Maskerade opens with Agnes Nitt, a.k.a., Perdita X, auditioning at the Opera House. Blessed with a singularly magnificent voice, Agnes is unfortunately not blessed with an extraordinary body. Or rather, her body is extraordinarily large, that is. Still, there's no denying her talent and she's hired as a member of the opera company. Meanwhile, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax, two-thirds of a witches coven, are looking for a replacement for Magrat, who had the nerve to go off and marry a king. Covens consist of a maiden, a mother and a crone, and Nanny and Granny fit two of these three categories. Thinking that Agnes might be a perfect candidate for the third, now that Magrat no longer qualifies, Nanny pays a visit to Agnes, only to find that she has wandered off to the big city to seek her fortune. Fortunately, other business calls Nanny and Granny to Ankh-Morpork--business dealing with the surprising success of Nanny's book, The Joye of Snacks. If you've read any of the other books which featured the witches of Lancre, you can guess that this particular book deals with more than just recipes. Agnes is hired on with the opera as the voice of Christina, a lovely girl with marvelous stage presence...but no talent. So Christina provides the body and Agnes supplies the voice. Unfortunately, not everything is going smoothly. Nanny and Granny arrive in Ankh-Morpork to find that the Opera House is haunted by a ghost; a ghost that is killing people and ruining the show. They set out to rid the Opera House of the ghost and set things right. And, of course, they try to persuade Agnes to leave and come back to Lancre. ( )

Certainly witty and entertaining, but I think this is the weakest of the Witches novels -- it's just a little pale by comparison. As usual, the "in-jokes" for the theatre crowd are appreciated. ;) I particular enjoyed Christine's punctuation problem. Granny Weatherwax, as usual, steals the show, and ultimately is what makes the novel worth it.

Great Witches book. Being a fan of musicals I enjoyed the parody elements, and the introduction of new witch Agnes is a welcomed breath of fresh air. ( )

Another witch story, although this one is mainly set in Ankh Morpork. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg detect that a young girl who they want to train as an apprentice witch is in some kind of trouble in Ankh Morpork, so they set out on the long coach journey to the big city to sort things out. The girl is working in the opera, and the story largely revolves around other stories of the Opera, especially the Phantom of the Opera. It is therefore one of those highly derivative novels, which does grate a little for the energy required to maintain the connections. But on the whole this does produce many opportunities for playfulness and outright hilarity. Also, the two main witches are increasingly becoming powerful, fascinating characters as the series progresses. I didn't find the story nearly as exciting as others by Pratchett, but it was nevertheless a lot of fun. ( )

Although it was written during what I've always considered to be the high point of the Discworld series (that is, between Reaper Man and Hogfather), I'd always remembered Maskerade as being a fairly slight, minor book. Having reread it recently, I've come to the opinion that that was unfair; Maskerade is in fact one of the better books in the Discworld cannon.

Set shortly after the events of Lords and Ladies, the story sees Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg travelling to Ankh-Morpork, where they are caught up in events not entirely unlike those depicted in The Phantom of the Opera (albeit with an unmistakably Pratchettian flavour). The book also sees the return of Agnes (a minor character from Lord and Ladies) who has left home to begin a career in the opera house, and features cameos from several of the regular Ankh-Morpork cast.

Perhaps not the best place to start the series, but a soild book that should entertain anybody whose enjoyed a few of the earlier Discworld books (particularly the 'Witches' subseries).