щось неймовірне, незбагненне й щемке до сліз. Уміння вписати в пригодницький сюжет для 10-12-річних настільки їдкі й тривожні екзерсиси з філософії мислення. Бо ж думання про думання - штука не така вже й складна, якщо маєш до цього таку-сяку схильність чи спеціально набуті навички. А от підказати іншим, як думати про те, як думаєш, коли думаєш - це вже рефлективна рекурсія рівня "Дякую вам, сер Террі, що навідали наш світ".
October 8, 2023
This story is just ok and one of my least favorites from Sir Terry Pratchett. Lots of scrounging around with limited beneficial results. 5 of 10 stars
April 30, 2020
Another fantastic book by Terry Pratchett. Wonderful sequel to Wee Free Men.
Tiffany Aching and the Nac Mac Feegle continue their alliance with the previous hilarious and touching outcomes.
Another must read for Pratchett and fantasy fans.
Tiffany Aching and the Nac Mac Feegle continue their alliance with the previous hilarious and touching outcomes.
Another must read for Pratchett and fantasy fans.
February 22, 2022
Crivens! I am so glad that my SRR friends mentioned buddy-reading this series! I really like young Tiffany, our apprentice witch. She is growing up nicely and learning how to deal with the expectations of others, peer pressure, and other tricky situations. Through sheer ignorance, she leaves her body at the wrong moment and a hiver takes possession of her, proceeding to make trouble.
As in the last book, Tiffany has assistance from the Nac Mac Feegle, fae folk who prevent the book from being too serious or too preachy. Their determination to drink fuels much of the hilarity, with Daft Wullie at one point claiming he can safely drink rat poison because he's “no' a rat.” Their taste for Special Sheep Linament (moonshine) is on display too. The Nac Mac Feegle (also called Pictsies, The Wee Free Men, The Little Men, and “Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed”)
Tiffany gets a gift from Roland, the Baron's son rescued from Fairyland in book one. The image of the Horse carved in the chalk becomes an important image during her dealings with the hiver. (And their behaviour as they interact makes me wonder where this friendship is going). But perhaps her most important lesson is the human connection. It's difficult to be content with the daily grind of taking care of people and things, but it needs to be done and satisfaction can be derived from it.
As in the last book, Tiffany has assistance from the Nac Mac Feegle, fae folk who prevent the book from being too serious or too preachy. Their determination to drink fuels much of the hilarity, with Daft Wullie at one point claiming he can safely drink rat poison because he's “no' a rat.” Their taste for Special Sheep Linament (moonshine) is on display too. The Nac Mac Feegle (also called Pictsies, The Wee Free Men, The Little Men, and “Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed”)
Tiffany gets a gift from Roland, the Baron's son rescued from Fairyland in book one. The image of the Horse carved in the chalk becomes an important image during her dealings with the hiver. (And their behaviour as they interact makes me wonder where this friendship is going). But perhaps her most important lesson is the human connection. It's difficult to be content with the daily grind of taking care of people and things, but it needs to be done and satisfaction can be derived from it.
April 28, 2018
It’s been two years since Tiffany Aching and her allies, the Wee Free Men, stormed Fairyland, knocked the Queen out with a frying pan, and rescued both Tiffany’s little brother Wentworth and Roland, son of the Baron of the Chalk.
This exploit brought Tiffany to the notice of the Witches, under the leadership of the formidable Mistress Weatherwax. Now they’ve arranged for her to be apprenticed to Miss Level, who lives in the mountains and is considered a bit “odd” even by witch standards.
Tiffany learns that there’s precious little magic involved in her world’s version of witchcraft—spells and potions are left to wizards, who tend to be pompous buffoons. Instead, witchcraft mostly consists of midwifery, hospice care, herbal lore and medicine, helping out with children and farm animals, standing up to local bullies, and settling village disputes. Our heroine finds all this unworthy of her time. If you’ve read the previous book, you know this is very unlike Tiffany.
Is this just a prelude to teen angst, or is there something more sinister at work?
And how did Tiffany become open to this malign influence? Was it Annagramma and the other silly witch girls her own age, who have become preoccupied with wizardly trappings and might have summoned a spirit beyond their strength? Or did Tiffany inadvertently do this to herself with her new trick of hopping in and out of her body with a word?
Whatever’s afoot, Rob Anybody and his clan of fearsome Feegles are on the case. They even have a plan, consisting of a paper scrap with “PLN” scribbled on it.
Content Advisory
Violence: The creatures taken over by the hiver generally wind up dying violently, so bent on power that their fellows see no choice but to destroy them. For instance, all that remained of Professor Bustle could fit in a mason jar.
.
The Feegles, as usual, will attack anything that moves.
No shown deaths and no gore.
Sex: When Tiffany visits Mrs. Earwig’s (pronounced Ah-wij) house she notices the décor, which includes paintings of young covens dancing beneath the full moon, accompanied by men/gods/male spirits with horns—and neither the young women nor the young men are wearing a stitch. The paintings are described broadly, with no details. They make Tiffany uncomfortable, but as kids under peer pressure often do, she swallows her initial feeling and convinces herself that “that’s real witchcraft.”
A few fleeting references to village paternity scandals.
Language: The Nac Mac Feegle catchphrase is still “Crivens!”, which my friend The Batman tells me is a distant descendant of the oath “Christ’s veins.” How the phrase got into this universe, which has no clear time/space relationship to our world and presumably stands outside what the Church calls salvation history, is a mystery. Then again, one of the Feegles was singing “You Are My Sunshine” at one point…I’m probably overthinking this.
Tiffany uses the word “gravitas” and Granny Weatherwax asks brusquely, “What’s gravitarse?”
Substance Abuse: The Feegles are in it. There will be boozing. No one else drinks. Most of the community elders like to chew tobacco.
Nightmare Fuel: The hiver is a frightening creature. It has no body and barely any mind, but it lives forever, and it takes over the bodies of other creatures to shield itself from the torment of such an existence. Those it possesses become increasingly deranged and megalomaniacal until they are either killed by their fellows, or self-destruct, thinking in their hubris that they can’t die.
Miss Level somehow is a single individual whose brain and soul is split between two identical bodies. This allows her to seemingly bilocate, and in her youth she joined the circus as a pair of twins. She’s a sweet character, but that subplot seemed a bit Miss Peregrine-ish for this book.
The Feegles try to pass themselves off as an animate scarecrow, but they are terrible actors, and when the “torso” starts fighting with the “knees” the gawky figure splits in two, to the great horror of all present.
