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I Shall Wear Midnight

(Discworld #38)

Terry Pratchett

4.32 · Rating details · 48,073 ratings · 2,259 reviews

It starts with whispers.

Then someone picks up a stone.

Finally, the fires begin.

When people turn on witches, the innocents suffer. . .

Tiffany Aching has spent years studying with senior witches, and now she is on her own. As the witch of the Chalk, she performs the bits of witchcraft that aren't sparkly, aren't fun, don't involve any kind of wand, and that people seldom ev ...more

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Hardcover, 349 pages

Published September 2nd 2010 by Doubleday Childrens (first published January 1st 2010)

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Start your review of I Shall Wear Midnight (Discworld, #38; Tiffany Aching, #4)

Jun 22, 2010 Mariel rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: anyone who's ever had to grow up

I didn't become a Terry Pratchett fan until 2009. My twin sister told me numerous times that it would be a very good idea for me to read him. I do listen to my twin, it's just that particular urgency to heed her advice hinges on many factors: did she tell me too much (in the interest of fairness, I do this more to her than she does to me), was I feeling a loner and left out of hyper enthuasism... Probably that last one. Everything good about Terry Pratchet you've probably been told or read (or s I didn't become a Terry Pratchett fan until 2009. My twin sister told me numerous times that it would be a very good idea for me to read him. I do listen to my twin, it's just that particular urgency to heed her advice hinges on many factors: did she tell me too much (in the interest of fairness, I do this more to her than she does to me), was I feeling a loner and left out of hyper enthuasism... Probably that last one. Everything good about Terry Pratchet you've probably been told or read (or said and written, if you're a fan) is true. His fans love him to peices. Me too. (It is a very good thing for me that I came to The Beatles and The Smiths on my own with no awareness of fanbases...) (I'm not trendy. Proof of my inbred untrendiness: Welsh roots instead of Irish.)

What decided me? A Buffy the Vampire Slayer comparison on the book jacket of the first Tiffany Aching book. (With 38 and counting Disc World books out there, the four book series is a good place to start. It's not intimidating to have a little slice cut out. That said, you can read any Disc World book first.) (One thing I love about the Disc World books, one person's "It's funny and quite good" can be another person's "My personal favorite!" Don't always go by those four or five star ratings on gr. You could still hit your own "Oh hell yes" Disc World stride. This isn't prolificness for the sake of being prolific. Pratchett has something to say. Tiffany Aching, for instance, came to him as such that he dropped everything else he was doing to write her.) Lots of things are wrongly compared to 'Buffy', of course (probably by people who didn't realize why 'Buffy' was really great). Maybe it was my twin's rec coupled with the Buffy. Whatever it was, Buffy decided me. No, Tiffany Aching isn't Buffy herself, but one thing 'Buffy' the show and 'Tiffany' the series have in common (besides names with unfair reputations. Thank goodness Mariel hasn't yet become a "bimbo" name. I'm flying below the radar he he he) is that everything good you've heard is true. You can open up any line in a Terry Pratchett book and find a line to knock your socks off.

I'll do it right now, for example. (Trust that I'm doing this randomly. No fixed fights.) (John Turturro in Quiz Show is theatrically patting the sweat off his brow.) "The world is full of omens, and you picked the ones you liked." (page 145 of I Shall Wear Midnight, hardback edition). (Turturro: "They made me take a dive!" You could've chosen a better line than that. But I like that one!)

I'm going to try (I said try!) to express why I loved the final Tiffany Aching book (hell, that whole series) so much in a way that doesn't veer into hyperbole that will not make an outsider feel lonely.

The magic is personal magic, from the heart, earth, soul. The witches are the people who fix things that nobody else knows needs fixing. People who fall through the cracks, are left to die alone, the witches warm their cold feet, bury them when they need to. That's magic. The darkness of the world is fear of the unknown, losing yourself to hatred, being too clever and stupid at the same time, stupid people being clever, losing because the world is often unfair. Are you yourself, the girl, or the hat (the witch)? I think anyone can relate to that feeling of being just your job, how sometimes the lines blur because of how you are seen by others.

