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Discworld #38
I Shall Wear Midnight
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 ever hear about: She does the unglamorous work of caring for the needy.
But someone or something is igniting fear, inculcating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Aided by her tiny blue allies, the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must find the source of this unrest and defeat the evil at its root before it takes her life. Because if Tiffany falls, the whole Chalk falls with her.
Chilling drama combines with laugh-out-loud humor and searing insight as beloved and bestselling author Terry Pratchett tells the high-stakes story of a young witch who stands in the gap between good and evil.
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 ever hear about: She does the unglamorous work of caring for the needy.
But someone or something is igniting fear, inculcating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Aided by her tiny blue allies, the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must find the source of this unrest and defeat the evil at its root before it takes her life. Because if Tiffany falls, the whole Chalk falls with her.
Chilling drama combines with laugh-out-loud humor and searing insight as beloved and bestselling author Terry Pratchett tells the high-stakes story of a young witch who stands in the gap between good and evil.
355 pages, Hardcover
First published September 2, 2010
1354 people are currently reading
27055 people want to read
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 2,888 reviews
April 24, 2022
Darkness comes across Discworld, shattering the once light and extremely funny fantasy universe.
Possible explanations for this change in style and tone
Was it his illness, was it growing, deeper cynicism about the world, did Pratchett intend to depress the heck out of the reader? Whatever the reason, if you can´t handle hard boiled, depressing content, you should consider not reading the last 2 Tiffany Aching novels (and Raising Steam, strongly influenced by the impact of his illness on his writing). Or, if you prefer to keep living in the happy, extremely funny world of the earlier and middle Discworld.
Evolution towards darkness
What was a mixture of deep thoughts distilled to cynical innuendos with slapstick elements, puns, and crazy ideas, has become the drawing of the darkness of the human condition, society, and immense stupidity and potential for evil. There is the hate infecting the dumb ones, the Cunning man coming to seed torture and murder, the ingratitude and bigotry of the average joes who are quick at crippling and burning witches, but extremely tolerant and open towards any kind of gossip, manipulation, and demagogic content.
The possible laughs can´t be unleashed
The novel has some of the patented Pratchett puns and fun too, but it can´t ignite the known rhetoric powder, because the frightening and depressing passages are such hardcore downers that it would need more to feel lighthearted and blithe again. It´s great literature, but nothing one knowing the Discworld would expect or hope for.
From meta cynicism to direct dirty sarcasm
It has kind of come down from the theoretical, deeper, high brow criticism to the dirty, gritty, real filth and disgust enabled by so many deluded individuals. I wonder if it would have gone this route if he wouldn´t have got terminally ill, if Tiffany couldn´t have had better teenage and adult years if her father wouldn´t have died far too early.
If we could have seen her evolve as a character in a still growing universe that could have made fun of all the madness that happened since one of the greatest satirists of all time left us forever in 2015.
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.
Possible explanations for this change in style and tone
Was it his illness, was it growing, deeper cynicism about the world, did Pratchett intend to depress the heck out of the reader? Whatever the reason, if you can´t handle hard boiled, depressing content, you should consider not reading the last 2 Tiffany Aching novels (and Raising Steam, strongly influenced by the impact of his illness on his writing). Or, if you prefer to keep living in the happy, extremely funny world of the earlier and middle Discworld.
Evolution towards darkness
What was a mixture of deep thoughts distilled to cynical innuendos with slapstick elements, puns, and crazy ideas, has become the drawing of the darkness of the human condition, society, and immense stupidity and potential for evil. There is the hate infecting the dumb ones, the Cunning man coming to seed torture and murder, the ingratitude and bigotry of the average joes who are quick at crippling and burning witches, but extremely tolerant and open towards any kind of gossip, manipulation, and demagogic content.
The possible laughs can´t be unleashed
The novel has some of the patented Pratchett puns and fun too, but it can´t ignite the known rhetoric powder, because the frightening and depressing passages are such hardcore downers that it would need more to feel lighthearted and blithe again. It´s great literature, but nothing one knowing the Discworld would expect or hope for.
From meta cynicism to direct dirty sarcasm
It has kind of come down from the theoretical, deeper, high brow criticism to the dirty, gritty, real filth and disgust enabled by so many deluded individuals. I wonder if it would have gone this route if he wouldn´t have got terminally ill, if Tiffany couldn´t have had better teenage and adult years if her father wouldn´t have died far too early.
If we could have seen her evolve as a character in a still growing universe that could have made fun of all the madness that happened since one of the greatest satirists of all time left us forever in 2015.
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 19, 2025
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 reader can snuggle and get cozy.
Pratchett’s repeated description of witches is that they have and use magic, but much of what they do and the good they provide a community is the domestic enchantment of stewardship, husbandry and good sense. Tiffany, like witches across the Discworld, roll up their sleeves and do good – whether it is as a midwife, a nurse, a shepherd, or making cheese (at which Tiffany is especially adept).
Yet as in all of his fictional narratives, Pratchett does not stray far from truths found on earth as well as the Discworld. Witches can be, and frequently are, mistrusted and even demonized. Here he personalizes this sentiment into a properly demonic character (that reminded me of the ghost preacher from the Poltergeist films.) Tiffany and the inimitable Nac Mac Feegle - and some special guest appearances by the witches of Lancre - must contend with The Cunning Man.
One of his darker entries into this celebrated series, this is also filled with hope and his ubiquitous and unique humor.
A very good Discworld book.
*** 2024 reread -
As we close the last pages of I Shall Wear Midnight, Sir Terry Pratchett’s 38th Discworld book and the 4th in the Tiffany Aching series, we know that there are only 3 more that he would publish.
Sigh.
But! What we find here is very good. First published in 2010, this features some of his darkest writing, with none too subtle scathing satire that would make Vonnegut wince. But, it’s still Pratchett’s Discworld so its funny and charming and there are Nac Mac Feegles.
Our protagonist Tiffany Aching is The Witch on the Chalk. In Pratchett’s expert hands, witches on the Discworld are like Jedi Knights. Without the lightsabers and Force, but with powers recognized by everyone on the world building and as helpers, leaders and women who quite simply get things done.
What sorts of tasks do Discworld witches accomplish? Midwifery, healthcare providers, counselors, therapists, defenders of the poor and downtrodden, fighters against the darker things in the world. As Granny Weatherwax would say, she’s not afraid of the dark, because she’s the scariest thing out there.
Pratchett’s heroes are self reliant and capable. Tiffany rides her broom to fix what needs to be fixed and she takes care of business, but she is also empathetic and understands weakness and hurt. Like Granny and Sam Vines and Lu-Tze, Tiffany is a simple person who is able to do extraordinary things. And after the great things have been done, there are sick people who need comfort, children who need to learn and cheese wheels to produce.
And!
As I have and am demonstrating, we can read every one of these wonderful 41 books again and again.
*** 2025 reread -
Speaking of rereading these again, I couldn't wait and had to come back to this one.
This time around I could not help but notice that Rob Anybody and his clan damn near stole the show and I am here for it.
Do. Not. Mess. With. Feegles.
Or its a kicking you'll be gettin'!
Oh aye!
Maybe his darkest, but still Pratchett and still fun. His writing is a joy.
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 reader can snuggle and get cozy.
Pratchett’s repeated description of witches is that they have and use magic, but much of what they do and the good they provide a community is the domestic enchantment of stewardship, husbandry and good sense. Tiffany, like witches across the Discworld, roll up their sleeves and do good – whether it is as a midwife, a nurse, a shepherd, or making cheese (at which Tiffany is especially adept).