Politics and Religion: The afterworld consists of a desert that the souls must cross. No one has ever come back to tell what’s on the other side. Death is personified as a vague, towering dark figure who speaks in all caps and no quotation marks. He notices Rob there and says, I WAS NOT EXPECTING A NAC MAC FEEGLE TODAY. IF I’D KNOWN HE WAS HERE, I’D HAVE WORN PROTECTIVE GEAR.
“You have friends,” Granny tells Tiffany at one point. The girl hears a bird singing overhead and looks up. “Not up there,” the old woman clarifies. Hardly Pullman material, but worth noting here.
Conclusion
A masterful look at the start of adolescence, peer pressure, and the things that really matter, A Hat Full of Sky is appropriate for young teens but has enough meat and subtlety to be enjoyed by adults too. Tiffany is a worthy heroine surrounded by a delightful supporting cast. Pratchett clearly based this part of Discworld on the rural part of England where he grew up, and because the setting is full of concrete detail it comes alive in a way few fantasy lands do. Recommended.
This exploit brought Tiffany to the notice of the Witches, under the leadership of the formidable Mistress Weatherwax. Now they’ve arranged for her to be apprenticed to Miss Level, who lives in the mountains and is considered a bit “odd” even by witch standards.
Tiffany learns that there’s precious little magic involved in her world’s version of witchcraft—spells and potions are left to wizards, who tend to be pompous buffoons. Instead, witchcraft mostly consists of midwifery, hospice care, herbal lore and medicine, helping out with children and farm animals, standing up to local bullies, and settling village disputes. Our heroine finds all this unworthy of her time. If you’ve read the previous book, you know this is very unlike Tiffany.
Is this just a prelude to teen angst, or is there something more sinister at work?
And how did Tiffany become open to this malign influence? Was it Annagramma and the other silly witch girls her own age, who have become preoccupied with wizardly trappings and might have summoned a spirit beyond their strength? Or did Tiffany inadvertently do this to herself with her new trick of hopping in and out of her body with a word?
Whatever’s afoot, Rob Anybody and his clan of fearsome Feegles are on the case. They even have a plan, consisting of a paper scrap with “PLN” scribbled on it.
Content Advisory
Violence: The creatures taken over by the hiver generally wind up dying violently, so bent on power that their fellows see no choice but to destroy them. For instance, all that remained of Professor Bustle could fit in a mason jar.
.
The Feegles, as usual, will attack anything that moves.
No shown deaths and no gore.
Sex: When Tiffany visits Mrs. Earwig’s (pronounced Ah-wij) house she notices the décor, which includes paintings of young covens dancing beneath the full moon, accompanied by men/gods/male spirits with horns—and neither the young women nor the young men are wearing a stitch. The paintings are described broadly, with no details. They make Tiffany uncomfortable, but as kids under peer pressure often do, she swallows her initial feeling and convinces herself that “that’s real witchcraft.”
A few fleeting references to village paternity scandals.
Language: The Nac Mac Feegle catchphrase is still “Crivens!”, which my friend The Batman tells me is a distant descendant of the oath “Christ’s veins.” How the phrase got into this universe, which has no clear time/space relationship to our world and presumably stands outside what the Church calls salvation history, is a mystery. Then again, one of the Feegles was singing “You Are My Sunshine” at one point…I’m probably overthinking this.
Tiffany uses the word “gravitas” and Granny Weatherwax asks brusquely, “What’s gravitarse?”
Substance Abuse: The Feegles are in it. There will be boozing. No one else drinks. Most of the community elders like to chew tobacco.
Nightmare Fuel: The hiver is a frightening creature. It has no body and barely any mind, but it lives forever, and it takes over the bodies of other creatures to shield itself from the torment of such an existence. Those it possesses become increasingly deranged and megalomaniacal until they are either killed by their fellows, or self-destruct, thinking in their hubris that they can’t die.
Miss Level somehow is a single individual whose brain and soul is split between two identical bodies. This allows her to seemingly bilocate, and in her youth she joined the circus as a pair of twins. She’s a sweet character, but that subplot seemed a bit Miss Peregrine-ish for this book.
The Feegles try to pass themselves off as an animate scarecrow, but they are terrible actors, and when the “torso” starts fighting with the “knees” the gawky figure splits in two, to the great horror of all present.
Politics and Religion: The afterworld consists of a desert that the souls must cross. No one has ever come back to tell what’s on the other side. Death is personified as a vague, towering dark figure who speaks in all caps and no quotation marks. He notices Rob there and says, I WAS NOT EXPECTING A NAC MAC FEEGLE TODAY. IF I’D KNOWN HE WAS HERE, I’D HAVE WORN PROTECTIVE GEAR.
“You have friends,” Granny tells Tiffany at one point. The girl hears a bird singing overhead and looks up. “Not up there,” the old woman clarifies. Hardly Pullman material, but worth noting here.
Conclusion
A masterful look at the start of adolescence, peer pressure, and the things that really matter, A Hat Full of Sky is appropriate for young teens but has enough meat and subtlety to be enjoyed by adults too. Tiffany is a worthy heroine surrounded by a delightful supporting cast. Pratchett clearly based this part of Discworld on the rural part of England where he grew up, and because the setting is full of concrete detail it comes alive in a way few fantasy lands do. Recommended.
August 24, 2025
My daughter and I decided to listen the the Tiffany Aching series on our roadtrip to Atlanta, Georgia. We had already completed the first one, so as we started out this morning, we loaded the second one, A Hat Full of Sky on my iPod. It has been so much fun to listen to the combination of wit and wisdom wonderfully read by Stephen Briggs. Here are the quotes that caught our ears especially as we travelled:
"I'm made up of everyone I ever met who's changed the way I think."
"I was not snoring! I was just resting gently while I tickled an owl closer."
"You are very ugly for fairies." (the Nac Mac Feegle)
"If you are filled with anger there's no room for fear."
"'Ooh, store-bought Teatime Assortment,' she said, taking four biscuits and quickly putting three of them in her pocket. 'Very posh.'"
"They say when vampires bit her [Granny Weatherwax]; they started to crave sweet tea and biscuits."
"If you change a person into a frog you have to decide what to do with all the stuff that doesn't fit into the frog." Later, "That's the bits he doesn't need right now. Sort of Spare Brian."
Mistress Weatherwax to Tiffany: "I want to speak to the person who went to fight the Fairy Queen armed only with a frying pan."
"Stars is easy. People is hard."
"We heard a song – it went “Twinkle twinkle little star…” What power! What wondrous power! You can take a billion trillion tons of flaming matter, a furnace of unimaginable strength, and turn it into a little song for children! You build little worlds, little stories, little shells around your minds, and that keeps infinity at bay and allows you to wake up in the morning without screaming!"