I don't think this is just a ya series. Sometimes I feel embarrassed by coming-of-age stories about younger characters who become much more emotionally evolved than I am (turning 31 the day after writing this review). Not so with Tiffany. I don't think the expectations are unreasonable, or ignore other complicated human feeling possibilties. If anything, it is encouraged to think about things (the magical powers of first thoughts. And second thoughts, thinking about what you were thinking in first thoughts). It's not denying your own personal hurts, but also acknowledging that the world isn't about only you. Adjusting to expectations, retaining the dreams and keeping the right to have them without bitterness... I loved that. Yeah, I'm not 9-15 (her ages in the series), but Tiffany is my role model.

Terry Pratchett is funny, he's witty, tongue in cheek, he's got style and grace. He does it that it looks easy and you don't even notice he's doing it. It would be easy to take him for granted because he's always at least very, very good. Pratchett could probably be one of those witches that are taken for granted because they are always there doing their thing sometimes on the fringes and sometimes in big saving the day blasts. (He won't always be there. Sad face.) This isn't technical fantasy about fictional distant lands and politics name-dropping and weaponry names. It's very real feeling. That's what would appeal to me the most, anyway. Emotions in the thinking way.

I loved The Wee Free Men. Hopefully the Nac Mac Feegles won't "find" all of my personal belongings for saying this, the fairy folk in Martin Millar's The Good Fairies of New York are more my style: rock 'n' roll and punk as opposed to... pub drunken fun. I love the little blue men, just they aren't my favorite part of the series. Give me Johnny Thunders over Floggin' Molly any time. (Or I could've said they aren't my bag...pipe. I'm not Terry Pratchett, clearly. And I've used that ahem joke before.) I loved so very much the flashbacks of Tiffany's dead grandmama. Definitely one of the most heartfelt tales of bereavement and memory I've read. The stories of the old lady terrorized to her grave that made Tiffany want to become a witch were moving and terrifying. That it had a profound effect on young Tiffany and suitable motivation for becoming a witch was something I could believe wholeheartedly. I dug the story of the travelling teachers, the chalk (based on Pratchett's own upbringing), cheese and sheep and sheepdogs, fighting the fairy queen. Every day fantastical fantasticness and seeing the mundane in the terrifying. Awesome book.

Book two A Hat Full of Sky is my fuck yes that was amazing favorite Tiffany Aching book. I loved the story of the hiver who takes up camp in Tiffany's mind, how the knowledge of others changes how Tiffany thinks. It's all about thinking and feeling those first and second and third thoughts. I do that all of the time, constantly try to put myself into how someone else feels and trying to remember that I'm not the only person. This is magic to me.

Wintersmith is the third book. Tiffany gets moved into the morris dance to bring in the change of the seasons and takes the place that did not belong to her, that of Summer, setting the Winter after her to take her place as his queen. Being who you aren't meant to be, making up for mistakes, learning the way of it through daily grind, that's the way of things. Some things are everything falls into place falling from the sky realizations, most of the time it is ingrained in the mind through constant wax on and wax off practice.

I Shall Wear Midnight is the earned culimination of the three books that came before it. Almost like little hindsight short stories in Tiffany's daily life of hard work and precious little sleep, 'Midnight' is the just growing up story.

Making the every day into magic is the most magical thing there is. Doing that is HARD.

Now I'll indulge myself: Crivens! Terry Pratchett is awesome. ...more

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Apr 22, 2017 Lyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Reading any Terry Pratchett Discworld novel has a smile-O-meter factor – while you read you are constantly smiling at his descriptions, references, allusions and turns of phrase. He is simply a very entertaining writer with a keen ability to tell a good story.