Yet as in all of his fictional narratives, Pratchett does not stray far from truths found on earth as well as the Discworld. Witches can be, and frequently are, mistrusted and even demonized. Here he personalizes this sentiment into a properly demonic character (that reminded me of the ghost preacher from the Poltergeist films.) Tiffany and the inimitable Nac Mac Feegle - and some special guest appearances by the witches of Lancre - must contend with The Cunning Man.
One of his darker entries into this celebrated series, this is also filled with hope and his ubiquitous and unique humor.
A very good Discworld book.
*** 2024 reread -
As we close the last pages of I Shall Wear Midnight, Sir Terry Pratchett’s 38th Discworld book and the 4th in the Tiffany Aching series, we know that there are only 3 more that he would publish.
Sigh.
But! What we find here is very good. First published in 2010, this features some of his darkest writing, with none too subtle scathing satire that would make Vonnegut wince. But, it’s still Pratchett’s Discworld so its funny and charming and there are Nac Mac Feegles.
Our protagonist Tiffany Aching is The Witch on the Chalk. In Pratchett’s expert hands, witches on the Discworld are like Jedi Knights. Without the lightsabers and Force, but with powers recognized by everyone on the world building and as helpers, leaders and women who quite simply get things done.
What sorts of tasks do Discworld witches accomplish? Midwifery, healthcare providers, counselors, therapists, defenders of the poor and downtrodden, fighters against the darker things in the world. As Granny Weatherwax would say, she’s not afraid of the dark, because she’s the scariest thing out there.
Pratchett’s heroes are self reliant and capable. Tiffany rides her broom to fix what needs to be fixed and she takes care of business, but she is also empathetic and understands weakness and hurt. Like Granny and Sam Vines and Lu-Tze, Tiffany is a simple person who is able to do extraordinary things. And after the great things have been done, there are sick people who need comfort, children who need to learn and cheese wheels to produce.
And!
As I have and am demonstrating, we can read every one of these wonderful 41 books again and again.
*** 2025 reread -
Speaking of rereading these again, I couldn't wait and had to come back to this one.
This time around I could not help but notice that Rob Anybody and his clan damn near stole the show and I am here for it.
Do. Not. Mess. With. Feegles.
Or its a kicking you'll be gettin'!
Oh aye!
Maybe his darkest, but still Pratchett and still fun. His writing is a joy.
January 26, 2011
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.
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.
June 23, 2011
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2024
I hate 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 the book where things started on the slippery slope for me with the series. Was it because Tiffany has (almost) grown up? Dunno.
The core was interesting, but it was surrounded by so much unnecessary, and let's be honest, boring padding that started grating. Also I couldn't shake the feeling that Sir Terry was actually spoonfeeding us with the same facts and information basically in every chapter and this put me quite out of countenance with him.
Tiffany, whom I always admired for her down-to-earth thinking, first sight and second thoughts, became almost insufferable with her self-anointed martyrdom and basically 50 % of the book was about nothing else but the constant repeat of how much she is doing alone as there is noone else to do it. It became rather tiresome after Chapter 1.
As I said, the core story saved the day eventually, but it's far below par the best Discworld standards.
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 the book where things started on the slippery slope for me with the series. Was it because Tiffany has (almost) grown up? Dunno.
The core was interesting, but it was surrounded by so much unnecessary, and let's be honest, boring padding that started grating. Also I couldn't shake the feeling that Sir Terry was actually spoonfeeding us with the same facts and information basically in every chapter and this put me quite out of countenance with him.
Tiffany, whom I always admired for her down-to-earth thinking, first sight and second thoughts, became almost insufferable with her self-anointed martyrdom and basically 50 % of the book was about nothing else but the constant repeat of how much she is doing alone as there is noone else to do it. It became rather tiresome after Chapter 1.
As I said, the core story saved the day eventually, but it's far below par the best Discworld standards.
August 31, 2024
When the baron dies, Tiffany Aching goes to Ankh-Morpork to find the Baron's son, Roland. But she realizes something is off. Something is stalking her and corrupting people around her.
From what I’ve read about this, Terry Pratchett had been living with his Alzheimer diagnosis for a while when he wrote this book. And it is said that this can be felt in his writing. Personally, I see no deterioration in his writing here. But there’s something else that is very noticeable. The story pretty much starts with Tiffany explaining to a man that he’s beaten his pregnant daughter so hard that she’s lost her baby. This immediately sets the tone for this story as it is much darker than previous installments. And I can understand how this story being so much darker can make this story much less to your taste than previous books in the Tiffany Aching series. But I actually quite like this change as it opens the series up to tackling more dark and serious topics.
The Tiffany Aching series features some of the strongest antagonists Pratchett ever wrote, and this book is no exception. The Cunning Man is a very different kind of monster as he corrupts people. But the Cunning Man only corrupts people who are open to being corrupted. And what stands out so much here is that a lot of people are open to it. That’s the core theme of this story. The Cunning Man is a representation of the wickedness normal people are capable of. This reminds me of a certain Doctor Who story where the people refused to be helped by the doctor because he looked different from them. The Doctor Who story unfortunately made the mistake of making the people completely unlikeable and not making the audience care about them, thus lessening the impact of the story. But in this story, that mistake is not made. The people who turn against Tiffany are all normal likeable people. And yet they turn on her simply because she is in some random way different from them. This makes the impact of them turning on her much more impactful. Because there’s always something you can use to alienate someone from the group. And it’s so easy to put the blame for something on someone who’s already alienated, to use them as a scapegoat. I will say that the monster in this story isn’t very scary. But that’s the point. It’s not the monster but the normal people who are scary. This is not a story about the extreme kind of evil that everybody knows is wrong. This is a story about the ordinary kind of evil that everyone is capable of if you allow yourself to be corrupted.
One of the things I appreciate in the Tiffany Aching series is how Tiffany grows as a person in each book. In her previous book for example, Tiffany entered puberty. Here, she has learned from those past experiences. Her growth as a character is very much on display here and fits the plot like a glove, particularly in the second half of the story.
The ending might not be as strong as it could have been. And it’s definitely a story that stands out more because it’s so different from the books that came before it. But it’s a good dark evolution of both the series and Tiffany Aching as a character. Definitely my favorite Tiffany Aching book. It’s a great concept done right.
From what I’ve read about this, Terry Pratchett had been living with his Alzheimer diagnosis for a while when he wrote this book. And it is said that this can be felt in his writing. Personally, I see no deterioration in his writing here. But there’s something else that is very noticeable. The story pretty much starts with Tiffany explaining to a man that he’s beaten his pregnant daughter so hard that she’s lost her baby. This immediately sets the tone for this story as it is much darker than previous installments. And I can understand how this story being so much darker can make this story much less to your taste than previous books in the Tiffany Aching series. But I actually quite like this change as it opens the series up to tackling more dark and serious topics.
The Tiffany Aching series features some of the strongest antagonists Pratchett ever wrote, and this book is no exception. The Cunning Man is a very different kind of monster as he corrupts people. But the Cunning Man only corrupts people who are open to being corrupted. And what stands out so much here is that a lot of people are open to it. That’s the core theme of this story. The Cunning Man is a representation of the wickedness normal people are capable of. This reminds me of a certain Doctor Who story where the people refused to be helped by the doctor because he looked different from them. The Doctor Who story unfortunately made the mistake of making the people completely unlikeable and not making the audience care about them, thus lessening the impact of the story. But in this story, that mistake is not made. The people who turn against Tiffany are all normal likeable people. And yet they turn on her simply because she is in some random way different from them. This makes the impact of them turning on her much more impactful. Because there’s always something you can use to alienate someone from the group. And it’s so easy to put the blame for something on someone who’s already alienated, to use them as a scapegoat. I will say that the monster in this story isn’t very scary. But that’s the point. It’s not the monster but the normal people who are scary. This is not a story about the extreme kind of evil that everybody knows is wrong. This is a story about the ordinary kind of evil that everyone is capable of if you allow yourself to be corrupted.