August 2025: Re-listening with Simon.
"I'm made up of everyone I ever met who's changed the way I think."
"I was not snoring! I was just resting gently while I tickled an owl closer."
"You are very ugly for fairies." (the Nac Mac Feegle)
"If you are filled with anger there's no room for fear."
"'Ooh, store-bought Teatime Assortment,' she said, taking four biscuits and quickly putting three of them in her pocket. 'Very posh.'"
"They say when vampires bit her [Granny Weatherwax]; they started to crave sweet tea and biscuits."
"If you change a person into a frog you have to decide what to do with all the stuff that doesn't fit into the frog." Later, "That's the bits he doesn't need right now. Sort of Spare Brian."
Mistress Weatherwax to Tiffany: "I want to speak to the person who went to fight the Fairy Queen armed only with a frying pan."
"Stars is easy. People is hard."
"We heard a song – it went “Twinkle twinkle little star…” What power! What wondrous power! You can take a billion trillion tons of flaming matter, a furnace of unimaginable strength, and turn it into a little song for children! You build little worlds, little stories, little shells around your minds, and that keeps infinity at bay and allows you to wake up in the morning without screaming!"
August 2025: Re-listening with Simon.
March 2, 2009
Freakin' Terry Pratchett rules. What in the world have i been doing with all my life? I have so many books to read! However i sit inspired by the bravery of Rob Anybody and, therefore, i shall fling myself head first with no helmet...one fearsome book at a time. A Hatful of Sky is a follow up to The Wee Free Men. It picks up just where the other left off and continues Terry's incredibly witty fantasy which clearly stand a bar above other fanatsy.
January 17, 2023
Growing up would be twice as hard without Nac Nac Feegles
Their gag potential is immense, especially with a now added female touch. Instead of just sacking and looting, as usual, their moral sense improves a tiny little bit towards less criminal. Not too much of course to not spoil the fun.
Don´t fear the hiver
Many philosophical implications, but I´ll just go with the one that discipline, auto self mind control, and a kind of forced positive psychology are the best steps to avoid getting first haunted and later controlled by your dark side. Tiffany learns this the hard way,
Why go to Hogwarts if one can be homeschooled
That´s at least more personal and comes without the usual school stereotypes and tropes. And Pratchett uses it to show the different ideologies witches use and reflect in their teaching style.
Weatherwax vs Tiffany Aching
And the air starts burning. The friendly competition and punchlines are especially wonderful for the readers already knowing Granny and Nanny Ogg. Look forward to how their student teacher friendship develops in the following parts of the series, it´s one of the red lines besides the coming of age stuff.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
This one is added to all Pratchettian reviews:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheibe...
The idea of the dissected motifs rocks, highlighting the main real world inspirational elements of fiction and satire is something usually done with so called higher literature, but a much more interesting field in readable literature, as it offers the joy of reading, subtle criticism, and feeling smart all together.
Their gag potential is immense, especially with a now added female touch. Instead of just sacking and looting, as usual, their moral sense improves a tiny little bit towards less criminal. Not too much of course to not spoil the fun.
Don´t fear the hiver
Many philosophical implications, but I´ll just go with the one that discipline, auto self mind control, and a kind of forced positive psychology are the best steps to avoid getting first haunted and later controlled by your dark side. Tiffany learns this the hard way,
Why go to Hogwarts if one can be homeschooled
That´s at least more personal and comes without the usual school stereotypes and tropes. And Pratchett uses it to show the different ideologies witches use and reflect in their teaching style.
Weatherwax vs Tiffany Aching
And the air starts burning. The friendly competition and punchlines are especially wonderful for the readers already knowing Granny and Nanny Ogg. Look forward to how their student teacher friendship develops in the following parts of the series, it´s one of the red lines besides the coming of age stuff.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
This one is added to all Pratchettian reviews:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheibe...
The idea of the dissected motifs rocks, highlighting the main real world inspirational elements of fiction and satire is something usually done with so called higher literature, but a much more interesting field in readable literature, as it offers the joy of reading, subtle criticism, and feeling smart all together.
February 7, 2022
Gosh I loved everything about this. Got misty-eyed more than once. A perfect book for growing children, and for fully grown folks who like to see solid fantasy with a bit of depth and plenty of humor in it.
September 18, 2025
”We heard a song. It went Twinkle, twinkle, little star — what power, what wondrous power! You can take a billion, trillion tons of flaming matter, a furnace of unimaginable strength, and turn it into a little song for children. You build little worlds, little stories, little shells around your minds, and that keeps infinity at bay and allows you to wake up in the morning without screaming.”
Tiffany Aching, Discworld’s youngest witch, is ready for her apprenticeship. Having defeated the Queen of the Fairies with just a frying pan at age nine (The Wee Free Men), now at eleven she must leave home to formally learn the craft. Yet, instead of learning potions and spells, she finds herself in an endless cycle of mundane chores and accompanying Miss Level (a kind witch with two bodies) on endless helpful visits to ignorant villagers. Meanwhile, she must cope with homesickness, a clique of mean girl apprentice witches, and an ancient, powerful, disembodied forced that is determined to steal her body and her mind.
A Hat Full of Sky the second book in the Tiffany Aching cycle, takes us deeper into the mind of this precocious but practical young witch and her world of cheese and the Chalk, the chaotically ferocious and hilarious pictsies the Nac Mac Feegle, and how she comes to earn her hat from no one less than Granny Weatherwax herself.
”Witches were a bit like cats. They didn’t much like one another’s company, but they did like to know where all the other witches were just in case they needed them. And what you might need them for was to tell you, as a friend, that you were beginning to cackle.”
Tiffany Aching, Discworld’s youngest witch, is ready for her apprenticeship. Having defeated the Queen of the Fairies with just a frying pan at age nine (The Wee Free Men), now at eleven she must leave home to formally learn the craft. Yet, instead of learning potions and spells, she finds herself in an endless cycle of mundane chores and accompanying Miss Level (a kind witch with two bodies) on endless helpful visits to ignorant villagers. Meanwhile, she must cope with homesickness, a clique of mean girl apprentice witches, and an ancient, powerful, disembodied forced that is determined to steal her body and her mind.
A Hat Full of Sky the second book in the Tiffany Aching cycle, takes us deeper into the mind of this precocious but practical young witch and her world of cheese and the Chalk, the chaotically ferocious and hilarious pictsies the Nac Mac Feegle, and how she comes to earn her hat from no one less than Granny Weatherwax herself.