Add to this quality while reading his 38th Discworld book I Shall Wear Midnight (first published in 2010 and featuring recurring protagonist Tiffany Aching) the feeling that Pratchett’s narration is like a comforting blanket in which the r ...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Dan Schwent rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adultery, 2010, pratchett

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Things are hostile toward witches on The Chalk and Tiffany Aching aims to find out why. But how can she with the future mother-in-law of the new baron gunning for her? Can the Nac Mac Feegle help her clear her name and the name of witches everywhere?

Terry Pratchett has been one of my "buy everything" authors for years now and this book is a good example why. It would be easy for old Pratch to phone it in at this point. He's written something like 50 Discworld books and has been stricken with ear Things are hostile toward witches on The Chalk and Tiffany Aching aims to find out why. But how can she with the future mother-in-law of the new baron gunning for her? Can the Nac Mac Feegle help her clear her name and the name of witches everywhere?

Terry Pratchett has been one of my "buy everything" authors for years now and this book is a good example why. It would be easy for old Pratch to phone it in at this point. He's written something like 50 Discworld books and has been stricken with early onset Altzheimers. I'm proud to say there was no phoning in, or even texting in, in this one.

Like all of the Discworld books, this book is about something. It's about prejudice and mass hysteria, how seemingly rational people can be driven to do some pretty irrational things. It's funny how a lot of people dismiss the Discworld books as fantasy parody when they're so much more.

The Nac Mac Feegle, demented Scottish smurfs that they are, provide comic relief as always. Preston, the guard who's too smart to be a guard, provided a believable future love interest for Tiffany. Tiffany herself has come a long way since the Wee Free Men. Her grace The Duchess was such a foul villainess I couldn't wait to see her taken down a peg. The Cunning Man was pretty horrible as far as Pratchett villains go. And the cameos by Vimes, Nanny Ogg, and Granny Weatherwax were worth the price of admission.

Something that not many people mention, Terry Pratchett does a lot to advance the concept of the fantasy witch as more than juts a cackling hag. He portrays them more like shaman or jacks of all trades, doing whatever is necessary for the people in their steading.

So why a four? Why not five? I'll tell you, Arnold. For one thing, the ending was a little too easy. For another, too many plot threads were swept under the rug. Amber, the girl who's dad beat the hell out of her, was forgotten for most of the book after spending time with the kelda of the Nac Mac Feegle. The Duchess, likewise, was defused at the wedding near the end and it seemed out of character. The thread of Letitia being a witch came out of left field and also didn't go very far. It could be that old Pratch is planning another Tiffany Aching novel but I was under the impression that this one is the last.

All in all, this was a worthy addition to the Tiffany Aching saga and the Discworld series. Lots of laughs and also some thought provoking stuff. ...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, ya, humor, 2020-shelf

Re-read 7/29/20:

I jumped into the fire with Tiffany. :)

Run, rabbit, run!

Original Review:

Extremely enjoyable witch novel. This sub-branch of the whole disc-World always has the ability to make me giddy and giggly with the feeling that imminent practicality is the most magical skill in the world. It's a consistent feeling, of course, and not endemic to this novel. On the other hand, for all of the Aching novels that all appear to be about coming-to-age, there's a delightful variety in how one can ...more

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Jul 28, 2020 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In this 38th Discworld novel, we once again meet Tiffany Aching. She’s the Chalk’s witch now and supported by the Nac Mac Feegle. However, lately, people have started criticizing her, daring to question what she does. Something unheard of. When the baron dies, Tiffany goes in search of the baron’s son (whom she saved a few books back) so he can take his dead father’s place (he’s away to buy stuff for his soon-to-be-wife).
Thus, she ends up in Ankh-Morpork of all places - and discovers that the s In this 38th Discworld novel, we once again meet Tiffany Aching. She’s the Chalk’s witch now and supported by the Nac Mac Feegle. However, lately, people have started criticizing her, daring to question what she does. Something unheard of. When the baron dies, Tiffany goes in search of the baron’s son (whom she saved a few books back) so he can take his dead father’s place (he’s away to buy stuff for his soon-to-be-wife).
Thus, she ends up in Ankh-Morpork of all places - and discovers that the situation is even worse there. Apparently, it’s The Cunning Man’s work. No, he’s not really a man, though he used to be. In the meantime, he’s more like an idea whose time has come. Tiffany needs to find a way to defeat The Cunning Man before witches are burnt and things escalate for good (well, bad).

