Witches Abroad

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Granny Weatherwax series
Review: Although I've loved Pratchett's "Discworld" series for some time now, I've never really cared for the Granny Weatherwax series. Both "Equal Rites" and "Wyrd Sisters" left me kind of cold.

"Witches Abroad," however, really stands out and pulled me in -- perhaps because the subjects Pratchett are lampooning in this volume are both rather close to me: fairy tales (stories in general, actually) and Mardi Gras (I've lived near New Orleans my entire life).

Pratchett seamlessly meshes elements of Cinderella with Little Red Riding Hood with Sleeping Beauty with the Three Little Pigs with a dozen other stories we all know and love, poking as much fun at storytellers as at stories themselves.

I love this sort of thing, the blending of classic stories, not unlike the musical "Into the Woods" or the excellent DC/Vertigo comic book series "Fables," and Pratchett does it as well as anyone. This is definitely the best of the Granny Weatherwax books I've read.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best
Review: As far as I'm concerned, the pinnacle of Pratchett's series. Hilarious, cutting, with superb characterizations.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best
Review: As far as I'm concerned, the pinnacle of Pratchett's series. Hilarious, cutting, with superb characterizations.

Rating:
Summary: And they lived happily ever after?
Review: Fairy godmothers. Witches. Voodoo. Magic.
And a large bowl of gumbo washed down with a round of absinthe and banananana dakrys.
This is not your typical fairy tale. Make sure the servant girl doesn't marry the prince. Easy? Not in a land where Happy Endings are strictly compulsory.
Enter the witches. The newly appointed Fairy Godmother Magrat Garlick, in search for cosmic harmony and how do set this bloody wand off pumpkins, and the classic double act that is Granny and Nanny.

Pratchett has managed to mix in Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz and even The Lord of the Rings (complete with a sleazy Gollum). Even when I knew a joke was coming, Pratchett did so well with it that I smiled and even laughed anyway.
I couldn't find a single flaw. The plot, the characters, the jokes ... all perfect.
You won't be disappointed. This is my favourite Discworld novel by far.

Rating:
Summary: And they lived happily ever after?
Review: Fairy godmothers. Witches. Voodoo. Magic.
And a large bowl of gumbo washed down with a round of absinthe and banananana dakrys.
This is not your typical fairy tale. Make sure the servant girl doesn't marry the prince. Easy? Not in a land where Happy Endings are strictly compulsory.
Enter the witches. The newly appointed Fairy Godmother Magrat Garlick, in search for cosmic harmony and how do set this bloody wand off pumpkins, and the classic double act that is Granny and Nanny.

Pratchett has managed to mix in Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz and even The Lord of the Rings (complete with a sleazy Gollum). Even when I knew a joke was coming, Pratchett did so well with it that I smiled and even laughed anyway.
I couldn't find a single flaw. The plot, the characters, the jokes ... all perfect.
You won't be disappointed. This is my favourite Discworld novel by far.

Rating:
Summary: A sweet bedtime fairy tale! Maybe? Hehehehe
Review: For any of you who enjoy fairy tales this book is a must! Cinderella in New Orleans complete with a touch of gumbo! (For those of you who are more serious there is even a reference to Papa Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" thrown in that is well worth the time!) You'd be a fool not to buy this book! Now- if we could just get it back in print in the good old USA..... Bravo again, Mr. Pratchett!

Rating:
Summary: Progress just means bad things happen faster
Review: For me, the Discworld is never as much fun as when I have Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick as my chaperones, and Witches Abroad is a truly seminal work starring my three favorite witches. This is a story about stories, and on the anthropomorphic wonderland known as the Discworld stories are so powerful that they can become almost unstoppable forces; they are so important that they shape people rather than the other way around, making people do things for the sake of the stories alone. Once a story gets going, it's almost impossible to stop it. You don't tell Granny Weatherwax that anything is impossible for her to do, though, nor do you tell her you need her help, not unless you don't want her to come. The fairy godmother Desiderata knows this, although she is not particularly adept at training a successor (and since witches know when they are going to die, her death is no excuse for such lack of planning). Just before she dies, she wraps up her magic wand and sends it to Magrat Garlick, Lancre's youngest, most good-hearted, tradition-obsessed, open-minded, overlooked witch along with a note telling her appointed successor that she must go to Genua to prevent the girl Emberella from marrying the prince and that she must tell Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg that they are not to come with her. Thus, all three witches are soon flying away from their homes in Lancre in route to the eastern port of Genua. Their journey finds them bumping headlong into a number of different stories, Pratchett-twisted episodes such as one involving a young girl in a red cape, her grandmother, and a wolf. It soon becomes obvious to the three witches that someone is making stories come true, but only Granny secretly knows just who is behind all this. Arriving in Genua, they are exposed to the city's own brand of magic, namely voodoo, run up against snake sisters guarding poor Emberella, delight in an entirely new kind of cooking (the ingredients of which are kept from Granny for the most part, which is obviously quite the right thing to do), and set out to stop the warped Cinderella-based fairy tale events surrounding Emberella, knowing that, should Emberella marry the prince, the other fairy godmother (they come in pairs, incidentally), the witch wielding and invigorating her power by the use of mirror magic, would have power over the whole city and force her happy endings on everyone in town. There's nothing wrong with happy endings, but being made happy against one's wishes and knowledge is one of very many things that Granny doesn't hold with. As Magrat's attempts to use the magic wand result in only pumpkins and more pumpkins, success in this unexpected tour of fairy godmothering duty requires all three witches working together, and Granny herself needs all of her skills at headology when she confronts an important figure from her past.