”Witches were a bit like cats. They didn’t much like one another’s company, but they did like to know where all the other witches were just in case they needed them. And what you might need them for was to tell you, as a friend, that you were beginning to cackle.”
January 1, 2024
Brief end of year review: This was written when Pratchett was, IMO, at his absolute peak, and along with other then-recent novels of his best represents the heart of Discworld. I'm glad I have completely forgotten the content since the first time I read it, because to have an essentially new Discworld book of this caliber was a treat.
It is in no way a children’s book. There’s nothing bad for children but it’s as complex in appeal as anything he wrote with adults in mind. A true all-ages gem.
Daft Wullie all the way.
It is in no way a children’s book. There’s nothing bad for children but it’s as complex in appeal as anything he wrote with adults in mind. A true all-ages gem.
Daft Wullie all the way.
September 12, 2020
"I'm made up of everyone I've ever met who's changed the way I think.”
“If you don't know when to be a human being, you don't know when to be a witch.”
Tiffany has grown and spread her wings a bit. Lots of new learning and meeting with various characters. Her teacher was particularly memorable.
As funny as the first book. I got lost in the earlier parts but middle way forward it's all "Crivens!" and those sorts of stuff.
“If you don't know when to be a human being, you don't know when to be a witch.”
Tiffany has grown and spread her wings a bit. Lots of new learning and meeting with various characters. Her teacher was particularly memorable.
As funny as the first book. I got lost in the earlier parts but middle way forward it's all "Crivens!" and those sorts of stuff.
October 5, 2022
тіффані болячка займає окреме місце в моєму серці
November 18, 2019
Имаше една много поучителна карикатура, в която на малкото момченце от началото на живота му дават да си играе с колички и конструктори, а на малкото момиченце – с кукли. И после няколко мъже се чудят защо толкова малко жени стават инженери. Тери Пратчет отдавна се занимава с жените и тяхното място в мъжкия свят на Диска, а Шапка пълна с небе е втората „книга за млади читатели“ от поредицата за малката вещица Тифани Сболки.
В едно интервю за блога на отворената феминистка, което тя май няма да публикува по други причини, обяснявам защо филмите с принцеси, книжките с принцеси и изобщо цялата „принцесна“, розова, приказна индустрия, която владее малките момичета практически от раждането им, е изключително вредна за изграждането им като мислещи, самостоятелни хора.
Принцесите са еманацията на идеята за жената като безпомощна, глупава кукла, която няма друга цел в живота, освен да бъде красива и да чака някой принц да я спаси. Как едно момиче ще има желанието и амбицията да учи, да направи нещо със себе си, ако през първите 15 години от живота й я заливат филми, книги, комикси и списания с принцеси и барбита, а според всички хора около нея тя трябва най-вече да е „послушна“, „добро момиче“ и най-вече „красива“?
Тъй като в днешния свят принцеси няма, голяма част от момичетата израстват с желанието да приличат на идола си Парис Хилтън и се превтъщат в коври, чиято цел в живота е да се гримират и да се заловят за някой „принц“ който да ги издържа.
Поредицата за Тифани Сболки на Тери Пратчет е само един малък спасителен сал в океана от розово, който владее света на малките момичета. Шапка пълна с небе е предназначена колкото за тях, толкова и за техните майки и се опитва с всички сили да покаже, че не е толкова важно как изглеждаш, а по-скоро какво правиш, и че да мислиш самостоятелно не е толкова лошо (всъщност никак лошо не е).
В едно интервю за блога на отворената феминистка, което тя май няма да публикува по други причини, обяснявам защо филмите с принцеси, книжките с принцеси и изобщо цялата „принцесна“, розова, приказна индустрия, която владее малките момичета практически от раждането им, е изключително вредна за изграждането им като мислещи, самостоятелни хора.
Принцесите са еманацията на идеята за жената като безпомощна, глупава кукла, която няма друга цел в живота, освен да бъде красива и да чака някой принц да я спаси. Как едно момиче ще има желанието и амбицията да учи, да направи нещо със себе си, ако през първите 15 години от живота й я заливат филми, книги, комикси и списания с принцеси и барбита, а според всички хора около нея тя трябва най-вече да е „послушна“, „добро момиче“ и най-вече „красива“?
Тъй като в днешния свят принцеси няма, голяма част от момичетата израстват с желанието да приличат на идола си Парис Хилтън и се превтъщат в коври, чиято цел в живота е да се гримират и да се заловят за някой „принц“ който да ги издържа.
Поредицата за Тифани Сболки на Тери Пратчет е само един малък спасителен сал в океана от розово, който владее света на малките момичета. Шапка пълна с небе е предназначена колкото за тях, толкова и за техните майки и се опитва с всички сили да покаже, че не е толкова важно как изглеждаш, а по-скоро какво правиш, и че да мислиш самостоятелно не е толкова лошо (всъщност никак лошо не е).
May 1, 2023
Підцикл про Тіфані не перестає мене дивувати. Це пізній Пратчетт, і відчутно це буквально у кожному рядку: в тому, як він вибудовує історію, в поетичних описах, в отому думанні про думання, в тому, як він пише про Афінґтонського Білого Коня, та в усьому. Дуже особливі книжечки в його немаленькому доробку і можуть добряче заскочити зненацька навіть тих, хто вже чимало перечитав дискосвітніх томиків.
Наша Тіфані з часу подій першої книжки підросла на два роки і було вирішено, що прийшла пора їй покинути рідні краї і п��вчитися відьмацьких премудростей в досвідченої панни Рівень. Сама панна і її хатинка — без сумніву магічні по саме нікуди, але Тіфані відьмацькі будні уявлялися якимись не такими... буденними? Не знаю, чи то підлітковий протест підкрався завчасно, чи то природня впертість далася взнаки, та вилилося все це в те, що вилилося, зате нашій Тіфані вдалося вирости як персонажці і переосмислити своє ставлення до багато-чого.
А що ж наші блакитні чоловічки? Та тут же, на місці. Допомагають своїй колишній кельді і відповідають за гумор.
P.S. Троха сердита на "Аґрафку", що вони винесли спойлер на обладинку.
Наша Тіфані з часу подій першої книжки підросла на два роки і було вирішено, що прийшла пора їй покинути рідні краї і п��вчитися відьмацьких премудростей в досвідченої панни Рівень. Сама панна і її хатинка — без сумніву магічні по саме нікуди, але Тіфані відьмацькі будні уявлялися якимись не такими... буденними? Не знаю, чи то підлітковий протест підкрався завчасно, чи то природня впертість далася взнаки, та вилилося все це в те, що вилилося, зате нашій Тіфані вдалося вирости як персонажці і переосмислити своє ставлення до багато-чого.