The highlight was seeing Tiffany and the Wee Free Men in the Disc’s most famous … well, notorious … city. The other witches encountered there - not least of which was Escarina Smith, of course - as well as the run-ins with The Watch were just the most mentionable highlights here.

Many people say that Tiffany’s adventures are weak volumes in the series, that the author’s foray into what many call the YA genre was mistake even. I’m here to tell you it’s all poppycock.
The writing was fast-paced and sharp in its observations about human nature, the puns intelligent and fantastic. The dialogues were laugh-out-loud-funny. The animal sidekicks (always a gem in the witches books) were wonderful. The actual topic here, the mystery or threat so to speak, was full of an assortment of mythological tidbits and cultural history, deliciously brought together by the lovely cast of characters.

So yes, I was once again enchanted. I was angry on behalf of all the hard-working witches and how they had been treated. I was downright homicidal about the nurse, a certain soon-to-be mother-in-law and Amber’s parents (to name but a few). I was delighted by the mischief of our favorite blue-skinned lads.
In short: the book, as usual for Terry Pratchett, has snark, meaning, and - most importantly - heart. ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 Len Evans Jr rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: wizards, mystery, scifi, humor, witches, paranormal, fantasy, magic, owned, young-adult

I am used to Terry Pratchett making me laugh out loud when I read his books. Not cry like a baby! But he sure plays every heart string in this one, while all keeping the humor level just as high. Have loved Tiffany since he first book, it has been a priviledge watching her grow up. Only a slim few of Terry's books left to read... been straggling them out as you can only experience each of his books for the first time once and sadly there shall be no more...

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Oct 30, 2014 Melindam rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: discworld

I seriously hate the thought of giving any books by Terry Pratchett less than 4 stars, but I had to do it for this one.

I read it twice. My original rating for this book was 3 stars and yep, it stays that way (though at one point I was tempted to downgrade). It was the weakest book of the Tiffany Aching-series .... well until The Shepherd's Crown was published anyway :( (That one made me infinitely unhappy not just because Sir Terry passed away, but because I found it so bad.)

This was definitely ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Lightreads rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, young-adult

This is more of the same for this subseries – which is a good thing! More adolescent witch adventures, more growing up too fast, more dry humor with teeth underneath.

Critics go on about how magic in fantasy novels is a metaphor for political power or social power or insert power here. Which is usually a really unsatisfying reading to me because fantasy novel magic is so often inborn, inexplicable, a random or genetic gift. Which is a good metaphor for social power, often, but it’s not very inter ...more

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Sep 21, 2017 Kaethe Douglas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, feminism, books-about-books, strong-smart-female-protagonist, domesticity, humor, fiction, gender, small-town, skepticism

I Shall Wear Midnight: A Story of Discworld (Discworld Novels) 2011, January 1

Oh, goodness, how I loved this book. Wintersmith was okay, but this is fabulous. Tiffany's grown up some more, and now she's home on the chalk, where she's coming into her own as the local witch. Against that, there's someone stirring up witch-hunts again, and Roland has a girlfriend who's the daughter of a Duchess. And the Nac Mac Feegle are into everything, shouting Crivens! Delightful because it gets Tiffany back wh ...more

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Apr 04, 2011 VickiWithNoE rated it it was amazing

I would read the phone book if Terry Pratchett wrote it. I have read all his books; including the ones for kids and young adults. I've given away a fortune in his YA and kids' books at schools.
I am only a short way into the book but it is already filled with Pratchett's signature wit and (yes) wisdom. No one uses the English language like Pratchett. If I sound like FanGirl, it's because I am, absolutely. Pratchett makes Tiffany "feel" like a real 16-year old girl; with all the confusion and ang ...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Melissa McShane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: humor, own, fantasy, protag-female

I realized some ten pages into this book that I'd only ever read it once before, which is unusual for me; I go to Terry Pratchett's books in the times when I can't handle anything else. (This happens often.) It seemed appropriate, given that the US release of The Shepherd's Crown is Tuesday, and turned out to be exactly what I needed on a Sunday evening.

