SPOILERS Witches Abroad Discussion Group
- Thread starter Tonyblack
- Start date
I really should re-read some of the earlier books. I've done COM & TLF etc a few times. But I've only read books like Small Gods & Pyramids once, partly because I didn't enjoy them immensely the first time around but mostly because they're all packed away in boxes in my spare room from when we moved in nearly three years ago 
Did anyone else find books like these hard work the first time around?
Did anyone else find books like these hard work the first time around?
Tonyblack said:
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Terry's books need to be read at least twice. You'll miss things the first time you read them for sure.
I think I've read most of the books at least twice, and the ones which I haven't I probably will at some stage. bar UA which I'll most likely never read again.
I found UA a lot better for the second reading, although as an enthusiastic sports fan I thought it lacked football scenes/matches. There are, perhaps two matches in the entire book?
I got a bit bored reading about the shove, I understood his point and it was well made, if a bit repetitive. Just as in most of his books TP will get hung up on a point such as the darkness is not just the absence of light....bla bla. We get it, it's dark!
I'm really looking forward to Snuff and I hope he sees fit to write another proper witches story before long. The Tiffany Aching tales are okay, but they don't quite cut the mustard for me. ISWM is the best one so far, and the last I think?
I got a bit bored reading about the shove, I understood his point and it was well made, if a bit repetitive. Just as in most of his books TP will get hung up on a point such as the darkness is not just the absence of light....bla bla. We get it, it's dark!
I'm really looking forward to Snuff and I hope he sees fit to write another proper witches story before long. The Tiffany Aching tales are okay, but they don't quite cut the mustard for me. ISWM is the best one so far, and the last I think?
Beautiful Dirt said:
I really should re-read some of the earlier books. I've done COM & TLF etc a few times. But I've only read books like Small Gods & Pyramids once, partly because I didn't enjoy them immensely the first time around but mostly because they're all packed away in boxes in my spare room from when we moved in nearly three years ago
Did anyone else find books like these hard work the first time around?
Did anyone else find books like these hard work the first time around?
Guys, while I appreciate that you had a problem with parts of The Fifth Elephant, this thread is for Witches Abroad.
There is a discussion thread for The Fifth Elephant where you can discuss what happend to your heart's content. You may even find answers there. But people visiting the Witches Abroad discussion may not have read T5E yet and, despite your warnings, they may have the plot spoiled for them.
You can find The Fifth Elephant Discussion HERE.
Links to all the other discussions Can Be Found Here.
There is a discussion thread for The Fifth Elephant where you can discuss what happend to your heart's content. You may even find answers there. But people visiting the Witches Abroad discussion may not have read T5E yet and, despite your warnings, they may have the plot spoiled for them.
You can find The Fifth Elephant Discussion HERE.
Links to all the other discussions Can Be Found Here.
I am rereading the series and can really do without spoilers for later books, especially when which book it is isn't indicated. Maybe they could be edited or at least changed to 'invisible ink' for other readers?
Good to see I'm not the only one who sometimes has trouble keeping track during the action scenes, I was starting to think I may be losing the plot even more than usual. As Tony and others have said rereading is well worth the effort, I've enjoyed every book more the second time around so far, and have got a new favourite (Reaper Man). Funny though Small Gods was my favourite after just the one read, so maybe it will take over again when I reread it
Good to see I'm not the only one who sometimes has trouble keeping track during the action scenes, I was starting to think I may be losing the plot even more than usual. As Tony and others have said rereading is well worth the effort, I've enjoyed every book more the second time around so far, and have got a new favourite (Reaper Man). Funny though Small Gods was my favourite after just the one read, so maybe it will take over again when I reread it
Prolekult said:
I am rereading the series and can really do without spoilers for later books, especially when which book it is isn't indicated. Maybe they could be edited or at least changed to 'invisible ink' for other readers?