А що ж наші блакитні чоловічки? Та тут же, на місці. Допомагають своїй колишній кельді і відповідають за гумор.
P.S. Троха сердита на "Аґрафку", що вони винесли спойлер на обладинку.
November 12, 2024
2024 read again or rather listened.
The audio version is an older version which sadly means that Indira Varma is not Tiffany and Peter Serafinowicz is not Death. However Tony Robinson does a decent job even if I struggled with understanding the Feegles occasionally. Plus I also found it a lot funnier than I remembered. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the audio.
Original reading
The second outing for Tiffany Aching isn't quite the barrel of laughs that Wee Free Men gave us but it's still a true Terry Pratchett. Tiffany is now 11 and has been taken to learn "witching" to Miss Level (both of her). However she is being stalked by a hiver (a formless spirit looking for a home in a vacant mind).
Of course Tiffany might be in trouble but she has the Nac Mac Feegles and Granny Weatherwax on her side, not to mention the considerable wisdom of Granny Aching.
Funny, engaging and a thorough delight to read. Whizzed through it in a day. Looking forward to Wintersmith next.
The audio version is an older version which sadly means that Indira Varma is not Tiffany and Peter Serafinowicz is not Death. However Tony Robinson does a decent job even if I struggled with understanding the Feegles occasionally. Plus I also found it a lot funnier than I remembered. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the audio.
Original reading
The second outing for Tiffany Aching isn't quite the barrel of laughs that Wee Free Men gave us but it's still a true Terry Pratchett. Tiffany is now 11 and has been taken to learn "witching" to Miss Level (both of her). However she is being stalked by a hiver (a formless spirit looking for a home in a vacant mind).
Of course Tiffany might be in trouble but she has the Nac Mac Feegles and Granny Weatherwax on her side, not to mention the considerable wisdom of Granny Aching.
Funny, engaging and a thorough delight to read. Whizzed through it in a day. Looking forward to Wintersmith next.
June 1, 2022
Terry Pratchett was so good. With this review, I shall continue my biannual tradition of being unable to write coherently about a five star Discworld book.
This is the second Tiffany Aching book, which is set in the Discworld with his adult books, but this is technically middle grade, verging on YA. I say technically because any adult who wouldn't enjoy this has a piece of coal for a heart and loops of iron chain for intestines.
I really liked the first Tiffany Aching book, but I loved this one. Tiffany is now eleven years old, and is leaving the Chalk for the first time in her life to go apprentice (essentially) with another witch named Miss Level. But on her way out, she catches the attention of an extremely dangerous magical creature, and the only people who know it's on her trail are the Nac Mac Feegle, the tiny blue aggressive, drunken, essentially Scottish fairies whose favorite pastimes are kicking and stealing things. Tiffany is their "big wee hag" and they have to save her, because her life is linked to the land she lives on, and it will suffer if something happens to her.
Every single thing the Nac Mac Feegles do brings me joy. Their mangled verbiage, their weirdly gentle aggression. Their inability to leave pubs. The way Rob Anybody says "ships" instead of "sheep." The excerpt from the fictional book about fairies written by Miss Tick at the beginning of the book made me laugh just as much as the rest of it. There is a glossary. I read it like three times before I moved on to the actual story just so I could continue giggling.
And on the other end of the spectrum we have a genuinely moving story about identity and being true to yourself, which is handled with a staggering amount of subtlety when you consider this is book featuring a joke about dozens of small blue men forming a scarecrow man, and on a carriage ride, one of them forgets he's in disguise and walks out the fly of the pants they are all wearing.
Loved it.
This is the second Tiffany Aching book, which is set in the Discworld with his adult books, but this is technically middle grade, verging on YA. I say technically because any adult who wouldn't enjoy this has a piece of coal for a heart and loops of iron chain for intestines.
I really liked the first Tiffany Aching book, but I loved this one. Tiffany is now eleven years old, and is leaving the Chalk for the first time in her life to go apprentice (essentially) with another witch named Miss Level. But on her way out, she catches the attention of an extremely dangerous magical creature, and the only people who know it's on her trail are the Nac Mac Feegle, the tiny blue aggressive, drunken, essentially Scottish fairies whose favorite pastimes are kicking and stealing things. Tiffany is their "big wee hag" and they have to save her, because her life is linked to the land she lives on, and it will suffer if something happens to her.
Every single thing the Nac Mac Feegles do brings me joy. Their mangled verbiage, their weirdly gentle aggression. Their inability to leave pubs. The way Rob Anybody says "ships" instead of "sheep." The excerpt from the fictional book about fairies written by Miss Tick at the beginning of the book made me laugh just as much as the rest of it. There is a glossary. I read it like three times before I moved on to the actual story just so I could continue giggling.
And on the other end of the spectrum we have a genuinely moving story about identity and being true to yourself, which is handled with a staggering amount of subtlety when you consider this is book featuring a joke about dozens of small blue men forming a scarecrow man, and on a carriage ride, one of them forgets he's in disguise and walks out the fly of the pants they are all wearing.
Loved it.
September 3, 2014
For a children’s book it has more complexity than I would've expected. I remember after reading Tiffany Aching’s first book I thought it was just so strange and didn't get what was going on at the end. The climax in this one had a similar sort of the thing going but I understood it better this time around. Maybe it’s because I'm older or that Pratchett explained it easier this time, I don't know.
So here we have Tiffany in the beginning of her witch training and things are not going the way she thought. Things get worse since a Hiver (which is deadly and can’t be killed) seems to be after her, though she doesn't know it. Tiffany is a great character. Her point of view is straight forward but in a unique way. The reader is not only in Tiffany's head so if Tiffany misses something or is in denial we have the Wee Free Men to make there blunt though sometimes strange observations.
The Wee Free Men have to help Tiffany which I’m glad about. I was worried they wouldn’t be a big part in this story since Tiffany was no longer living in the chalk. But we do see them later on and we learn more of their traditions and their beliefs. The Wee Free Men are so funny and bring so much to the story because of it. The whole trying to pass as a person had me laughing and rereading passages.
Definitely worth a try if you into untraditional children fantasy, but then if you are you probably already know about Terry Pratchett.
So here we have Tiffany in the beginning of her witch training and things are not going the way she thought. Things get worse since a Hiver (which is deadly and can’t be killed) seems to be after her, though she doesn't know it. Tiffany is a great character. Her point of view is straight forward but in a unique way. The reader is not only in Tiffany's head so if Tiffany misses something or is in denial we have the Wee Free Men to make there blunt though sometimes strange observations.