One of the things I appreciate in the Tiffany Aching series is how Tiffany grows as a person in each book. In her previous book for example, Tiffany entered puberty. Here, she has learned from those past experiences. Her growth as a character is very much on display here and fits the plot like a glove, particularly in the second half of the story.
The ending might not be as strong as it could have been. And it’s definitely a story that stands out more because it’s so different from the books that came before it. But it’s a good dark evolution of both the series and Tiffany Aching as a character. Definitely my favorite Tiffany Aching book. It’s a great concept done right.
July 28, 2020
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.
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.
July 29, 2020
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 come of age. I got the distinct impression that this 16-year-old woman just got wiser and has received a great deal of Esteem, in a very Maslovian way. It filled my heart to the brim.
And by the way, fantastic use of foreshadowing. I'm not even referring to the hare. I caught many of the other ones before they bore fruit (barely) and had to reread the lines I thought I was paying attention to because I kept laughing out of turn when the larger set-up kept kicking me in the shins. So very enjoyable for any novel, but for the Discworlds, I might just put this one at one of the tops.
Fantastic stuff. :)
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 come of age. I got the distinct impression that this 16-year-old woman just got wiser and has received a great deal of Esteem, in a very Maslovian way. It filled my heart to the brim.
And by the way, fantastic use of foreshadowing. I'm not even referring to the hare. I caught many of the other ones before they bore fruit (barely) and had to reread the lines I thought I was paying attention to because I kept laughing out of turn when the larger set-up kept kicking me in the shins. So very enjoyable for any novel, but for the Discworlds, I might just put this one at one of the tops.
Fantastic stuff. :)
February 3, 2020
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...
April 18, 2022
As Miss Tiffany Aching matures, she faces more adult challenges. She has realized that she is a social worker as well as a healthcare worker and that both are demanding roles. As she says at one point in the book, sometimes there are no good choices, just choices.
She must also learn to take care of herself first. Like they say in airline safety talks, put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. She's going to need more than naps and snacks if she's to be the Chalk's witch. I don't know about you, but my mother had a similar philosophy about sleep. “Go to bed,” she would say, “and things will look better in the morning.” I most often found this to be true, as we need sleep as a mood stabilizer and refresher. And I know many people who get hangry if not fed and watered regularly, myself among them.
Additionally, Pratchett shows us the ease with which people can be convinced of totally false ideas when the zeitgeist is right. There are always gullible people out there or people who want to do harm or those who are looking for someone to blame for their troubles. It's difficult to combat, but we must give it our best effort.
One of Tiffany's best characteristics is her ability to see the good qualities in the people around her and she makes those folks into friends and allies. It's good to see this positive side of a very young woman who has allowed herself to get worn down and bossy. Thankfully she recognizes that she has been condescending to those around her and that she must adjust her attitude and fix her own mess. I wish I had been so sensible at sixteen!
She must also learn to take care of herself first. Like they say in airline safety talks, put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. She's going to need more than naps and snacks if she's to be the Chalk's witch. I don't know about you, but my mother had a similar philosophy about sleep. “Go to bed,” she would say, “and things will look better in the morning.” I most often found this to be true, as we need sleep as a mood stabilizer and refresher. And I know many people who get hangry if not fed and watered regularly, myself among them.
Additionally, Pratchett shows us the ease with which people can be convinced of totally false ideas when the zeitgeist is right. There are always gullible people out there or people who want to do harm or those who are looking for someone to blame for their troubles. It's difficult to combat, but we must give it our best effort.
One of Tiffany's best characteristics is her ability to see the good qualities in the people around her and she makes those folks into friends and allies. It's good to see this positive side of a very young woman who has allowed herself to get worn down and bossy. Thankfully she recognizes that she has been condescending to those around her and that she must adjust her attitude and fix her own mess. I wish I had been so sensible at sixteen!
April 17, 2011
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 interesting – you are powerful because you are, and you are because you are. Okay then.
I read this months ago, but I still remember what I liked about it. Tiffany is a really powerful witch, but not in the usual fantasy novel way. Her power is in direct proportion to how smart she is, and how careful. She doesn’t have some inexplicable inner spring of magic, and this book is very clear: Tiffany wasn’t born chosen. She made herself a witch because there was a terrible need; because someone died in a small, common, horrible way; because someone had to do something, and she was there. That is a magic whose metaphors I can get behind. IN fact, the metaphors pretty much collapse. These aren’t books with stupid extended training montages where young people learn magic by chanting a lot. Tiffany learns by living. That’s not a metaphor at all, that’s good literature.
I love that. And I love that Tiffany doesn’t always wear power well, that she struggles for compassion, that she feels isolated. I love how almost everyone in this book is faking it inside whatever role they’re living.
I don’t love some slightly odd ways this book talks about post-violence trauma, but that’s a whole other conversation.
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 interesting – you are powerful because you are, and you are because you are. Okay then.
I read this months ago, but I still remember what I liked about it. Tiffany is a really powerful witch, but not in the usual fantasy novel way. Her power is in direct proportion to how smart she is, and how careful. She doesn’t have some inexplicable inner spring of magic, and this book is very clear: Tiffany wasn’t born chosen. She made herself a witch because there was a terrible need; because someone died in a small, common, horrible way; because someone had to do something, and she was there. That is a magic whose metaphors I can get behind. IN fact, the metaphors pretty much collapse. These aren’t books with stupid extended training montages where young people learn magic by chanting a lot. Tiffany learns by living. That’s not a metaphor at all, that’s good literature.
I love that. And I love that Tiffany doesn’t always wear power well, that she struggles for compassion, that she feels isolated. I love how almost everyone in this book is faking it inside whatever role they’re living.
I don’t love some slightly odd ways this book talks about post-violence trauma, but that’s a whole other conversation.
September 17, 2023
Sir Terry Pratchett and his incredible creativity and writing at it again. 8 of 10 stars
May 2, 2011
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 angst that implies.
Empress V (avatar) and I ARE amused and are thrilled to be reading a new Pratchett "Tiffany" book. vc
Today I finished this book and it is not a spoiler to say it felt like I was saying goodbye to a good friend. It was funny in parts, it was philosophical, it was sad. I loved this book and Tiffany is a Character with a capital "CHAR". I have heard this is possibly the last of the Tiffany Aching series and if so, it went out beautifully. vc
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 angst that implies.
Empress V (avatar) and I ARE amused and are thrilled to be reading a new Pratchett "Tiffany" book. vc
Today I finished this book and it is not a spoiler to say it felt like I was saying goodbye to a good friend. It was funny in parts, it was philosophical, it was sad. I loved this book and Tiffany is a Character with a capital "CHAR". I have heard this is possibly the last of the Tiffany Aching series and if so, it went out beautifully. vc
June 23, 2025
__________________________
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
–Jenny Joseph
Tiffany Aching is a hag. She’s been a hag since she was 9 years old, and now 6 years later, she is still a hag. She is 15 in this book and given to think thoughts that typical 15-year-olds typically think. Hags have feelings too you know, especially teenage ones. She has been best of friends with Roland, the Baron’s son, since she saved him from the Queen of the Fairies when they were 9. But now Roland has fallen for another girl—a blond, airheaded girl who--when upset--weeps like an extremely soggy raincloud.