Good to see I'm not the only one who sometimes has trouble keeping track during the action scenes, I was starting to think I may be losing the plot even more than usual. As Tony and others have said rereading is well worth the effort, I've enjoyed every book more the second time around so far, and have got a new favourite (Reaper Man). Funny though Small Gods was my favourite after just the one read, so maybe it will take over again when I reread it
Good to see I'm not the only one who sometimes has trouble keeping track during the action scenes, I was starting to think I may be losing the plot even more than usual. As Tony and others have said rereading is well worth the effort, I've enjoyed every book more the second time around so far, and have got a new favourite (Reaper Man). Funny though Small Gods was my favourite after just the one read, so maybe it will take over again when I reread it
I realise I am several years late to the discussion (at least!) but this is still really interesting to me to read. Although weirdly, I preferred the crazy postmodern take on fairytales and being careful what you wish for than the comedy of the Witches On Tour.
(I've bored on about it more here and there's reference to a great book called Into the Woods, which should be required reading for anyone who likes Discworld. It's about the power of storytelling)
ANYWAY
Witches Abroad is a brilliant book and another encouraging sign of where Pratchett was going with the series. It also sets up some great stuff that pays off spectacularly in Lords and Ladies. Magrat is more of a character in her own right here and she's pretty much the heroine of the next Witches novel (IMO).
(I've bored on about it more here and there's reference to a great book called Into the Woods, which should be required reading for anyone who likes Discworld. It's about the power of storytelling)
ANYWAY
Witches Abroad is a brilliant book and another encouraging sign of where Pratchett was going with the series. It also sets up some great stuff that pays off spectacularly in Lords and Ladies. Magrat is more of a character in her own right here and she's pretty much the heroine of the next Witches novel (IMO).
Magrat is at least the protagonist, as she is the one who grows the most, but I feel that the Lancre witch novels are what is sometimes called a "buddy" or "ensemble" story. Although various characters play recognizable roles, all of them have important scenes and the plot problem is solved by their working together. Magrat couldn't solve the WA problem alone, but she is needed to do her part. The same is true for the others (yes, even Granny couldn't have solved it successfully all by herself). The thematic image of mirrors and mirroring occurs all through the book in a couple of levels and that fact also works with the concept that there is more than one hero here.
WARNING: LONG, one or two spoilers.
I realise that I'm even later to the "party" here, but I have a feeling I may have solved the mystery of dwarf bread (or rather, where in LOTR Pterry got the idea!)
It's called cram. From the ever-(not-so)-reliable wikipedia:
Sounds familiar? *G* I also remember reading about hardtack... tough stuff indeed. During the 19th century, the British Navy used salted beef and salted pork as rations at sea, because of the impression that salted meats lasted - but this was taken to ridiculous extremes. Apparently, "in the 1870s the navy was still using meat from casks packed in the year that Nelson fell at Trafalgar (1805). One piece of beef was so tough that a sailor carved it into the shape of a frigate, sand-papered it, varnished it and then glued it to a low beam. It was as hard as mahogany as many a cracked skull bore witness in after years." (Geoffrey Regan, The Book of Naval Blunders, 2001; p. 95).
Moving on from dwarf bread - I thought WA was hilarious. A lot of my favourite bits have already been discussed, but here's another one... when Granny, Nanny and Magrat find themselves walking along a road made of yellow bricks. Magrat says that "What some people need is a bit more heart" (a reference to Tin Man). Granny remarks sourly that "What some people need is a lot more brain" (the reference to the Scarecrow).
Nanny, typically, needs a drink... (a reference to the Lion, since alcohol is synonymous with "Dutch courage")... and in the very next sentence, a farmhouse drops on her head. And then the dancing dwarfs show up, sing "Dingdong, dingdong", and demand her ruby-coloured boots. That whole sequence just kills me.