The Wee Free Men have to help Tiffany which I’m glad about. I was worried they wouldn’t be a big part in this story since Tiffany was no longer living in the chalk. But we do see them later on and we learn more of their traditions and their beliefs. The Wee Free Men are so funny and bring so much to the story because of it. The whole trying to pass as a person had me laughing and rereading passages.
Definitely worth a try if you into untraditional children fantasy, but then if you are you probably already know about Terry Pratchett.
April 10, 2018
I waited for nearly two years after reading The Wee Free Men, fearing that the next book wouldn't stand up to it. I shouldn't have worried!
Tiffany still has first, second and third thoughts.
“First Thoughts are the everyday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about the way you think. People who enjoy thinking have those. Third Thoughts are thoughts that watch the world and think all by themselves. They’re rare, and often troublesome. Listening to them is part of witchcraft.”
The Nac Mac Feegle are still hilarious.
“Oh, we saw some muckle eldritch places when we wuz raiding for the Quin,” said Rob Anybody. “But we gave that up, for she wuz a schemin’, greedy, ill-fared carlin, that she was!”
“Aye, and it wuz no’ because she threw us oout o’ Fairyland for being completely pished at two in the afternoon, whatever any scunner might mphf mphf…” said Daft Wullie.
“Pished?” said Miss Level.
“Aye…oh, aye, it means…tired. Aye. Tired. That’s whut it means,” said Rob Anybody, holding his hands firmly over his brother’s mouth.
Tiffany still has first, second and third thoughts.
“First Thoughts are the everyday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about the way you think. People who enjoy thinking have those. Third Thoughts are thoughts that watch the world and think all by themselves. They’re rare, and often troublesome. Listening to them is part of witchcraft.”
The Nac Mac Feegle are still hilarious.
“Oh, we saw some muckle eldritch places when we wuz raiding for the Quin,” said Rob Anybody. “But we gave that up, for she wuz a schemin’, greedy, ill-fared carlin, that she was!”
“Aye, and it wuz no’ because she threw us oout o’ Fairyland for being completely pished at two in the afternoon, whatever any scunner might mphf mphf…” said Daft Wullie.
“Pished?” said Miss Level.
“Aye…oh, aye, it means…tired. Aye. Tired. That’s whut it means,” said Rob Anybody, holding his hands firmly over his brother’s mouth.
February 19, 2020
This book was in actuality a reread, even though I did not realize this until I began reading it. I loved it the first time through and even more so now. So now I have only one more never read Terry Pratchett book to experience for the very first time. I wish he was still with us and writing...
February 13, 2019
This is the second book in the Tiffany Aching series and it has some really memorable moments in it. Granny Weatherwax plays a much more prominent role here too!
Before I get into the review, the obligatory free plug. I write too Mainly fantasy and folklore.
Right! Apologies for that. Onto the review. I read this to my daughter Emily. Ever since I told her about the Wee Free Men she was fascinated and after reading her the first book she's a convert. We've already started Wintersmith! I think she enjoys me reading these because of my enthusiastic, if flawed portrayals of pictsie scottish accents.
The book starts some time after the conclusion of The Wee Free Men Tiffany has been assigned to a well-meaning witch called Miss Level. She's still at home at the start of the book and the initial chapters follow her on her journey to Miss Level's cottage. Before she sets out though she makes a grave mistake. Lacking a decent mirror, Tiffany has learned that she can study her appearance by stepping out of her body. This seems to be quite a respectable feat for any witch, but Tiffany is able to do this without any training, though this leaves her vulnerable because she's never even been taught the dangers of leaving her body let alone how to protect herself.
The act attracts the attention of a Hiver. A parasitic mind which is as old as time itself. It latches itself onto the minds of the powerful, gradually wearing away their inner-self until there is nothing of the person left - then the Hiver leaves to find a new host. You can't fight a Hiver, and they can't be killed. Much to the dismay of Rob Anybody and the Feegles!
Fortunately Tiffany leaves before the Hiver can catch up with her. However the Feegles are aware that the Hiver is after Tiffany. Jeannie - the Kelda to this end orders Rob to take a band of Feegles and save Tiffany.
While Tiffany travels with Miss Perspicia Tick on a cart, the Feegles take a more unorthodox approach to locomotion. After stealing a bundle of old clothes off washing lines, they stuff the clothes with themselves and try to pass themselves off as a human in order to take cars and horses and so on. Obviously to hilarious effect. The whole debacle is typical of Feegle thinking and amusing to say the least.
When Tiffany gets to Miss Level's cottage she finds Miss Level is interesting in that she has two bodies which work in unison. Miss Level also has the opposite of a poltergeist - she has a spirit that meticulously tidies up.
After settling in Tiffany soon gets to meet the other local young witches who have been apprenticed in the area. Notably Petulia and the somewhat despotic Annagramma. After being mocked by Annagramma having told them about her imaginary hat given to her by Granny Weatherwax, she returns home to Miss Level. Again she leaves her body, but the Hiver has caught up with her and enters her body first.
At first Tiffany doesn't realise anything is wrong. The Hiver grants her immeasurable power and kills one of Miss Level's bodies and embarks upon a magical rampage turning shop assistants into frogs (Which creates a massive floating pink blob of spare 'person' because of the size difference - euch!) And more. She immediately becomes feared and respected as she gains the ability to use powerful magic on a whim.
Luckily the Nac Mac Feegle catch up and decide to use the Craw Step to enter her mind and fight the Hiver out. This endeavour doesn't go well until they decide to use some strong smells from Tiffany's past to bring out the 'real' her. This works and the Hiver is pushed out - but it doesn't give up easily.
At this point Tiffany enlists the help of Granny Weatherwax, who begins by helping her right some of the wrongs she caused while she was possessed by the Hiver. Then they head into the mountains and Tiffany begins to learn a little about borrowing. Granny tells her to call her Granny, something which it's inferred means Granny is showing her a great deal of respect.
Granny and Tiffany then lead the Hiver to the witch trial. (Not what you'd expect. Think more 'Sheepdog Trials for witches' than tieing toes to thumbs and throwing in ponds etc... ) There, Tiffany learned more about the Hiver and that it shelters in people's minds to escape from the world. It doesn't actually understand the harm it's causing. The Hiver wants to die, Tiffany helps it by opening a door and leading it to the desert. It's unclear where they are or what happens, but this is clearly the realm of the dead. The Hiver is told to cross the desert with other lonely spirits wandering the black sand of the desert.
