Rating: 
Summary: Multi-layered fairy story. Good stuff.
Review: The Wee Free Men are scared--the lines between the world are getting thin and the Queen that they once served is ready to break through. Only a witch can help--but the only witch available is nine-year-old Tiffany. Tiffany Aching doesn't know magic and she doesn't have a pointed hat, but she's decided she will be a witch some day. With the arrival of the Queen and the kidnapping of Tiffany's brother, some day arrives more quickly than Tiffany had anticipated. Tiffany sets off on an adventure in a dream world--a world where your dreams can hurt you, and where other being's dreams can hurt you even more. The Queen is the mistress of dreams--and nightmares. In her kingdom, and increasingly in the mundane world that Tiffany comes from, nightmare monsters are loose. Even the wee free men cannot stand against them. Author Terry Pratchett starts with a simple fairy tale--the poor shepherd girl facing the evil Queen, and dresses it with multiple layers of meaning. At the simplest level, WEE FREE MEN is an adventure that twists many of the established rules of the fairy tale (the witches are the goodguys, the beautiful Queen is evil, and the baron's son is purely incompetent). Dig deeper and every detail had weight. The Wee Men are funny with their Scottish accents and willingness to fight, but they are also a bit sad and more especially, a good example for all of us. Like us, they've been fooled before. Unlike most of us, they are willing to fight to prevent it from happening again. Tiffany, armed with her frying pan and with instructions to open her eyes, then open them again, is unusually clever for a nine-year-old, but then she is the hero. With the example of her grandmother behind her, there is little that Tiffany cannot do if she can keep her mind on it--and keep from being swept up in other people's dreams. I might be making WEE GREEN MEN sound like some sort of philosophy text and nothing could be farther from the truth. It's filled with Pratchett humor and insights, an exciting adventure, and emotional complexities. One small word of warning--although the Nac Mac Feegle (the wee men) appear in Discworld stories, Tiffany's world resembles our own a lot more than it does the Discworld of Ankh Morpork and the Great God Om.
Rating:
Summary: Once Again -- Our Terry Does It !
Review: THE WEE FREE MEN is Pratchett clicking on all keys. It's absolutely superb -- better than MAURICE/RODENTS and right up there with GUARDS! GUARDS!, CARPE JUGULUM, REAPER MAN, THE FIFTH ELEPHANT and all the really top-notch Discworld novels that I adore (i.e., all the ones without Rincewind). The difference is that this tale will appeal to youngsters as well as to old-timers like me. It has the wit, intricate plot, fast pace, wordplay, gentle ethnic satire, sturdy young person with wisdom far beyond her years, scary scenes and magically vivid descriptions we've come to expect from our Terry. In other words, it's just about perfect. I came away actually liking the Nac Mac Feegle, who have been for the most part caricatures in previous books. And, like a light-bulb flashing on, I now understand that on Discworld sorcerers are mostly flummerers (except for a couple of likeable experimenters) but witches -- THEY are the Discworld scientists! Very seldom do I buy a hardbook book. You wouldn't either if you had arthritic fingers as painful as mine. But this one I couldn't resist, and I can hardly wait till September 30th for the long-desired paperback release of Pratchett's THE NIGHT WATCH!
Rating:
Summary: The Wee Free Men
Review: The Wee Free Men is Terry Pratchett's latest children's book and it is a superb one, I must say. It took me a while to get into it - the Feegles seem to have been simplified a little for a younger audience, and there are some similarities in the plot to Equal Rites - young witch being trained up to fight the big bad monsters. The witch is a typically independent, doesn't-run-with-the-crowd, perceptive, bright kid - reminiscent of Susan Sto-Helit. From my perspective though, Pratchett's already kind of been there, done that - the witches are starting to look (dare I say it) a little bit like a formula. As well as those little blue guys, we get cameos from Granny doing a surprising amount of jommetry and Nanny who is surprisingly quiet, and a supporting role for the Queen of the elves. It's pretty good fare involving soem dream manipulation. Finally, it's good, but I still crave for the witches of Carpe Jugulum, where I was admittedly scared about what was going to happen. Surprisingly enough, I think I'll just read it over again!!
