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Summary: The Continuing Story of the Witches
Review: Wyrd Sisters continues the story of Granny Weatherwax, who we first met in the Discworld novel Equal Rites. In this book, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have joined with another witch, Magrat, new to the Discworld novels, to form a coven. Magrat has some odd ideas of what witchcraft involves, such as rituals, candles, and herbs, but the other two humor her. We also get a visit from our old friend Death. We also get introduced to some new characters. The old ruler of the kingdom, Verence, was murdered and is stuck being a ghost, bound to the stones of the castle. Hwel is a playwright given the job of writing a play to make the current evil ruler and his wife look better in the eyes of the people. The witches get involved in the royal intrigue, despite wanting to not get involved in matters outside of the coven. The land is unhappy with the new ruler, and the witches know it. Wyrd Sisters abounds with references to Shakespeare, namely MacBeth. Filled with witty dialogue and amusing parodies, the Discworld novels keep getting better and better.
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Summary: Something wickedly funny this way comes
Review: Wyrd Sisters, the sixth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, is a very funny take-off of MacBeth. The Shakespearean allusions were a bit above my head without reading the online annotations, but even without that I found I was laughing a great deal. Plus, it has an interesting story playing on the old "lost son of a king" cliché.The three witches are my least favourite of the sub-series that Pratchett has in Discworld. Of course, that's because the other two (City Watch, Death) are so good, not because the witches are bad. They are still well worth the price of admission into their stories. Granny Weatherwax is a curmudgeon of sorts, often speaking of how the new people are "getting ideas" put in their head. "'Modern,' said Granny Weatherwax with a sniff. 'When I was a gel, we had a lump of wax and a couple of pins and had to be content. We had to make our own enchantment in them days.'" She doesn't understand a lot of new things, like theatre. In fact, one of the funniest scenes in the book is when Magrat and Nanny Ogg take her to the theatre and she tries to intervene in what's happening on stage. Nanny Ogg and Magrat are wonderful creations as well. Nanny is old, but she's a lot more open-minded. She can understand a lot of the new ideas going around. She's also good at what she does. Another great scene is when Felmet and his wife try to torture her. Let's just say it doesn't quite work. Magrat is the young witch, who thinks that symbols are very important. When they try to summon a demon to help them, she's the one who thinks that they need the "proper" ingredients in order to do it, rather than the makeshift ones that the other two bring in. Together, the threesome is a very entertaining bunch. The incidental characters are marvelous as well. There's the Fool, who only became a Fool because it was a family tradition. He really hates it. There's Hwel, the dwarf who never took to mining, so he became a playwright. Death makes a few appearances as well, also making his stage debut in a riotous manner. There isn't a wasted character in the bunch, and they are all well-rounded individuals who are interesting to read about. The plot is excellent as well. The only thing that marred it for me was the extensive Shakespearean allusions, and that's only because I didn't understand half of them. There were times when I knew I was missing a joke, which became a bit frustrating. It's one thing to miss a joke and not even see it, but when you see it but don't understand it, it's a bit of a letdown. Still, if it encourages people to go back to the original plays and read them, then so much the better. The book doesn't suffer for all of this, though. It is still a very entertaining read without it. This is a wonderful beginning to the Three Witches sub-series. I look forward to reading more of them. It's an excellent place to start your entry into Discworld.
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Summary: May he live forever, and always write a book a year!
Review: If Fantasy is your cup of tea, and you haven't tried Pratchett's Discworld books, pick one in the series and have at it. He was compared to Douglas Adams in the beginning, but I have to say that Pratchett has it all over Adams. Discworld is funnier and more inventive than either Hitchhiker's or Dirk Gently. Describing the premise of the series (life on a flat world riding on the back of four huge elephants who in turn ride on the back of the great sky turtle where magic works...sometimes) or the plot of any given entry in the series (here three witches meddle in the affairs of a kingdom) can not do the books justice. They are sly and witty and, at times, laugh out loud funny. I knew a hugh fan of Wodehouse in Boston who said Pratchett should be allowed to live forever providing he produced one Discworld book a year. He should be paid up for a decoade or more since he's been doubling up the past couple years. You can't go wrong if you are looking for a laugh! And the BBC has produced two of the books as animated series (check them out in Amazon's DVD land Soul Music and this book).
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Summary: Witches are Abroad !!
