Equal Rites (1987)

My first Discworld novel. Fun! ( )

Liked it much. Hilarious!

Not the strongest in the series, but we get to meet Granny Weatherwax, who, as always, becomes the main character even if she is not supposed to. If I could choose a fictional character to have lunch with, she would be near the top of my list. ( )

The earliest Discworld novel I've read so far. In the Discworld only boys are allowed to study at the Unseen University and become wizards, but a dying wizard, mistakenly assuming that the blacksmith’s newborn child is the eighth son of an eighth son, passes along his powers to girl.

This story is full of Pratchett’s unexpectedly amusing turns of phrase, observant commentary about society and satire of fantasy tropes. I liked eight year old Eskarina, and Granny Weatherwax, who I knew from the Tiffany Aching books, is just great -- practical, no-nonsense and able to think outside the box when it comes to Esk’s education. The audiobook narrator, Celia Imrie, is dynamic: when Esk whispers, she really whispers; when Granny talks with her mouth full of food, it’s very convincing. I was entertained!

I lost some interest in Equal Rites towards the end, as the focus shifted to a largely-magical problem, rather than being on Esk finding a place at the Unseen University. It’s the sort of climax I’d be unsurprised to find in a fantasy novel by a different author but wasn’t expecting here. Is it a less-polished ending because Pratchett wrote this earlier in his career? Or am I more interested in how he writes about people than how he writes about magic?

Or am I missing something because Pratchett’s parodying 1980s fantasy novels that I never encountered weren’t good enough to stand the tests of time? I’m not sure.

[...] a hint was to Esk what a mosquito bite was to the average rhino because she was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you. ( )

I truly love all things Terry Pratchett, but none more than Granny Weatherwax. I will treasure the Discworld series and read them until all my books fall apart. ( )