I suppose it is only fair to mention that “hag” is an affectionate term used by the Nac Mac Feegles. They are riotous, pint-sized warriors—think of them as a cross between rowdy Scottish clansmen, mischievous fairies, party-loving fraternity boys, sheep rustlers and fierce loyalists. They’re about six inches tall, covered in blue tattoos, and speak in a gloriously garbled mix of Scots, Gaelic, and nonsense. Tiffany saved their clan back when she was nine years old; they are extremely grateful and consider themselves her personal bodyguards. “Hag” is their term for witch. Tiffany thinks “being called a hag when you are nine can be sort of funny. It isn’t quite so amusing when you are nearly sixteen and have had a very bad day and very little sleep and could really, really do with a bath.”
“There’s nothing we cannae get in or oot of.”
“Except maybe pubs,” said Big Yan.
“Oh, aye,” said Rob Anybody cheerfully. “Gettin’ oot o’ pubs sometimes causes us a cerrrtain amount o’ difficulty, I’ll grant ye that.” (Nac Mac Feegles)
Like Mark Twain, Terry Pratchett often weaves social commentary into his books. In this novel, he explores prejudice and discrimination in the form of a ghost with no eyes, exuding a horrible mephitic stench—the very personification of prejudice. Everyone in Tiffany’s area knows that despite the fact that Tiff is a witch and wears a pointy hat, she cares for everyone in the community and spends long days, every day all week helping people by acting as their doctor, midwife, veterinarian, social worker, protector, psychologist, and confidant. But after the dark, eyeless, and smelly ghost appears, people revert to old witch stereotypes and believe that she a child stealer and murderer who sells children to evil fairies, curses anyone who crosses her, and practices dark magic. She is even tossed in the dungeon with the goats.
I will now solve a mystery. The title of the book is—I Shall Wear Midnight. It is a good title. It is a fine title. It is a clever title. It is stolen. Where did it come from? Well, it is maybe not so much stolen as cobbled together from found parts like Frankenstein’s monster. Mr. Pratchett used the sentence When I am old, I will wear midnight more than once in the body of the novel, but that doesn’t explain it. It is a red herring. Compare When I am old, I will wear midnight to the first sentence at the top of this review. Looks familiar, hey? That bold sentence is from a poem by Scottish poet Jenny Joseph which was written in 1961 nearly 50 years before this book was published. Now, you may be thinking, “Yeah, but what about the midnight part?” Elementary my dear GR friends. It can be found in Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1 in which Macbeth uses the following phrase when addressing the 3 witches as he seeks prophecies about his fate: "How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?" Note that there is a prophecy about Tiffany’s eventual fate that is connected to the title. Just a coincidence? Ta-Da!
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars. Ach! We wee free Feegles ken that this book’s a pure jollity, punchin’ wi’ feelin’s! It made me dance in the moonlight, then laugh, then headbutt the ol’ clan ram outta glee Aye! I love the wee lassie and the bonny book.”—Rob Anybody
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
–Jenny Joseph
Tiffany Aching is a hag. She’s been a hag since she was 9 years old, and now 6 years later, she is still a hag. She is 15 in this book and given to think thoughts that typical 15-year-olds typically think. Hags have feelings too you know, especially teenage ones. She has been best of friends with Roland, the Baron’s son, since she saved him from the Queen of the Fairies when they were 9. But now Roland has fallen for another girl—a blond, airheaded girl who--when upset--weeps like an extremely soggy raincloud.
I suppose it is only fair to mention that “hag” is an affectionate term used by the Nac Mac Feegles. They are riotous, pint-sized warriors—think of them as a cross between rowdy Scottish clansmen, mischievous fairies, party-loving fraternity boys, sheep rustlers and fierce loyalists. They’re about six inches tall, covered in blue tattoos, and speak in a gloriously garbled mix of Scots, Gaelic, and nonsense. Tiffany saved their clan back when she was nine years old; they are extremely grateful and consider themselves her personal bodyguards. “Hag” is their term for witch. Tiffany thinks “being called a hag when you are nine can be sort of funny. It isn’t quite so amusing when you are nearly sixteen and have had a very bad day and very little sleep and could really, really do with a bath.”
“There’s nothing we cannae get in or oot of.”
“Except maybe pubs,” said Big Yan.
“Oh, aye,” said Rob Anybody cheerfully. “Gettin’ oot o’ pubs sometimes causes us a cerrrtain amount o’ difficulty, I’ll grant ye that.” (Nac Mac Feegles)
Like Mark Twain, Terry Pratchett often weaves social commentary into his books. In this novel, he explores prejudice and discrimination in the form of a ghost with no eyes, exuding a horrible mephitic stench—the very personification of prejudice. Everyone in Tiffany’s area knows that despite the fact that Tiff is a witch and wears a pointy hat, she cares for everyone in the community and spends long days, every day all week helping people by acting as their doctor, midwife, veterinarian, social worker, protector, psychologist, and confidant. But after the dark, eyeless, and smelly ghost appears, people revert to old witch stereotypes and believe that she a child stealer and murderer who sells children to evil fairies, curses anyone who crosses her, and practices dark magic. She is even tossed in the dungeon with the goats.
I will now solve a mystery. The title of the book is—I Shall Wear Midnight. It is a good title. It is a fine title. It is a clever title. It is stolen. Where did it come from? Well, it is maybe not so much stolen as cobbled together from found parts like Frankenstein’s monster. Mr. Pratchett used the sentence When I am old, I will wear midnight more than once in the body of the novel, but that doesn’t explain it. It is a red herring. Compare When I am old, I will wear midnight to the first sentence at the top of this review. Looks familiar, hey? That bold sentence is from a poem by Scottish poet Jenny Joseph which was written in 1961 nearly 50 years before this book was published. Now, you may be thinking, “Yeah, but what about the midnight part?” Elementary my dear GR friends. It can be found in Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1 in which Macbeth uses the following phrase when addressing the 3 witches as he seeks prophecies about his fate: "How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?" Note that there is a prophecy about Tiffany’s eventual fate that is connected to the title. Just a coincidence? Ta-Da!
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars. Ach! We wee free Feegles ken that this book’s a pure jollity, punchin’ wi’ feelin’s! It made me dance in the moonlight, then laugh, then headbutt the ol’ clan ram outta glee Aye! I love the wee lassie and the bonny book.”—Rob Anybody
January 5, 2022
‘When I am old, I shall wear midnight. But not today.’
[...] And I know why the hare leaps into the fire.
My fourth Tiffany Aching story, and I know by now what to expect [but nothing about the hare, yet], so I saved it for the last book to read in 2021. A sort of special treat for being a good reader and finishing my self-imposed Goodreads challenge. Terry Pratchett has never let me down, and I’ve been roaming all over the Discworld under his guidance since 1991, when I picked ‘Pyramids’ simply because I liked the crazy cover of Josh Kirby. It’s almost impossible to pick a favourite among so many great and colourful characters that populate this imaginary flat Earth, but there is something special, something bittersweet and endearing, about this plucky teenage heroine that simply does what needs to be done.
‘I wish it wasn’t you doing this, Tiff. You’re not sixteen yet and I see you running around nursing people and bandaging people and who knows what chores. You shouldn’t have to be doing all of that.’
‘Yes, I know,’ said Tiffany.
‘Why?’ he asked again.
‘Because other people don’t, or won’t, or can’t, that’s why.’
‘But it’s not your business, is it?’
‘I make it my business. I’m a witch. It’s what we do. When it’s nobody else’s business, it’s my business,’ Tiffany said quickly.
