Witches Abroad is the 12th Discworld novel by Sir Terry Pratchett. The thing about Discworld is that you don't necessarily have to read his books in order. They all take place in the same world, and all the characters pop up and make cameos in each other's stories, but it doesn't really matter. But of course, along with having that thing where I can't quit things, I also have that thing where I have to read things in order. One would think being at #12 would be an accomplishment, and one would normally be right, but Sir "I am a prolific genius" Pratchett has 39 books in his wacky, absurd fantasy world, a world that takes place on a planet that is flat (really literally flat), and which "travels through space on the back of four elephants, which themselves stand on the shell of Great A'Tuin, the sky turtle." And I have 27 books (and counting*) to go.*Despite having been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in 2007, he continues to faithfully churn out (well-received) books.Witches Abroad features the fan-favorite set of characters The Witches, and while they're not as funny as the Night Watch, say, they still make me laugh quite a lot. The entire novel is basically a deconstruction of fairy-tales. Three witches have to prevent the princess from marrying the prince, and defeat the fairy-godmother, preventing stories from taking over the world -- and they're the good guys. First there's Granny Weatherwax, a formidable witch who is more akin to a force of nature than an old woman; Nanny Ogg, who is kind of horny; and Magrat Garlick, who is often described as being a "wet hen."The pacing is typical Pratchett. There are no chapters, and the characters are thrown headlong into the action. Like many Discworld novels, Witches Abroad is a wacky landslide of inappropriate humor and clever words that gradually spirals into genuine emotion. It was a bit slow to start, and it didn't get quite real enough at the end, but otherwise, very enjoyable read. Pratchett is good at symmetry, and fittingly enough for a story about the power of stories**, he understands how to work them.**This book is also about mirrors and sisters and cats and zombies, and there are some dwarves and other assorted fairy-tales to be found as well. There's even a Gollum-parody near the beginning.And now, as is traditional with a Discworld book review, here are wacky quotes:"Nanny Ogg [...] had a tendency to come out with what Magrat thought of as double-intenders, although in Nanny Ogg's case they were generally single entendres, and proud of it.""Despite many threats, Granny Weatherwax had never turned anyone into a frog. The way she saw it, there was a technically less cruel but cheaper and much more satisfying thing you could do. You could leave them human and make them think they were a frog, which also provided much innocent entertainment for passers-by.""Racism was not a problem on the Discworld, because -- what with trolls and dwarfs and so on -- speciesism was more interesting. Black and white lived in perfect harmony and ganged up on green.""'Baths is unhygienic,' Granny declared. 'You know I've never agreed with baths. Sittin' around in your own dirt like that.'""Magrat was annoyed. She was also frightened, which made her even more annoyed. It was hard for people when Magrat was annoyed. It was like being attacked by damp tissue.""She hated everything that predestined people, that fooled them, that made them slightly less than human.""You can't go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise it's just a cage."
Witches Abroad is a decent, enjoyable entry in the Discworld universe, although it doesn't live up to the best works in the series.It's the first book I've read in the series that takes place almost entirely outside of Ankh-Morpork. Desiderata Hollow, witch and fairy godmother, dies, and leaves her magic wand to Magrat Garlick, a young(er) and inexperienced witch, along with a quest. Of course, two older witches, the boisterous Gytha "Nanny" Ogg, and their leader, the austere Esme "Granny" Weatherwax, insist on accompanying her. Nanny also brings along her fearsome one-eyed black tomcat Greebo. They experience a number of adventures, many that are versions of classic fairy tales. Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax are the strongest elements of the work. They are both humorous, likable characters on their own, and work particularly well as a comic duo. Nanny is constantly smoking, drinking, and delighting in anything salacious. She is fat, bawdy, busty, earthy, and cheerful. In moments of crisis, she proves herself capable and perceptive, but clearly a follower, not a leader. Granny is a severe, crotchety old woman who disdains anything scandalous and indecent, is suspicious of anything "foreign", and wears multiple layers under her clothes, just in case. Granny is the smartest character in the novel, realizing that too much magic never ends well, and avoiding its use even under dire circumstances. Granny's interactions with Nanny are a highlight of the book. As a comparison to other stalwarts of Discworld, they are not as fully-realized and unique as my two favorites, Lord Vetinari and Moist von Lipwig, but they are funnier and more interesting than Sam Vimes and all the wizards. Unfortunately, Magrat is a weak link. She barely has any personality; all we know is that she is meek, uncertain, and studies a martial art. This doesn't change over the course of the novel. She isn't funny nor does she have anything worthwhile to do or say. There is a late scene that tries to give her character progression which feels flat and silly. The story is full of peaks and valleys. Certain adventures, like the town with the vampire problem, are funny and memorable. Others are decent if forgettable. As usual with Pratchett, it's very fast-paced, and stays at least mildly funny throughout, even when it's hitting a relative lull. Sadly, the weakest portion of the novel is the very end. Not only will readers expecting a magnificent showdown be disappointed, but so will those hoping for any particular cleverness. I was hoping for the witches to unleash their powers when push came to shove or at least do something inventive, but they never do. We do however get a number of trite speeches and philosophizing. Sometimes Pratchett makes witty, clever observations about society. Here, we get either banally trivial statements or those that simply make little sense. Also, offering to spare a murderous, cruel tyrant seems insane for the normally level-headed Granny Weatherwax. And the decision to make (view spoiler)[Ella Saturday (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Witches Abroad (2002)?