There were things I remembered: Tiffany's changed relationship with Roland, the Nac Mac Feegle in Ankh-Morpork, Letitia the very damp Duchess's I realized some ten pages into this book that I'd only ever read it once before, which is unusual for me; I go to Terry Pratchett's books in the times when I can't handle anything else. (This happens often.) It seemed appropriate, given that the US release of The Shepherd's Crown is Tuesday, and turned out to be exactly what I needed on a Sunday evening.

There were things I remembered: Tiffany's changed relationship with Roland, the Nac Mac Feegle in Ankh-Morpork, Letitia the very damp Duchess's daughter with unsuspected depth. What I'd forgotten is the strong theme of responsibility that ties the whole thing together. Tiffany Aching, as the new witch of the Chalk, bears responsibility for hundreds of people, most of whom fear her, or possibly fear what she represents. One of Tiffany's gifts is balancing between good and evil, pain and peace, and at the beginning of the book she's become so obsessed with playing that role that she's forgotten, just a little, why it is she's doing it. She's justifiably proud of her skills--she's the girl who kissed the winter, after all--but it's made her somewhat distant from the people she has to serve. So when a formless evil sets its sights on her, she's put in a position where all her skills are, if not useless, at least ineffective to fight her opponent. Woven into the plot is Tiffany's need to grow and understand the world in ways outside her experience. By the end, she knows why witches face tragedy and suffering and the hard choices the way they do, and for all her skills, it's that moment when Tiffany is a true witch.

I remember being a little put off by the dissolution of Tiffany and Roland's romance (this is not a spoiler, it's revealed in the first few pages) because that relationship had been telegraphed fairly well in previous books. But the explanation even Tiffany has to accept is that the two of them really were just thrown together, and mistook their both being alone and different for being compatible. Their relationship as future Baron and witch makes a lot more sense, and I like Roland's fiancée Letitia very much, even before we find out her secret. (view spoiler)

But the heart of any Tiffany Aching story is the Feegles, who were mostly played for laughs in Carpe Jugulum but have steadily become--like pretty much everything about the Discworld--a serious, solid presence in the story. Not that they aren't still hilarious; I love Daft Wullie, who is guaranteed to say the wrong thing every time. But the image of Rob Anybody ready to start a war to defend his wife and family--that's deadly serious. And there are so many serious moments between the funny ones that it's a little strange to look back over the Discworld series and realize those early books were written by the same man.

I have no idea what to expect from the final Discworld book. Terry Pratchett's later works, after his illness was serious, aren't quite to the same quality as the earlier ones. What I'm looking for, I think, is a sense of closure. Raising Steam, for all its faults, brought to an end several plot threads that had been unreeling for several books, and I found that satisfying. I look forward to seeing how the final chapter in Tiffany's story plays out. ...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Nathan rated it it was amazing

I don't find many books that I'd gladly give to my girl and say "this, this is what being human is". In the Tiffany Aching series, Pratchett nailed it and in this, the final book (which can be read alone), Pratchett nails the story too. The others have featured metaphors-come-to-life as antagonists, but they were very active antagonists. In this book, the antagonist is more in the background: he exists, there's pursuit, but it's all playing second fiddle to Tiffany's battle with her feelings and ...more

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Oct 11, 2010 Carol rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: anglophiles, folklore fans, anyone who needs a good laugh, fans of the other Tiffany Aching books