Terrifyingly, while this works, the door vanishes, leaving Tiffany stranded in the desert. Death appears and tells her to make her way across the desert to the mountains with the rest of the dead. Luckily at this point Granny Weatherwax opens a new door and pulls her back into the world of the living.
The witch trials ensue, though of course none of the acts are half as impressive as Tiffany and Granny's show of removing a Hiver from the world. There's an unspoken respect of Tiffany Granny. They don't actually enter the trials, because they don't need to. It also seems Granny Weatherwax has found a young, but kindred spirit in Tiffany. So much so that she gives Tiffany her hat.
Later Tiffany returns the hat to Granny because she wants to make her own hat. She returns to the chalk as the witch of the land and returns to Granny Achings hut where she decides to make the sky her hat, like her Granny before her.
***
So the verdict?
This is a weird book. I have no idea what a Hiver is or where the inspiration for it came from. I seem to recall trying to research this a long time ago but don't recall ever getting to the bottom of it. It's one of the many, many questions I'd have asked the late great Sir Terry Pratchett if I'd ever had the good fortune to happenstance upon him in a pub. The battle of wills between Tiffany and the Hiver was very satisfying though, and the effects the Hiver has on Tiffany when it seizes her were really enjoyable too. Especially seeing Annagramma getting some comeuppance and being taught some humility. You can really feel Tiffany and Granny getting close in this book. Tiffany is clearly way ahead of her peers in witchcraft and she understands Granny better than probably even most of the older witches. Great scenes at the end. The trials were a really fun setting and it's always a pleasure to make the acquaintance of death. He's definitely a favorite character in the Discworld series. His appearance here is brief but poignant. The scene of the door and the black desert is really eerie. It's fantastic writing. Really imaginative and expertly portrayed.
All in all, this is a really hard book to fault.
Martyn Stanley
Before I get into the review, the obligatory free plug. I write too Mainly fantasy and folklore.
Right! Apologies for that. Onto the review. I read this to my daughter Emily. Ever since I told her about the Wee Free Men she was fascinated and after reading her the first book she's a convert. We've already started Wintersmith! I think she enjoys me reading these because of my enthusiastic, if flawed portrayals of pictsie scottish accents.
The book starts some time after the conclusion of The Wee Free Men Tiffany has been assigned to a well-meaning witch called Miss Level. She's still at home at the start of the book and the initial chapters follow her on her journey to Miss Level's cottage. Before she sets out though she makes a grave mistake. Lacking a decent mirror, Tiffany has learned that she can study her appearance by stepping out of her body. This seems to be quite a respectable feat for any witch, but Tiffany is able to do this without any training, though this leaves her vulnerable because she's never even been taught the dangers of leaving her body let alone how to protect herself.
The act attracts the attention of a Hiver. A parasitic mind which is as old as time itself. It latches itself onto the minds of the powerful, gradually wearing away their inner-self until there is nothing of the person left - then the Hiver leaves to find a new host. You can't fight a Hiver, and they can't be killed. Much to the dismay of Rob Anybody and the Feegles!
Fortunately Tiffany leaves before the Hiver can catch up with her. However the Feegles are aware that the Hiver is after Tiffany. Jeannie - the Kelda to this end orders Rob to take a band of Feegles and save Tiffany.
While Tiffany travels with Miss Perspicia Tick on a cart, the Feegles take a more unorthodox approach to locomotion. After stealing a bundle of old clothes off washing lines, they stuff the clothes with themselves and try to pass themselves off as a human in order to take cars and horses and so on. Obviously to hilarious effect. The whole debacle is typical of Feegle thinking and amusing to say the least.
When Tiffany gets to Miss Level's cottage she finds Miss Level is interesting in that she has two bodies which work in unison. Miss Level also has the opposite of a poltergeist - she has a spirit that meticulously tidies up.
After settling in Tiffany soon gets to meet the other local young witches who have been apprenticed in the area. Notably Petulia and the somewhat despotic Annagramma. After being mocked by Annagramma having told them about her imaginary hat given to her by Granny Weatherwax, she returns home to Miss Level. Again she leaves her body, but the Hiver has caught up with her and enters her body first.
At first Tiffany doesn't realise anything is wrong. The Hiver grants her immeasurable power and kills one of Miss Level's bodies and embarks upon a magical rampage turning shop assistants into frogs (Which creates a massive floating pink blob of spare 'person' because of the size difference - euch!) And more. She immediately becomes feared and respected as she gains the ability to use powerful magic on a whim.
Luckily the Nac Mac Feegle catch up and decide to use the Craw Step to enter her mind and fight the Hiver out. This endeavour doesn't go well until they decide to use some strong smells from Tiffany's past to bring out the 'real' her. This works and the Hiver is pushed out - but it doesn't give up easily.
At this point Tiffany enlists the help of Granny Weatherwax, who begins by helping her right some of the wrongs she caused while she was possessed by the Hiver. Then they head into the mountains and Tiffany begins to learn a little about borrowing. Granny tells her to call her Granny, something which it's inferred means Granny is showing her a great deal of respect.
Granny and Tiffany then lead the Hiver to the witch trial. (Not what you'd expect. Think more 'Sheepdog Trials for witches' than tieing toes to thumbs and throwing in ponds etc... ) There, Tiffany learned more about the Hiver and that it shelters in people's minds to escape from the world. It doesn't actually understand the harm it's causing. The Hiver wants to die, Tiffany helps it by opening a door and leading it to the desert. It's unclear where they are or what happens, but this is clearly the realm of the dead. The Hiver is told to cross the desert with other lonely spirits wandering the black sand of the desert.
Terrifyingly, while this works, the door vanishes, leaving Tiffany stranded in the desert. Death appears and tells her to make her way across the desert to the mountains with the rest of the dead. Luckily at this point Granny Weatherwax opens a new door and pulls her back into the world of the living.
The witch trials ensue, though of course none of the acts are half as impressive as Tiffany and Granny's show of removing a Hiver from the world. There's an unspoken respect of Tiffany Granny. They don't actually enter the trials, because they don't need to. It also seems Granny Weatherwax has found a young, but kindred spirit in Tiffany. So much so that she gives Tiffany her hat.
Later Tiffany returns the hat to Granny because she wants to make her own hat. She returns to the chalk as the witch of the land and returns to Granny Achings hut where she decides to make the sky her hat, like her Granny before her.
***
So the verdict?
