Darn fun, funny, and pretty fast read. And actually pretty tense fantasy adventure novel in points. Great depictions of elves and the "Long Man". So far my favorite of the discworld series I think. ( )

Opening Sentence: '…Now read on…’

For many years the nasty Elves have been kept out of the little kingdom of Lancre by a circle of stones called the Dancers. They are made of Ironstone - Elves can't abide Iron!! But while the Lancre witches, Esme Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, have been away, a few young bored young girls have been playing at witchcraft, dancing in and around the stones 'with their knickers off' now that's a dangerous thing to do.

Magrat's wedding to the new king is all set for midsummer eve - another dangerous time of the year for all things fey. So this leaves Esme and Nanny Ogg to convince the village girls that they shouldn't dabble with things unknown, and fight off the Elves.

Pratchett Elves are edgy and mean - beautiful to look at - but deliciously evil. You see when Magrat married the King, she will become Queen - and there can only be one Queen in a 'hive' so the Elf Queen has to destroy the new one. Magrat is not as easy a prey as the elves think.

Like many of Pratchett's works there are many layers to this book. It is to all intents and purposes a spoof on all things magical, a sort of Midsummers Night Dream after one bottle of wine too many.

I can't put my finger on why it missed the mark for me - was a good read - but not his best. I do love the witches, and think that 'Wyrd Sisters' is the best witch story by Pratchett. The plot is interesting, the characters are well-developed and each has a role to play, the story comes to a climax instead of dwindling away with a whimper, as some of the Pratchett's past books have done. There was just no heart in it for me - no page turning suspense. I enjoyed the story, laughed very often but didn't get immersed into discworld this time ( )

Magrat Garlick, witch, is going to be married in the morning. However, when the Lancre All-Comers Morris Team got drunk on a fairy mound and the elves came back, bringing all those things traditionally associated with Faerie: cruelty, kidnapping, malice, and evil murder. Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven to the rescue. ( )

I'd been putting this off for a while because I'd read several less-than-enthusiastic reviews, and also found that I didn't enjoy the Witches books as much as some of the other Discword sub-series.

When I finally read this book, I adored it. I read straight through it in a single afternoon, and collapsed in uncontrollable laughter several times. I think I missed a lot of the Midsummer Night's Dream references - I've never read the play (note to self: must get around to that one) - but I caught enough to appreciate how cleverly it's done.

Pratchett's characters are as well-written as usual, and the book is brimming over with humour and intelligence. I wasn't conscious of pages passing, and I was very surprised when I got to the end to realise the book was very nearly 400 pages: it felt sharp and concise and moved along swiftly.

This is now one of my favourite Pratchett books. ( )

Delightfully wicked! (And another treat for Shakespeare fans). I really adore Pratchett's exploration of magic and of parallel (or, as the case may be, parasite) universes.