Terry Pratchett is a genius! This book is the fourth in the Tiffany Aching Adventures, and my favorite so far, I think. Tiffany is a sixteen-year-old witch, self-assured and very wise beyond her years, yet still down to earth (or, in her case, chalk) and still sixteen. She is once again joined by her small, blue, kilted, ale-drinking, fist-fighting, hygienically challenged, oft-invisible clan of Nac Mac Feegles who provide the story's comic relief. Her nemesis this time is the Cunning Man--the p ...more

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Nov 14, 2015 Carolyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, humour

It is with some sadness that I finished this knowing that Sir Terry will not write any more Discworld books. He writes in the voice of a 16 year old witch so brilliantly. Although Tiffany Aching is trying very hard to be grown up, she has to keep telling herself she is the witch of the Chalk and the people rely on her to be their witch. But now is no time to be unsure of herself. Something black and evil is hunting her down and putting bad thoughts about witches into people's heads. Tiffany is s ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Clouds rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, pub-2010s, discworld, fantasy, read-in-2013, reviewed

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 read ...more

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Oct 27, 2010 Jen3n rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

I still feel weird putting these under the heading of "children’s books." They aren't, really, and never have been. Even when the main character was just a ten year old girl.

So. This is the last of the Tiffany Aching books and the last time we will ever hear of Granny Weatherwax or Nanny Ogg ever again, thanks to Mr. Pratchett's disease. I am given to understand that most of this book was, by necessity, dictated.

And it's not a bad book. Quite good, given the circumstances. But a lot of character ...more

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May 08, 2017 YouKneeK rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: completed-series, fantasy

I Shall Wear Midnight is the fourth book in the Tiffany Aching subseries of Discworld.

In this story, there is an entity that is causing an increase of bigotry against witches, and naturally its prime target is Tiffany. The story was ok, but very short and the plot was pretty thin. The book was carried by the characters, who are all still a lot of fun. I liked that we got to spend a short amount of time in Ankh-Morpork, which isn’t a normal setting for the Tiffany books, and I especially liked t ...more

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Nov 24, 2010 Rachel Hartman rated it really liked it

Bah. Made me cry. Curse you Terry Pratchett!

Hat Made of Sky is still my favourite of the Tiffany Aching books, but I might even put this one second. The plot wasn't as tight as he (historically) has been capable of, and the menace of the villain didn't live up to its potential, quite. But there was so much other stuff here to love, and be moved by, and remind me of other things, that I didn't really care.

For the first half, seriously, I could only read about forty pages at a time because then I Bah. Made me cry. Curse you Terry Pratchett!

Hat Made of Sky is still my favourite of the Tiffany Aching books, but I might even put this one second. The plot wasn't as tight as he (historically) has been capable of, and the menace of the villain didn't live up to its potential, quite. But there was so much other stuff here to love, and be moved by, and remind me of other things, that I didn't really care.

For the first half, seriously, I could only read about forty pages at a time because then I would get sad and have to go off by myself and think about things. I know people complain that the Tiffany Aching books are a bit didactic, or a bit obvious, but I think it's more complicated than that. It's like a beloved grandparent sitting you down and telling you his hard-earned wisdom about what it means to be human, and what's good in life. And, depending where you are in your own life, it may all seem rather trivial and obvious (because you're young and you already know everything, duh), or it may seem the old man is telling you the only knowledge worth knowing (because you've been through those fires, you have fought and lost, and earned this selfsame wisdom for your pains).

There's an urgency to these latter books, as if he has looked his own mortality in the eye and said, "Hold on, Death, there's a few last things I want to get off my chest." Maybe it's not as elegantly done as when he was younger, but he still just makes my jaw drop with the things he understands, and the depth to which he understands them. He is a thinker after my own heart.