This is a weird book. I have no idea what a Hiver is or where the inspiration for it came from. I seem to recall trying to research this a long time ago but don't recall ever getting to the bottom of it. It's one of the many, many questions I'd have asked the late great Sir Terry Pratchett if I'd ever had the good fortune to happenstance upon him in a pub. The battle of wills between Tiffany and the Hiver was very satisfying though, and the effects the Hiver has on Tiffany when it seizes her were really enjoyable too. Especially seeing Annagramma getting some comeuppance and being taught some humility. You can really feel Tiffany and Granny getting close in this book. Tiffany is clearly way ahead of her peers in witchcraft and she understands Granny better than probably even most of the older witches. Great scenes at the end. The trials were a really fun setting and it's always a pleasure to make the acquaintance of death. He's definitely a favorite character in the Discworld series. His appearance here is brief but poignant. The scene of the door and the black desert is really eerie. It's fantastic writing. Really imaginative and expertly portrayed.
All in all, this is a really hard book to fault.
Martyn Stanley
August 9, 2022
Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my LOCUS Y-A list.
I think I’ll always have a soft-spot for imaginative young-adult speculative fiction and as the good people at Locus did such a grand job with picking their Sci-Fi winners, I’ll trust them to single out some special y-a books too.
I've never tried to write a review on my phone before, but my darling wife has just reinstalled Warcraft for the first time since Fin was born and has claimed the PC for the foreseeable future, so I guess I'd better practice. (iPhone autocorrect keeps trying to rename my son Gin. This tickles me.)
This is book two in the Tiffany Aching sequence. Isn't sequence the perfect word? Discworld is a series of books, but its weaved of many smaller series within that (witches, guards, Death, Rincewind, etc) - and aside from "series within the bigger series", I've never known the right way to describe them. But the back of this book describes it as book two in the Tiffany Aching sequence and that's the perfect word. It filled a little void in my vocabulary.
So - I think of A Hat Full of Sky as 'the one with the Hiver'. The Hiver is an invisible, magic beastie that possesses people and send them bonkers. Tiffany accidentally lets it into her head and has to watch as a helpless passenger as it takes her body on a rampage (which is a lot of fun - read the scene where she turns a shop assistant into a frog and a 'balloon'!) Then Tiffany has to battle the beastie out of her bonce, with a little assistance from the legendary Granny Weatherwax. The big symbolic climax with the horse carving breaking free from the chalk was... immense! I was proper choked-up.
I'm going to borrow this quote from Nick Whyte's review:
"'AAaargwannawannaaaagongongonaargggaaaaBLOON!' which is the traditional sound of a very small child learning that with balloons, as with life itself, it is important to know when not to let go of the string. The whole point of balloons is to teach small children this."And also this one from Arminzerella:
It's that "as with life itself" that really makes it memorable.
"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."I've never met a Pratchett story I didn't like and A Hat Full of Sky maintains that fine record. I think the Tiffany books lack a little of the depth and/or whimsy that my very favourite Discworld books have, but they're also signficantly better than the weaker Discworld books. Overall they are excellent YA books that I'm very happy to highly recommend.
After this I read: Ship Breaker
April 30, 2025
The 32nd in my re-read of the entire Discworld series sees us back with Tiffany though only at the fringes of The Chalk.
One reason why I decided to re-read the series is that I can never just indulge in one of the volumes. The other is that the audiobooks were newly produced and the casts looked amazing.
Reading this 32nd book (in chronological order) are:
But we also have to mention Steven Cree, voice of the Nac Mac Feegles!
It's been 2 years since the last Tiffany book (within the series) so our little witch is 11 years old right now. She's starting her "studies" with Miss Level, who lives at the fringes of The Chalk. In fact, Twoshirts (the village where Miss Level lives) is so far from Tiffany's home that it gets pretty problematic - because Tiffany is getting homesick and there is quite some distance the Nac Mac Feegles have to cover once they decide to go after "their wee hag" to protect her from ... (find out for yourself).
And then there is the other witches. Especially (but not only) the teenage witches. Ye gods, did I want to smack them in the heads. Repeatedly. Grrrrrr.
Many don't like that TP entered the field of YA with the Tiffany stories but I do. It affords us a wholly different perspective. Namely, that of a newcomer who needs to find her own voice and place in the world. We get to see bullying taken care of right (rare) - and no, the teenies aren't the only bullies here (I so appreciate the realism of that). Which also means Granny is making an appearance ... and what an appearance! HA!
We've all been navigating difficult situations, most people have had to be away from home at some point, many have been at the receiving end of bad behavior from others, all of us have (had) self-doubts ... and it's just so wonderfully comforting to have the author take us by the hand and guide us through all of it in such a nice way, even offering some perspective on possible responses.
It's no secret that I love the witches of the Disc (well, two of them anyway) but I have to say that Miss Level particularly grew on me during this re-read. The others were as despicable as I rememberes. ;P
Indira Varma once again knocked it out of the park with her performance and I'm so grateful to her rendition of these books. I'm a very happy bookworm right now.
One reason why I decided to re-read the series is that I can never just indulge in one of the volumes. The other is that the audiobooks were newly produced and the casts looked amazing.
Reading this 32nd book (in chronological order) are:
But we also have to mention Steven Cree, voice of the Nac Mac Feegles!
It's been 2 years since the last Tiffany book (within the series) so our little witch is 11 years old right now. She's starting her "studies" with Miss Level, who lives at the fringes of The Chalk. In fact, Twoshirts (the village where Miss Level lives) is so far from Tiffany's home that it gets pretty problematic - because Tiffany is getting homesick and there is quite some distance the Nac Mac Feegles have to cover once they decide to go after "their wee hag" to protect her from ... (find out for yourself).
And then there is the other witches. Especially (but not only) the teenage witches. Ye gods, did I want to smack them in the heads. Repeatedly. Grrrrrr.
Many don't like that TP entered the field of YA with the Tiffany stories but I do. It affords us a wholly different perspective. Namely, that of a newcomer who needs to find her own voice and place in the world. We get to see bullying taken care of right (rare) - and no, the teenies aren't the only bullies here (I so appreciate the realism of that). Which also means Granny is making an appearance ... and what an appearance! HA!
We've all been navigating difficult situations, most people have had to be away from home at some point, many have been at the receiving end of bad behavior from others, all of us have (had) self-doubts ... and it's just so wonderfully comforting to have the author take us by the hand and guide us through all of it in such a nice way, even offering some perspective on possible responses.
It's no secret that I love the witches of the Disc (well, two of them anyway) but I have to say that Miss Level particularly grew on me during this re-read. The others were as despicable as I rememberes. ;P
Indira Varma once again knocked it out of the park with her performance and I'm so grateful to her rendition of these books. I'm a very happy bookworm right now.
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