A lot of sequences here, as a matter of fact, are simply hilarious. The LOTR sequence has already been discussed (although I liked the reference to Colossal Cave (aka Adventure), the very first (and legendary) adventure game from 1976 - "The witches flew along a maze of twisty little canyons, all alike." The game would tell you "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike". This phrase came to signify a situation when whatever action is taken does not change the result.
Granny's criticism of international cuisine is also hilarious. "Well, at least they can't muck up a decent pancake... what do they call it here, anyway?"
On a slightly more serious note... the take on Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf is a definite tear-jerker, especially when the wolf tries to
The BBW is so pathetic and pity-inducing, he always made me cry. To me, this is where Lily crosses the Moral Event Horizon - even more so than when she, much later,
One final question... I've just come across the following USian cover for WA, as well as this one and this one for Wyrd Sisters. I much prefer the Josh Kirby covers in any case, but I simply don't understand why the US publishers felt they had to draw whole new covers for these books. The second cover for WS is particularly puzzling - it shows Granny wearing brown (BROWN?!?!), Nanny looks 30-something (???), Magrat looks like a youngster with her hair far too tidy, and Greebo looks like a cougar of some kind. Why in the name of sanity was this even necessary!? Any ideas?
I realise that I'm even later to the "party" here, but I have a feeling I may have solved the mystery of dwarf bread (or rather, where in LOTR Pterry got the idea!)
It's called cram. From the ever-(not-so)-reliable wikipedia:
Sounds familiar? *G* I also remember reading about hardtack... tough stuff indeed. During the 19th century, the British Navy used salted beef and salted pork as rations at sea, because of the impression that salted meats lasted - but this was taken to ridiculous extremes. Apparently, "in the 1870s the navy was still using meat from casks packed in the year that Nelson fell at Trafalgar (1805). One piece of beef was so tough that a sailor carved it into the shape of a frigate, sand-papered it, varnished it and then glued it to a low beam. It was as hard as mahogany as many a cracked skull bore witness in after years." (Geoffrey Regan, The Book of Naval Blunders, 2001; p. 95).
Moving on from dwarf bread - I thought WA was hilarious. A lot of my favourite bits have already been discussed, but here's another one... when Granny, Nanny and Magrat find themselves walking along a road made of yellow bricks. Magrat says that "What some people need is a bit more heart" (a reference to Tin Man). Granny remarks sourly that "What some people need is a lot more brain" (the reference to the Scarecrow).
Nanny, typically, needs a drink... (a reference to the Lion, since alcohol is synonymous with "Dutch courage")... and in the very next sentence, a farmhouse drops on her head.
And then the dancing dwarfs show up, sing "Dingdong, dingdong", and demand her ruby-coloured boots. That whole sequence just kills me. A lot of sequences here, as a matter of fact, are simply hilarious. The LOTR sequence has already been discussed (although I liked the reference to Colossal Cave (aka Adventure), the very first (and legendary) adventure game from 1976 - "The witches flew along a maze of twisty little canyons, all alike."
The game would tell you "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike". This phrase came to signify a situation when whatever action is taken does not change the result.Granny's criticism of international cuisine is also hilarious. "Well, at least they can't muck up a decent pancake... what do they call it here, anyway?"
"Crap Suzette".
On a slightly more serious note... the take on Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf is a definite tear-jerker, especially when the wolf tries to
grip Granny's ankle with its paw and whine: "Preees? Annn enndingggg? Noaaow?"
turns the coachmen into beetles. And treads on them.
One final question... I've just come across the following USian cover for WA, as well as this one and this one for Wyrd Sisters. I much prefer the Josh Kirby covers in any case, but I simply don't understand why the US publishers felt they had to draw whole new covers for these books. The second cover for WS is particularly puzzling - it shows Granny wearing brown (BROWN?!?!), Nanny looks 30-something (???), Magrat looks like a youngster with her hair far too tidy, and Greebo looks like a cougar of some kind. Why in the name of sanity was this even necessary!?
Any ideas?