Review: This is one of the funniest and most charming books I've read in a while. Terry Pratchett uses the environment of his famous Discworld to tell a story of a coven of three witches (although two will argue it's not a coven) who meddle in the business of royal politics (although all two will argue it's not meddling). Those who enjoy a funny story will love this book, but those who enjoy a funny story and have read Shakespeare's Macbeth and Hamlet will enjoy it even more. Pratchett does a great job interweaving different aspects of classic plays and fairy tales with the overall plot and flavor of the story, while adding the comedic edge for which he is so well known. And those who have spent even a small amount of time studying modern witchcraft and Wicca will find a few scenes particularly funny. The story involves the typical royal intrigue and how the smallest twist of fate can change an entire kingdom, and when you throw in Pratchett's three witches, fate is forced to flee in terror. Include travelling actors, a Fool who isn't a fool, a disgruntled ghost, a paranoid king, and a thunderstorm that hopes to one day grow up and be a really big storm, and you're starting to get the idea how wacky things get. This book is definitely in the top three Discworld novels.
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Summary: A spot-on send-up of Shakespeare, witches and fairy tales
Review: Although Terry Pratchett has abandoned non-stop satire in his Discworld books after "The Light Fantastic," "Wyrd Sisters" is as much a satire as it is a character and world-building novel, this time taking some very solid shots at William Shakespeare, "Macbeth," "Hamlet," the popular conception(s) of witches, and even a bit of a riff on fairy tales. A jealous relative has killed the King of Lancre, who is now stuck (literally) haunting his castle. But his infant son has been delivered into the care of three witches, including the formidable Granny Weatherwax, who refuse to meddle in politics. Well, that's what they say, anyway ... As a Shakespeare enthusiast, I found the parodies of both plays spot on and very fun -- elements of it hold up very favorably next to "Shakespeare in Love" -- and as a fan of fantasy novels, I was delighted to see how Pratchett handled the problem of needing (REALLY needing) to get a usurper off the throne with an heir to the throne who's not even potty trained. A word of warning: The hamhanded marketing copy in the back pages of the book promoting the Discworld series gives away the end of this novel. I'm not sure what they were thinking there ... Although I mostly prefer the Unseen University novels, "Wyrd Sisters" is easily one of my favorite Discworld novels, and indeed, novels in general. Whole-heartedly recommended to fans of Discworld, Shakespeare or fantasy with a sense of humor.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a chuckle
Review: Highly enjoyable, very readable, and almost as god as Men at Arms... and thats saying something. If your a discword fan you'll love it, if your new, you'll most likely buy another, and if you hate it, I'll be suprised. Nuff Said!
Rating:
Summary: One of Pratchett's best efforts
Review: Plays off MacBeth. Since I read these hopelessly out-of-order, it is nice to go back and figure out just how the former Jester became King and Magrat his (eventual) queen. The old King Verrence is murdered, but his ghost gets to hang around and haunt the castle, and his son is spirited away to join a troupe of roving actors and a dwarf playwright. This one moves well and finishes well (finishing well is kind of unusual for a Discworld novel), there are quite a few great puns, and we get to know the three witches better. It is up-to-the-eyeballs in Shakespearean references, avoids being too pat, and ranks as one of Pratchett's best efforts.
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Summary: Start of the witches
Review: Still early in the series, Wyrd Sisters is an example of the books to come. After all, who doesn't love a good Shakespeare parody?
Rating:
Summary: Sharp and clever
Review: This was the first Terry Pratchett book I read, some fifteen or so years back, and it was, excuse the pun, utterly betwitching. I recently reread it and found it had mysteriously improved - probably because I'm a bit older and better read! If you've ever sat through a tortourus high-school stage version of MacBeth, or been irritated by a fatuous 'lost baby with a mysterious destiny' story (Harry Potter included), you'll also find this a funny and deeply satisfying read.
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Summary: Wyrd Sisters in Wyrd Colors
Review: The Movie of the book is good (Amazon has it on DVD and VHS Staring Christopher Lee) but the Book is still better.
but i do prefer the British Corgi Edition of the book as it has the origonal cover art by Paul Kidby (he is one of the artists) and they are works of art, some of the hardcover versions have it, but the paper back versions that are put out by "Harper" are doomed to have the ugly stark covers that make my eyes hurt to look at, when they started publishing the US editions they decided to re-do all the covers in colors that make you go colorblind if you look at them too long. otherwise the book is excelent and they did'nt seem to edit the words by replacing them with words more common in the US edition,
Like replacing Chips with the word Fries.
if they ever make them with the excelent origonal cover art i will givw the book the additonal fifth star it deserves.
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