In a perfect world, Tiffany would be celebrated and honoured in her rural community, but Evil finds a way to sneak in past her guardianship of the Chalk, as her witching domain is known. A blind force, a spectre from the past known as The Cunning Man, is spreading rumours of malfeasance and inflaming her neighbours and even her friends to pick up the pitchforks and ‘Burn the Witch!’ Rational thought goes out the window, as every good deed Tiffany does around the village and in the Baron’s Castle is twisted into something else and the ‘rough music’ of lynching mobs is heard over the chalk hills.
‘Poison goes where poison’s welcome’
Tiffany knows that there is a supernatural force at play in these events, and that she is the one who needs to do something about it. A touch of bitterness about the ungrateful nature of the people whom she dedicated her life work to cannot be avoided, in particular the young Roland, heir to the ailing Baron and former boyfriend material in her childhood fantasies. The Cunning Man has managed to turn almost everyone against Tiffany, with the notable exception of the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free Men who are as usual at her side, cheerfully spreading havoc instead of helping their Big Wee Hag.
I will not do a full synopsis of the latest danger that Tiffany Aching must deal with in this first book where she acts like a fully qualified witch, but I do feel the need to mention that we meet a lot of old friends, both in the Chalk and during a visit Tiffany and her wee little devils make to Ankh Morpork.
‘This is AnkhMorpork, Mr. Vimes; in the summer the river catches fire and it has been known to rain fish and bedsteads, so, in the great scheme of things, when you think about it, what’s so wrong about a pub spinning on its axis? Most of the customers do the same!’
The City Watch makes a guest appearance, as do the mountain witches led by Granny Weatherwax. A unique lady wizard, supported by the city witch of AnkhMorpork lend a helping hand to Tiffany, while the tribe of Feegles are welcoming a stray named Wee Mad Arthur. The humour is as sharp as ever, but the laughter is frequently tempered by the seriousness of the struggle against prejudice and lies and ancient hatred. I liked in particular the comic relief provided by the Feegles, the old folk wisdom that comes through in several aphorisms and proverbs [ Everybody was good at something. The only wicked thing was not finding out in time. ] and the usual tongue-in-cheek footnotes about Discworld lore. The language of forget-me-lots flowers and the key to understand equestrian statues caused me to laugh out loud.
And what are my weapons? she thought. And the answer came to her instantly: pride. Oh, you hear them say it’s a sin; you hear them say it goes before a fall. And that can’t be true. The blacksmith prides himself on a good weld; the carter is proud that his horses are well turned out, gleaming like fresh chestnuts in the sunshine; the shepherd prides himself on keeping the wolf from the flock; the cook prides herself on her cakes. We pride ourselves on making a good history of our lives, a good story to be told.
The Tiffany Aching books belong technically to the Young Adult category, but they are so charming and so well constructed that I will not hesitate to recommend them to all ages. If the readers are already familiar with the Discworld and with previous episodes, they will surely appreciate the Easter Eggs and the references to the City Watch and to the Witches books. If they are not, and they happen to start the journey with this particular novel, I am confident they will soon become fans of both Tiffany and of the style of presentation.
Sir Terry has all the reasons to be proud of a good story well told.
>>><<<>>><<<
My job is to make things up, and the best way to make things up is to make them out of real things ...
The Chalk in the Tiffany Aching books is quite transparently inspired by the Wiltshire Downs where the author resided in his later years. In the afterword, the analogy is taken even further along to mirror people and events from his childhood but, as I am inevitably getting closer to the end of the road in this incredible journey, I cannot help noticing how the author himself is preparing us for saying goodbye.
“I Shall Wear Midnight” was published in 2010, a couple of years after Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease. I may be reading too much into this, but I believe the artist was trying to cope with this situation through his writing, thinking about his legacy in a manner similar to the hero of that classic Kurosawa film: ‘Ikiru’.
Death was always a part of Discworld, but of all the characters in the Discworld, Tiffany Aching seems the one destined to meet it most often.
‘Have you ever seen Death?’
‘Usually you just feel him passing, sir, but I have seen him twice, in what would have been the flesh, if he had any. He’s a skeleton with a scythe, just like in the books – in fact, I think it’s because that’s what he looks like in the books. He was polite but firm, sir.’
There will be a funeral in the novel, followed shortly by a wedding, and Tiffany’s commentary on the events reflects a maturity well beyond her sixteen years of age.
It shouldn’t rain on a funeral. It made people to gloomy. She tried not to be gloomy at funerals. People lived, and died, and were remembered. It happened in the same way that winter followed summer. It was not a wrong thing. There were tears, of course, but they were for those who were left; those who had gone on did not need them.
The way I want to remember Sir Terry Pratchett is with a smile of gratitude for all the laughter that he so generously offered.
May 26, 2022
Review June 18, 2019: I went to listen to this book and realized I had the abridged version. A quick check on my local library's website resulted in finding the unabridged version read by my favorite narrator, Stephen Briggs, available to download from Overdrive! I felt excited and grateful!
This book had a much larger emotional impact because I had read all the preceding volumes in the series. Indeed, it was wonderful to be present at Tiffany Aching's coming-of-age and discover the capable and independent adult witch she has become with plenty of common sense, which seems to be a rare commodity these days.
Favorite quotes:
"You could read Mr. Petty like a very small book, one with finger marks on all the pages and a piece of bacon as a bookmark." I had to chuckle at this, as at our library we find all kinds of things in books being used to mark the pages!
"The breath of a cow, warm and smelling of grass was a kind of medicine in itself." I love this image, as it immediately brings to mind their large gentle eyes with long lashes and their soothing mediative chewing of grass.
"Humdrum was the sound boredom made because it sounded like a very tired fly buzzing at the closed window of an old attic room on a boiling hot summers day." What an apt description!
I have a special place in my heart for tapestry, particularly those sewn by a gathering of women in medieval times to depict current events. I remember wandering The Louvre in Paris and quite by chance coming across a gallery of such tapestries. I stood and stared in awe as I imagined the women who stitched and talked together as they made such a beautiful illustration of history together.
So, the following quotes have special meaning to me: "Given that battle is very fast and noisy, they presumably had to stop fighting every couple of minutes to give the ladies who were making the tapestry a little time to catch up. Tiffany knew the one nearest the fire by heart, all the kids did. You learned your history off the tapestries if there was some old man to explain what was going on."
And there you have it, my impressions, which only skim the surface of this great novel. It is a bittersweet ending as I am getting ever closer to the last in this wonderful series.
Update 5/25/2022: I am currently reading this book for a second time while staying in Atlanta with my daughter. We are active each morning and come back to our home away from home to rest and enjoy a cup of tea in the late afternoon before going out exploring again. While we relax and drink our tea we enjoy another few chapters of the audiobook.
Favorites quotes this time around:
"Redheads and brunettes sometimes got more than a walk-on part in the land of the story, but if all you had was a rather mousy shade of brown hair you were marked down to be a servant girl."
"there are those who would rather be behind evil than in front of it"
"They teach facts, but not understanding" ~ Tiffany Aching
"She stretched out her arms to the dark and, just for a moment, as the world turned, Tiffany Aching wore midnight."
This book had a much larger emotional impact because I had read all the preceding volumes in the series. Indeed, it was wonderful to be present at Tiffany Aching's coming-of-age and discover the capable and independent adult witch she has become with plenty of common sense, which seems to be a rare commodity these days.
Favorite quotes:
"You could read Mr. Petty like a very small book, one with finger marks on all the pages and a piece of bacon as a bookmark." I had to chuckle at this, as at our library we find all kinds of things in books being used to mark the pages!
"The breath of a cow, warm and smelling of grass was a kind of medicine in itself." I love this image, as it immediately brings to mind their large gentle eyes with long lashes and their soothing mediative chewing of grass.
