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Equal Rites | Rating | |
| A | |||
| Terry Pratchett | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Discworld | The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort, Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Witches Abroad, Small Gods, Soul Music, Feet of Clay, Interesting Times, The Firth Elephant, Going Postal | ||
When a wizard passes on his staff and his power to the eighth son of an eighth son, he thinks he is doing a good deed. But when the child turns out to be a daughter, it spells trouble. Now, seven years later, Eskarina's magic is starting to show itself, and she is recruited by Granny Weatherwax to be a witch. But the staff has different ideas. It wants her to be the Discworld's first female wizard.
This is the book the introduces Granny, one of the Discworld's most beloved characters. And it's easy to see why. She's one of those irrascible old ladies who is stern yet somehow still lovable. In fact, the first third or so of the book almost is more about her than Esk. Her views of how the world is, or should be, are extremely fun to read about.
For that matter, so is the book. It doesn't try to be funny all the time, but every page or two is a comment that reminded me just how absurd the Discworld is. A good many of them occur in narration, underlining that it is the world that is askey and not just the characters - though they're not exactly normal either, by any means. It makes for a very fun read.
The only complaint I have is that I'm not entirely sure of the continuity. There are things said in the novel to explain how magic works that I don't recall other books following. However, it's minor, and in light of the general silliness it can be forgiven. Taken on its own, this is a quick read, and a fun one.
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