I sometimes feel my reading superpower consists in being able to read between the lines, to see the writer behind the writing. I saw Terry Pratchett behind all the witticisms before he started tipping his hand more deliberately. In this particular book, he is transparent in every sentence; he's not even trying to fade into the background. It's sad, and it's lovely, and it felt like one long goodbye. I cried at the end -- and he actually did manage to surprise me, the old fox, which made me cry the more. ...more

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Nov 28, 2017 Marta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: humor, own-print, terry-pratchett, fantasy

This is my favorite Tiffany Aching story so far. The theme is witchhunts, evil and misunderstandings. Both Tiffany and Pratchett are at their full power and compassion. Tiffany finds her match. I loved the full compendium of witches that show up, and run-in with the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. All of it bathed in wise-cracks and hilarious observations, as usual. A new favorite!

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Dec 13, 2013 Martyn Stanley rated it it was amazing

I wrote this review ages ago, thought I'd share it here also!

It's quite ironic that I last reviewed Equal Rites, a milestone book in the series which focused on character development more than narrative and farce as the first two books. It also introduced the iconic 'Granny Weatherwax' who is something of the archetypal witch.

The irony is most significant in the fact that Equal Rites was all about a character called 'Eskarina Smith' a little girl who ends up becoming a wizard and eventually a wi ...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: satire, favourite-characters, fierce-females

4 1/2 stars. My objection to teenage marriage, even in a pseudo-18th century fantasyland, prevents me from finding this book perfect. But it's close.
I stalled a bit in getting to this one because it's the last* of the Tiffany Aching books, and I hate to see a good thing end (even though I can re-read the books at my leisure). Tiffany, as I've said in previous reviews, is a wonderful character. She's a far better person than I am, but somehow I relate to her--in part because she continually ends 4 1/2 stars. My objection to teenage marriage, even in a pseudo-18th century fantasyland, prevents me from finding this book perfect. But it's close.
I stalled a bit in getting to this one because it's the last* of the Tiffany Aching books, and I hate to see a good thing end (even though I can re-read the books at my leisure). Tiffany, as I've said in previous reviews, is a wonderful character. She's a far better person than I am, but somehow I relate to her--in part because she continually ends up with the fuzzy end of the lollipop. But she always rises to the challenge. She's book-smart and clever, she's resourceful, she's generally kind even when she doesn't feel it inside. She's fantastically human and wonderfully witchy. She takes on all the less glamourous aspects of being a witch (being doctor, nurse, midwife, counselor, and mortician, among other things) in stride; and sometimes she gets to do a fancy bit of magic.
Anyone who's read and loved the Harry Potter books needs to read the Tiffany Aching books. She can stand toe-to-toe with Hermione Granger and never blink...and she'd be her friend, too.
Pratchett has a true gift for portraying three-dimensional female characters. He doesn't stoop to easy stereotypes and catty female rivalry. In this book in particular, I liked how Tiffany and Letitia come to understand each other and how Tiffany and Mrs. Proust deal with the Duchess. I enjoyed the appearances by other witches from previous books, as well.
The Roland situation made me sad at first, but I was made to see that things do work out for the best. Preston is delightful, with his sometimes cleverly concealed cleverness, his curious and word-loving mind, and his loyalty. The Nac Mac Feegle are hilarious as ever, Tiffany's brave and devious allies. The Cunning Man and his mind-poisoning are Tiffany's toughest challenge yet, also calling to mind real-life history.
As with Wintersmith, I found myself shedding a few tears when I reached the end of the story, not because it's sad, but because it's beautiful and has such a ring of truth and a life-affirming quality to it--sort of like crying at a graduation or wedding. Although I also wish there could be more Tiffany stories.*
If you haven't read this series, please try it (starting with The Wee Free Men). Disregard the "YA" label; these books should be on the shelf next to the so-called adult Pratchett books. If you have read them, I hope you agree with me that Terry Pratchett is a literary treasure and a humanist of the first order.

* When I read this, this was the last of the Tiffany books. Some time later, The Shepherd's Crown was released. ...more

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Sep 24, 2010 Christine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-humor, feminist-fiction, witches-and-wizards, fantasy-myth-and-fairy

I Shall Wear Midnight is supposedly that last novel about the young witch from the Chalk, Tiffany. In some ways that knowledge colors the book.