"Humdrum was the sound boredom made because it sounded like a very tired fly buzzing at the closed window of an old attic room on a boiling hot summers day." What an apt description!
I have a special place in my heart for tapestry, particularly those sewn by a gathering of women in medieval times to depict current events. I remember wandering The Louvre in Paris and quite by chance coming across a gallery of such tapestries. I stood and stared in awe as I imagined the women who stitched and talked together as they made such a beautiful illustration of history together.
So, the following quotes have special meaning to me: "Given that battle is very fast and noisy, they presumably had to stop fighting every couple of minutes to give the ladies who were making the tapestry a little time to catch up. Tiffany knew the one nearest the fire by heart, all the kids did. You learned your history off the tapestries if there was some old man to explain what was going on."
And there you have it, my impressions, which only skim the surface of this great novel. It is a bittersweet ending as I am getting ever closer to the last in this wonderful series.
Update 5/25/2022: I am currently reading this book for a second time while staying in Atlanta with my daughter. We are active each morning and come back to our home away from home to rest and enjoy a cup of tea in the late afternoon before going out exploring again. While we relax and drink our tea we enjoy another few chapters of the audiobook.
Favorites quotes this time around:
"Redheads and brunettes sometimes got more than a walk-on part in the land of the story, but if all you had was a rather mousy shade of brown hair you were marked down to be a servant girl."
"there are those who would rather be behind evil than in front of it"
"They teach facts, but not understanding" ~ Tiffany Aching
"She stretched out her arms to the dark and, just for a moment, as the world turned, Tiffany Aching wore midnight."
November 17, 2021
Re-read 10/7/21: I discovered this year that I do not like reading books for the first time in audio, because I get impatient. And yet I like having a book to listen to while I'm crafting in the evenings. I went from Wintersmith to this one, and it did not disappoint. See below, plus I really loved the ending this time:
Read 8/30/15: 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.
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.
Read 8/30/15: 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.
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.
July 14, 2025
The 38th in my re-read of the entire Discworld series takes readers to the Chalk where Tiffany is now the bonafide resident witch - but for how long?!
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 38th book (in chronological order) are:
And Steven Cree is once again voicing the Nac Mac Feegles.
Tiffany is finally the witch of the Chalk. Even her dad has come to terms with it. Well, sorta. One day, she's helping a young woman (well, girl, really, as she's only 13) who's been beaten by her father so severely that she lost the baby she was accidentally pregnant with. Tiffany prevents a mob lynching and that kinda jump-starts a whole lot of trouble.
Suddenly, people are questioning her and her ways. As it turns out, people have been starting to question witches everywhere, they have been treating them rudely - and we're not far from witches being burned at the stakes.
Why? Because of some idea whose time has come. It's called The Cunning Man.
Funnily enough, Tiffany finds all that out not in her home, the Chalk, but in far(ish)-away Ankh-Morpork! Yep, that's right: our teenage witch has gone to the city! And boy, was that delightful - especially when she ran into Escarina Smith (from the 3rd book) of all people, or when Tiffany encountered / interacted with the Watch. Muhahahahahahahaha!
A part of this book that really shone brightly - even more than in the others - was the animal companions. *chuckles sardonically*
Look at all the quotes I've highlighted and you get a good idea about the razor-sharp wit, the keen observations, and generally wonderfully on point writing on display once again!
I don't know if it was that or the fantastic combination of the witches, the Watch and Ankh-Morpork (after having spent some time in greener pastures), but this is one of my favorite books in the series - despite it also having (once again) unearthed some really negative feelings (mostly white hot anger at all the stupid people).
It will come as no surprise that this new audio version's production needed to pull out all the stops for this clash of sceneries. No, it was not a collaboration between the Watch sub-series narrator and the witches sub-series narrator (sadly!), but Indira Varma still did an almost perfect job!
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 38th book (in chronological order) are:
And Steven Cree is once again voicing the Nac Mac Feegles.
Tiffany is finally the witch of the Chalk. Even her dad has come to terms with it. Well, sorta. One day, she's helping a young woman (well, girl, really, as she's only 13) who's been beaten by her father so severely that she lost the baby she was accidentally pregnant with. Tiffany prevents a mob lynching and that kinda jump-starts a whole lot of trouble.
Suddenly, people are questioning her and her ways. As it turns out, people have been starting to question witches everywhere, they have been treating them rudely - and we're not far from witches being burned at the stakes.
Why? Because of some idea whose time has come. It's called The Cunning Man.
Funnily enough, Tiffany finds all that out not in her home, the Chalk, but in far(ish)-away Ankh-Morpork! Yep, that's right: our teenage witch has gone to the city! And boy, was that delightful - especially when she ran into Escarina Smith (from the 3rd book) of all people, or when Tiffany encountered / interacted with the Watch. Muhahahahahahahaha!
A part of this book that really shone brightly - even more than in the others - was the animal companions. *chuckles sardonically*
Look at all the quotes I've highlighted and you get a good idea about the razor-sharp wit, the keen observations, and generally wonderfully on point writing on display once again!
I don't know if it was that or the fantastic combination of the witches, the Watch and Ankh-Morpork (after having spent some time in greener pastures), but this is one of my favorite books in the series - despite it also having (once again) unearthed some really negative feelings (mostly white hot anger at all the stupid people).
It will come as no surprise that this new audio version's production needed to pull out all the stops for this clash of sceneries. No, it was not a collaboration between the Watch sub-series narrator and the witches sub-series narrator (sadly!), but Indira Varma still did an almost perfect job!
September 7, 2025
3.5 stars - This one was definitely darker than the other books so far, but not in a bad way. I think this had some pacing issues, but lovely themes and interesting progression for Tiffany
January 7, 2015
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 I Shall Wear Midnight a couple of months ago, and put-off writing my review until I could untangle my mixed reaction.
(- **NOTE: I Shall Wear Midnight is not actually a Locus Y-A Award winner - but the first three books in this sequence were, so I included this in my award reading list because I'm a completionist. -)
I first came to the Tiffany Aching sequence sceptically. To my mind, there was no need (apart from marketing considerations) to deliberately create a new Discworld character targeting the Young-Adult niche. I started reading the Discworld books when I was twelve, and still love them now, just shy of thirty. Pratchett has always straddled the line between fantasy and satire with incredible ease, and that blend offers something for readers of all ages. So I was cynical of this YA series; it sounded more like a publisher's idea, not Terry's.
But give the man scraps and he will cook you something sublime (at least, most the time). Pratchett's little heroine won me over big-time. She's awesome - really, an excellent job. I could gush for some time, but let me stay on point. I came to the sequence sceptical, and the first three books made a covert of me, which is why, by the time I reached I Shall Wear Midnight (book four following Tiffany) I was comfortably expecting something special - I'd pulled a U'ey. Thus; dissapointment.
I thought it fell a bit flat. Well, a lot flat. Tiff has grown-up a great deal by this point and all the relationship dynamics are skewed. A big element of the story involves Tiff haring (no pun intended) off to Ankh-Morpork and I thought "aw yeah, this is going to be great!" - but you know what, it's not. The city... does not sing. There are a few cameo appearances for the Watch, and there's a new city-witch introduced (who didn't do much for me) - but by and large the city itself was very generic... it just didn't really feel all that Ankh-Morporkey to me. Big opportunity lost to crash a great character into a great setting. Anticlimatic.
Throughout the book there are little 'omen' moments, forsehadowing Tiffany's eureka-moment when she saves the day (that shouldn't count as a spoiler to anyone, right?) but as familiar as I am with Sir Terry's plot-weaving skills, these felt surprisingly unsubtle, ham-fisted and poorly integrated.