The more I read Terry Pratchett the more I appreciate him.It's hard to look at the world in grays. It's hard to realize that the line between the "good guys" and the "bad guys"Is strictly perspective.***Begin Random Rant***I never realized how much I disliked the promoted concept of Happily Ever Afters. It's not that I don't know how to have fun or be romantic- well that's besides the point. Little girls grow up with these Fairytales and their young minds have zero defenses for the barrel full of expectation that gets dumped on them. And poor fellows. How can they hope to compete with the idiocy and determination and one-mindedness of Prince Charming. To elaborate.Cinderella: Beautiful girl who is so helpless against her wicked stepmother and step sisters that she has to be rescued by a fairy godmother, instead of doing something about her situation. After one night at the ball, falls in love and voila her life is fixed and she lives happily ever after with a prince she barely knows, no less, a prince who can't even remember what she looks like without a fancy dress on. Rapunzel: I can't justify even analyzing this bit. But for giggles, she is stuck up on this tower and needs a prince to run away with and be rescued. Theme: helpless beautiful princess needs rescuing and runs off with the first bloke who succeeds.Sleeping Beauty: A princess who is basically in a coma gets rescued by Prince Charming. Snow White: Princess who is basically in a coma gets rescued by Prince Charming.And so on and so forth.I guess I'm being silly. At least Shrek can provide some sort of redemption for Fairytales. :)I just needed to let that out!*********
—Aissa Field
What happens when provincial professionals take a "business" trip and must reconcile the fact that things aren't quite done the same everywhere? This story shows that a good working knowledge and belief in oneself and abilities can adapt even when the language and lexiconchanges.Ok, the plot is about a witch who inherits the position of fairy godmother and must stop a princess marrying a prince in a faraway kingdom. The previous FG knew she'd need help so she employed 'headology' to make sure her replacement isaccompanied by two older witches, one being the famous (and feared) Granny 'Esme' Weatherwax.The party embark and have to deal with the ever changing landscape and folk. All they'd really like is decent food and the respect a witch should be automatically given. They make their final destination and take on the resident witch who employs the use of image enhancing mirrors to increase her power and force the residents to adhere to stories - fairytale stories.I have to say there's something very entertaining about grandmotherly ladies taking a road trip and kicking butt.
—Kurtbg
The more I read about the witches of the Disc, the more I like them. When I first started reading Discworld books, I was skipping around, focusing on books that had characters I liked and I skipped the witch books because I thought, much like a lot of other authors, Terry Pratchett might let me down in the area of female driven stories. It seems as though many an author thinks "strong female character" equates to "bitchy and opinionated" and I was very happy to find out that Terry Pratchett doesn't subscribe to that formula.Granny, Nanny and Magrat are all wonderful characters, as are Lilith and Gogol in their own special ways, and it is a rare occasion indeed when a book with hardly a male character in sight entertains me as much as this one did. Throw in all the fairytail references and the meddling in stories business, and this was a damn fine read, I only wish I had gotten around to it sooner. Witches Abroad also touches on something very near and dear to my heart and that is forced Happiness and the forcing of a Happy Ending. If you are forced to be happy, are you truly happy? No, I don't believe you are. And if you force a story to end happily, is it really a happy ending? No, it really isn't. A happy ending for the sake of a happy ending is a crappy ending. A story with the right ending will be good, no matter how sad or happy it is, that's always been my belief, and kudos to Terry Pratchett for seeing the error of so many authors' ways.
—Lucy Furr