The ingeniously satirical incorporation of fairy tales by Pratchett makes this book worth its weight in gold, but it is the constant bickering and resulting comedy between the three very different witches that makes this book so entertaining. There is no citizen of the Discworld whom I find as fascinating and entertaining as good old Granny Weatherwax. Her obstinacy and refusal to admit a deficiency of any kind is quite comical in and of itself, but put this beside poor Magrat's idealized notions and unconventional ideas (such as her decision to wear pants and thus, to Granny's horror, let men see where her legs are underneath them) and Nanny's ribald, good-natured humor and zest for life (and alcohol and dirty songs, etc.) and you've got a recipe for high comedy indeed. Nanny's unique cat Greebo also takes on vast importance in this novel, offering us yet another unforgettable travel partner in this strange world of Pratchett's ingenious creation. Granny's character is especially well-developed in this novel, and the new-found insights into her childhood offer quite a telling new insight into her personality. Witches Abroad is among the best of the best of Pratchett's Discworld series.

Rating:
Summary: Inbelievable
Review: Have you ever wondered, what it would be like, when GrannyWeatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Margrat Garlick go abroad? If so, this is THE book to read. I have now read 14 of Prattchets Discworld books (I think there are something like 26), but this is by far the funniest. The cr** suzette, the dwarf bread, the dairy air... it is just too funny. The best thing however is the vampire. Pratchett never mentions the word vampire, yet as you go along, it becomes clear to you what he means. (i love the way Greebo finds someone to "play" with... hahahahahaha... it's just too funny). Any way! Well done! I hope threre will be more books like this! Now I have to go back and read another Discworld Novel! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Rating:
Summary: A pleasure for insiders!!
Review: How to prevent the marriage between a servant girl and a bewitched frog. This non-fairytaile includes everything; thee lovely witches, the vicious step witch, a zombie, two bewitched mice, a vampire- castle, some of Nannys beloved foreign-language experience, bananana fruit drinks for everyone and of course Death. Read it and you will get addicted.

Rating:
Summary: Telling Tales
Review: I am pretty much a gung ho Terry Pratchett fan. I think I've been reading his Discworld books ever since he started writing them. What baffles me is that every time I think I have caught up, I find a couple more that were written 'back then.' I am becoming convinced that somehow Pratchett writes his books 'now,' and has them published 'then.' It is probably some weird way to garner more royalties.

'Witches Abroad' is a case in point. I was just feeling sorry that there haven't been any tales starring the team of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick (apprentice witch and all around wet hen) when, miraculously, this appeared on the shelves. Is it new? Not hardly! First published in 1991 it has managed to escape my notice for all that time. Or rather, that is what Pratchett wants me to think. I know a plot when I see one.

There are two rules about godmothers in Discworld. First, they come in pairs, and second, when one dies, another has to come along and replace her. Desiderata Hollow was a good godmother, but an awful planner. When DEATH finally showed up, she had to pick a successor and skip the necessary training. So while the two elder witches head for Desiderata's cottage to search for the wand, Magrat gets a package at home (where she is practicing New Age self-defense) and finds that she is now the only wet hen who can turn absolutely anything into a pumpkin.

Worse, when Gytha Ogg and Esme Weatherwax recover from this shock they discover that Magrat has a pressing assignment. She must travel to Genua (a city far, far away in another place entirely) and keep a young woman from kissing a frog. And so, the three most unlikely (and irascible) travelers set off for foreign parts, victimizing vampires, werewolves and countless innkeepers along the way. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Nanny brought along Greebo the (oversexed) cat along for company. Of course, that is exactly the kind of cat Nanny would keep.

Leaving the countryside in a shambles, the three ride their broomsticks into Genua and set about the arduous task of rescuing Ember Ella. You will like Genua; it is a combination of New Orleans, Port au Prince, and Hong Kong. The food is wonderful, Voodoo witches ride their huts through the swamp, stories always come true, and everyone is either happy or dying in the effort. And the other godmother lives there. Book a flight now on the Trans Witch Airlines and you will arrive for the Fat Lunchtime Festival.

Once again, Pratchett has written a tour de farce of slapstick, sarcasm, and pure vaudeville. 'Witches Abroad' is an opportunity to make fun of everything from world travelers to fairy tales, and no one escapes unscathed. Granny Weatherwax is one of my favorite Discworld characters, combining an acid tongue with Socratic wisdom - tough as nails and proud of it. She and Nanny Ogg simply shine. Margrat would too, if wet hens could shine. And even she has a grand moment or two. This is the best of the Discworld witch tales, if not one of Pratchett's best overall.