The nemesis Tiffany faces in I Shall Wear Midnight played too many cards similar to the Hiver monster she defeated in a previous book, and despite all efforts to play the big-bad-ominous card, Tiffany has grown into an exceptionally capable young woman and never, ever, seemed seriously at risk.
I can scan a shelf of Discworld books and tell you my favourite scene from each and every one - except for Jingo, Pyramids, Lords & Ladies... and I Shall Wear Midnight . Sorry, Terry - for me, this one was a dud.
But I still gave it three stars because despite all these flaws I still 'liked' it - I never thought, "ye, gawds, must I go back to that tome of trash again?!". I was always happy to snatch it up for my lunch break - (and let's be honest, I would happily read An In-Depth Guide to Precision Grouting if it was written by Pratchett) - but my attention drifted frequently and by the end I was keen to move onto the next book on my list (which was better).
After this I read: Leviathan
November 5, 2024
The embuggerance was real. It hurts my heart to rate it so poorly but I had to.
Not long ago I reread all of the non-"for younger reader" Discworld novels. Most Pratchett fans know of his Alzheimer's variant (posterior cortical atrophy) diagnosis in 2007, and although he continued to write for several years until his passing in 2015, those books were clearly affected by his disease. They still contained some terrific moments, but also suffered greatly in narrative flow and other aspects.
I thought I still had this as a pre-embuggerance book to re-experience, but I misjudged the publication year. Perhaps it's better that I didn't realize Wintersmith was the last such* when I read it, to delay my sadness.
*(last in the Tiffany Aching series; Making Money was the true last one. Then, starting with Unseen Academicals, his last five books revealed the impact of his increasing impairment.)
I'm shocked at how few of this book's reviews express awareness of his disease or recognize the downward shift in quality, but maybe this isn't wholly surprising. Within individual scenes, his inimitable style and keen observation mostly remained intact. The biggest difference is how the story drifts, but many of his earlier books suffered from a similar problem. Here, though, the narrative thread wandered frequently. Many a time I found myself within a scene and thinking, "Huh, so the story went here now, okay." Multiple plot elements felt dropped in out of nowhere, then only haphazardly weaved back in on occasion, or treated with greater importance that the text initially placed on them.
Character behavior was sometimes slightly off, particularly with Tiffany talking freely about how her magic works and giving demonstrations willy-nilly. One new character, Preston, was plopped into the book half-way through and although the intention of his character was clear, it was executed poorly.
Overall, the book had good pieces, but Pratchett's ability to thread them together had declined. This is true of all of his post-embuggerance books, with the final clearly unfinished work, The Shepherd's Crown, as a prime example.
I felt from this story that Pratchett was attempting to wrap up the series and give Tiffany an appropriate send-off, which fits with his known looming mortality. He succeeded in this. Tiffany, first seen at age 9, is now 16 and the full-capacity witch for all the Chalk. She takes measures to improve education, establishes a grant for apprenticeship, and legalizes protection of the Feegles' land. The book ties Tiffany more strongly into the broader Disc with a journey to Ankh-Morpork, and brings the Witches subseries full circle with connections to Equal Rites. Technically the book accomplished a lot, within an impaired framework.
Maybe it's not surprising that so many people still praise the book highly, considering all of that. I was certainly a less critical reader in 2010, and although Pratchett's diagnosis was public knowledge, there was no reason for the general public reader to be aware of it. I only learned of it from a cable news headline scroll, after all, to then be shocked that he continued to publish novels that seemed to me at the time to be intact. It's only on my recent full series reread that the decline became painfully obvious. And the diminished abilities of someone whose baseline was phenomenal, with devoted support from his close personal assistant Rob Wilkins and his editor, still leaves much to impress.
I would sign off by quoting the tweet sent from Terry's account to announce his death, but to do so would make me cry. I plan to reread "that" scene from The Shepherd's Crown, and then I guess it's back to The Colour of Magic to start it all over again.
Not long ago I reread all of the non-"for younger reader" Discworld novels. Most Pratchett fans know of his Alzheimer's variant (posterior cortical atrophy) diagnosis in 2007, and although he continued to write for several years until his passing in 2015, those books were clearly affected by his disease. They still contained some terrific moments, but also suffered greatly in narrative flow and other aspects.
I thought I still had this as a pre-embuggerance book to re-experience, but I misjudged the publication year. Perhaps it's better that I didn't realize Wintersmith was the last such* when I read it, to delay my sadness.
*(last in the Tiffany Aching series; Making Money was the true last one. Then, starting with Unseen Academicals, his last five books revealed the impact of his increasing impairment.)
I'm shocked at how few of this book's reviews express awareness of his disease or recognize the downward shift in quality, but maybe this isn't wholly surprising. Within individual scenes, his inimitable style and keen observation mostly remained intact. The biggest difference is how the story drifts, but many of his earlier books suffered from a similar problem. Here, though, the narrative thread wandered frequently. Many a time I found myself within a scene and thinking, "Huh, so the story went here now, okay." Multiple plot elements felt dropped in out of nowhere, then only haphazardly weaved back in on occasion, or treated with greater importance that the text initially placed on them.
Character behavior was sometimes slightly off, particularly with Tiffany talking freely about how her magic works and giving demonstrations willy-nilly. One new character, Preston, was plopped into the book half-way through and although the intention of his character was clear, it was executed poorly.
Overall, the book had good pieces, but Pratchett's ability to thread them together had declined. This is true of all of his post-embuggerance books, with the final clearly unfinished work, The Shepherd's Crown, as a prime example.
I felt from this story that Pratchett was attempting to wrap up the series and give Tiffany an appropriate send-off, which fits with his known looming mortality. He succeeded in this. Tiffany, first seen at age 9, is now 16 and the full-capacity witch for all the Chalk. She takes measures to improve education, establishes a grant for apprenticeship, and legalizes protection of the Feegles' land. The book ties Tiffany more strongly into the broader Disc with a journey to Ankh-Morpork, and brings the Witches subseries full circle with connections to Equal Rites. Technically the book accomplished a lot, within an impaired framework.
Maybe it's not surprising that so many people still praise the book highly, considering all of that. I was certainly a less critical reader in 2010, and although Pratchett's diagnosis was public knowledge, there was no reason for the general public reader to be aware of it. I only learned of it from a cable news headline scroll, after all, to then be shocked that he continued to publish novels that seemed to me at the time to be intact. It's only on my recent full series reread that the decline became painfully obvious. And the diminished abilities of someone whose baseline was phenomenal, with devoted support from his close personal assistant Rob Wilkins and his editor, still leaves much to impress.
I would sign off by quoting the tweet sent from Terry's account to announce his death, but to do so would make me cry. I plan to reread "that" scene from The Shepherd's Crown, and then I guess it's back to The Colour of Magic to start it all over again.
April 8, 2011
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.
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.
January 27, 2011
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 characters from the Discworld seemed to just show up out of no where. It was like they were saying goodbye. Parts of it felt, when I read them, the way that last scene from the movie Labyrinth felt when I watched it. You know, when Hoggle and Ludo and everyone are telling Sarah goodbye. "If you should need us ..."
Man. I'm sort of tearing up. Hold on a sec.
AND we finally get to find out what the hell happened to Esk. I've been wondering about her for years. No lie. It was nice. It felt tidy and correct.
Parts of this book were really rather rough. It was much darker in places than many of his other books. I mean, any book that starts out with the near-death of a thirteen year old pregnant girl because her father tried to beat her into the ground is going down a rather particular path, if you know what I mean.
Other parts felt a little rushed. Like the love-interest. I'm not spoiling anything to say there is one in this book. Nor am I spoiling anything to say that it felt very sudden.