Tiffany has done with her education and is back home serving as the Chalk's witch. Sadly, strange things seem to be happening, more than just what happens with an senient cheese named Horace, a lawyer who is frog (but who can be paid in beetles) and the Feegles around.

In some ways, the novel feels like a good-bye, if not to the Disc than to Tiffany. This ...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Nate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

Sometimes I feel like there's not enough joy left in the world. Then Sir Pratchett publishes another gem like this, and it makes me feel better.

Tiffany Aching is 16. In a world that looks a lot like our 19th century, that's taking the 'young' out of Young Adult. This is a book with genuine terror, truly adult situations, and more joy and laughter than you'll find almost anywhere.

Tiffany is now the true witch of her Chalk; she's bandaging wounds, helping the old and sick shuffle off their mortal ...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Lee Battersby rated it it was ok

Pratchett-by-numbers, with nothing memorable or engaging to tie the plot around. Characters and subplots are added for no good reason and resolved without the slightest sign of conflict or character change, the antagonist is poorly defined and, in the end, despatched with such ease that it leaves the reader wondering just what the fuss was all about-- if this thing has been the scourge of witches throughout the centuries then the witches can't have been very good at what they do to have been bea ...more

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Jul 21, 2017 Melissa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017, favorites

I just love these books so much, great on audiobook too, so fun, so clever, and such great gems of wisdom woven right in...I highly recommend this YA series by Terry Pratchett, a sub-set within his larger Discworld, to readers of all ages. I'll be sad to finish the next and last one of this series, I'll miss Tiffany and her Wee Free Men. 💙

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Oct 25, 2010 Peterb rated it really liked it

I Shall Wear Midnight is Terry Pratchett's final book in the Tiffany Aching series. While clever, thoughtful, and well-constructed, it suffers from the same problem Pratchett has had in his other recent books: he has fallen too much in love with his characters to truly hurt them. Compared to the latent menace that suffused, for example, The Wee Free Men, we never feel here that Tiffany is at any risk that she can't overcome through prodigious application of witch-bourne moxie. This is a drawback ...more

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Mar 20, 2017 Afro Madonna rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars ! No, I'm not going to round it up . Very enjoyable though and I loved the epilogue . Classic Terry !

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Jan 09, 2019 Michael Fitzgerald rated it liked it · review of another edition

A bit too mature in content, compared to the first three books.

While some old characters did reappear, I was disappointed we didn't see more, like Annagramma.

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Oct 01, 2020 Chris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: discworld, fantasy

How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags? What is't you do?
-- Macbeth IV/1

Terry Pratchett is full of surprises. Because this, the fourth in the Tiffany Aching series of Discworld novels, is marketed as 'for younger readers' one might not anticipate that this is considerably darker than its predecessors, despite the expected humour and wit. And yet, with Tiffany being fifteen going on sixteen, perhaps with her growing maturity a more realistic view of what's possible in Discworld is inevitab ...more

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Mar 02, 2018 LeeNichole rated it really liked it

Shelves: physical-book-library

I should write a full review of these books, and perhaps at some point I will, but for now I just need to say that Tiffany Aching might be favorite female protagonist of all time. If I ever have a daughter, I will definitely introduce her to Tiffany.

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Play Book Tag: I Shall Wear Midnight / Terry Pratchett. 3.5 stars	1	11	Jun 15, 2019 04:18PM
How to replace Pratchett?	4	32	Jun 02, 2018 09:51PM
Discworld: I Shall Wear Midnight Read Along Part III	12	45	Nov 11, 2013 04:25PM
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Discworld: I Shall Wear Midnight Read Along Part I	1	22	Oct 07, 2013 07:28AM

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About Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett

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Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe.

Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, i ...more

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“Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.” — 1029 likes

“She heard him mutter, 'Can you take away this grief?'
'I'm sorry,' she replied. 'Everyone asks me. And I would not do so even if I knew how. It belongs to you. Only time and tears take away grief; that is what they are for.” — 370 likes

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