However, over all, this is an excellent end to the Aching series and a rather good book from my favorite author of Modern fantasy.
Highly recommended.
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 characters from the Discworld seemed to just show up out of no where. It was like they were saying goodbye. Parts of it felt, when I read them, the way that last scene from the movie Labyrinth felt when I watched it. You know, when Hoggle and Ludo and everyone are telling Sarah goodbye. "If you should need us ..."
Man. I'm sort of tearing up. Hold on a sec.
AND we finally get to find out what the hell happened to Esk. I've been wondering about her for years. No lie. It was nice. It felt tidy and correct.
Parts of this book were really rather rough. It was much darker in places than many of his other books. I mean, any book that starts out with the near-death of a thirteen year old pregnant girl because her father tried to beat her into the ground is going down a rather particular path, if you know what I mean.
Other parts felt a little rushed. Like the love-interest. I'm not spoiling anything to say there is one in this book. Nor am I spoiling anything to say that it felt very sudden.
However, over all, this is an excellent end to the Aching series and a rather good book from my favorite author of Modern fantasy.
Highly recommended.
October 2, 2010
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 the prejudices of others.
There aren't enough stars for this character and this book. You might not like Pratchett's style or his sense of humour but his sense of humanity, and what it means to be human, is unparalleled. He makes us find sympathy for people even as he unveils their ugly side, and writes as though he loves us, warts and all.
Loved it to the point of being all teary at the end because of just how fucking perfect it was.
There aren't enough stars for this character and this book. You might not like Pratchett's style or his sense of humour but his sense of humanity, and what it means to be human, is unparalleled. He makes us find sympathy for people even as he unveils their ugly side, and writes as though he loves us, warts and all.
Loved it to the point of being all teary at the end because of just how fucking perfect it was.
December 27, 2023
Oh, this one was so good! And aside from the main story, there were so many little (and big) appearances from past characters (all the way back to Equal Rites!) and every time I spotted one I got so happy.
But I am declaring REVIEW AMNESTY bc I hate reviewing Terry Pratchett books, especially the ones I really love.
But I am declaring REVIEW AMNESTY bc I hate reviewing Terry Pratchett books, especially the ones I really love.
September 30, 2025
Crivens!
I Shall Wear Midnight, the fourth Tiffany Achings book, is far darker than its predecessors. Tiffany, now almost sixteen and with her own steading on the Chalk, must deal with a drunken brute of a man who beat his young daughter so badly that she lost the baby she was carrying, stop her neighbors from murdering him in retribution, rescue the girl child, and bury the lost baby. And that’s just how the book opens.
There is a strong and contagious case of witch hatred going around, and it doesn’t help that the old baron finally succumbs to his long illness and his witch hating nurse accuses Tiffany of killing him with witchcraft. Randal, her friend, is the new baron, but he seems confused, remote, and under the influence of the Duchess, his soon to be mother-in-law. Tiffany finds herself on her own, surrounded by folk whose fear has been twisted into hate as she must defeat an ancient corrupt evil, the Cunning Man, that infects people with fearful, murderous, witch hatred.
Pratchett cleverly takes on social and cultural issues in all his Discworld books. Here he addresses the frightening phenomenon of how normal, honest people can be manipulated through their fears to hate and harm those who are singled out as the other, the outsider. It feels so topical to this particular moment, that it could have been written specifically for it. Which just goes to the point Pratchett makes about this particular form of hateful evil — it can be defeated, but it always comes back, and must be defeated again in new generation. Pratchett was a prophet as well as a philosopher.
I Shall Wear Midnight, the fourth Tiffany Achings book, is far darker than its predecessors. Tiffany, now almost sixteen and with her own steading on the Chalk, must deal with a drunken brute of a man who beat his young daughter so badly that she lost the baby she was carrying, stop her neighbors from murdering him in retribution, rescue the girl child, and bury the lost baby. And that’s just how the book opens.
There is a strong and contagious case of witch hatred going around, and it doesn’t help that the old baron finally succumbs to his long illness and his witch hating nurse accuses Tiffany of killing him with witchcraft. Randal, her friend, is the new baron, but he seems confused, remote, and under the influence of the Duchess, his soon to be mother-in-law. Tiffany finds herself on her own, surrounded by folk whose fear has been twisted into hate as she must defeat an ancient corrupt evil, the Cunning Man, that infects people with fearful, murderous, witch hatred.
Pratchett cleverly takes on social and cultural issues in all his Discworld books. Here he addresses the frightening phenomenon of how normal, honest people can be manipulated through their fears to hate and harm those who are singled out as the other, the outsider. It feels so topical to this particular moment, that it could have been written specifically for it. Which just goes to the point Pratchett makes about this particular form of hateful evil — it can be defeated, but it always comes back, and must be defeated again in new generation. Pratchett was a prophet as well as a philosopher.
January 3, 2021
Šķiet, ka katru reizi, kad Tifānijai izdodas labot vienu situāciju, tā kaut kur aizkulisēs jau iekustinājusi nākamo - vai mēs esam pārliecināti, ka 2020.gadā nebija atvērta kāda dimensija un viņa no Diskpasaules neienāca mūsējā? Lai nu kā, ir patīkami lasīt un pamanīt, ka iemīļots grāmatu tēls pieaug ne tikai ciparos, bet arī raksturā. Tā ir tā pati asprātīgā un attapīgā Tifānija, kuru jau pazīstam, bet tomēr - viņa vairs nav skuķēns, bet gan ļoti jauna sieviete. Un tai pat laikā vēl jo vairāk patīkami, ka jaunas sievietes eskistences centrā tomēr nav "īstā mīla" (kaut arī tādas grāmatas man patīk, bet ir labi, ka ir arī šādas). Un beigās, pats svarīgājais: vai es lasot smējos, turklāt vairākkārt? Jā.
December 9, 2024
My favourite Tiffany Aching so far. A top-notch read that features Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and members of the City Watch. Great stuff 👏.
October 29, 2010
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 pure, stinking essence of evil left eons ago when a witch-burning fanatic was drawn into the flames himself by one of his young victims. Tiffany realizes that a bit of him exists in all of us as the seed of doubt, fear and xenophobia that can grow into hatred, prejudice and mob violence all too easily. She finds herself facing off against him at a time of change and transition; the old Baron has died peacefully, just a few days before his son, Roland, is to be married. Several of Tiffany's witch sisters arrive for the occasion including Mistress Weatherwax, her severe but ultimately caring mentor, and the bawdy Nanny Ogg (who most willingly fills the bride-to-be in on some wedding night secrets and advice, wink-wink nudge-nudge). As usual, Pratchett had me in alternating tears of hilarity and tenderness and empathy. And, as always, the book ends with the reader feeling a cathartic cleansing, and the sense that Tiffany Aching is in her place, doing her job the best she knows how, and all is right with the world.
December 16, 2015
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 scared but knows the evil will eventually catch up with her and she will have to stand and face it alone. In the meantime she has the Wee Free Men, the Nac Mac Feegle to watch over her (when they're not getting into trouble themselves).
An excellent book in this Discworld sub series. Several of our favourite personalities make an appearance,including Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg and the Ankh Morpork Watch. I'm also very glad there is still one more volume to read even if Sir Terry never got to do a final draft and it may still be a little rough in places. It will be sad to say goodbye to all our favourite characters.
An excellent book in this Discworld sub series. Several of our favourite personalities make an appearance,including Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg and the Ankh Morpork Watch. I'm also very glad there is still one more volume to read even if Sir Terry never got to do a final draft and it may still be a little rough in places. It will be sad to say goodbye to all our favourite characters.
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