Rating:
Summary: Life in the Chalk Country
Review: The Wee Free Men is the thirtieth novel in the Discworld series. However, this volume doesn't feature Rincewind and the Luggage, the Watch or even Anhk-Morpork. It does have witches, though. In this novel, Tiffany Aching is a nine year old daughter of shepherds who thinks that she would like to be a witch, but isn't sure that her name is appropriate; of course, she could always change it when she grows up. Presently, she is attending her younger brother, Wentworth, the sticky one, who always demands sweets and wants to go to the toilet whenever he is frustrated. Then comes a susurrus (Tiffany has read the dictionary from front to back) and the everyday sounds around her dwindle, two tiny blue men with red hair leave the area rapidly, and a mass of bubbles comes down the stream toward them. She steps back and the green monster with large eyes and teeth misses as it tries to grab her. Meanwhile, Miss Perspicacia Tick, a wandering witch, notices something strange in the environment and determines that another worldline is about to collide with the discworld universe. She wants to attend to the problem, but her left elbow indicates that a witch is already present in the Chalk Country where the wall between the worlds is thinning. However, her scrying tells her that the witch is rather undertrained and Perspicacia decides to remedy that deficiency. After taking care of the Jenny Green-Teeth with the largest frying pan, Tiffany feels that there are some things she needs to know. When she goes to town to acquire some knowledge from the pack of perambulating pedagogues, she finds Miss Tick waiting for her and, for only one egg and a few carrots, tells her what she needs to know at that time. Miss Tick goes off to gather a coven to deal with the problem, but leaves her toad behind. Tiffany finds the toad useful at times, particularly as a translator, but he is subject to spates of legalisms. Moreover, the cold of fairy land drives him into semi-hibernation. This novel is about witchery, grandmothers, chalk, pictsies, lawyers, fairy queens, mispronunciationed words, and other assorted profundities. According to the product page, this book is for ages 9-12. Hogwash, that is merely the lower limit! Even people in their seventh decade can enjoy this book. The author was born in Chalk Country, lives in Chalk Country, and "says it is amazing how much of this books he didn't have to invent". It is another romp through the creations of a strange genius (is that an oxymoron?) who never fails to leave you satisfied. Highly recommended to all Pratchett fans and anyone else who enjoys subtle humor with a sardonic, yet common, touch.
Rating:
Summary: Abso-cussin'-marvellous!
Review: There's Terry Pratchett. And then there's... well, basically, a whole load of other people. But few of these other people can tie you to a story like Terry can. There's Tiffany. And then, well... There's her annoying little brother. Who only wants sweets and to go a-toylut. Of course there's education. If it wasn't there, children would have too much time to play and playing wouldn't be fun anymore. There's also Education. About how life really works (when other people think that things are just as they are, or make perfect sense, it's always interesting to actually take a look...). And then there's Terry on Education with a story of Tiffany and how witchcraft is about what things are really about. About the sound of silence, the comfort of an informed granny and the feel of a snowflake on your pointy nose. There is, well, nothing like it.
Rating: 
Summary: For children and adults
Review: The Wee Free Men is a story for children, set on the Discworld. Many children read the Discworld novels which are intended for adults, and no doubt many adults will read this story which is intended for children. That in itself says a lot about Pratchett and his unique style of writing. Previous to this one, Pratchett wrote another children's book, also set on the Discworld, entitled The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, for which he won the Carnegie Medal, deservedly.
For some reason that I couldn't quite put my finger on, I didn't like Wee Free Men quite as much as I liked Amazing Maurice. That is certainly not to say that WFM isn't good - on the contrary, it's great, and as a book for children it's certainly a small masterpiece, and another feather in the hat for Pratchett. Adults, however, may not enjoy it quite as much, but then, it wasn't intended for adults.
The story is about 9-year-old Tiffany Aching, who is everything a typical fairy tale heroine is not: she's resourceful, competent, smart, practical, level-headed, and she's going to become a witch when she grows up. We first meet her when she attacks a monster in a river, armed only with a frying pan while using her brother as bait. It turns out that monsters from people's nightmares are about to break into the world, and on top of that, Tiffany's little brother Wentworth (a sticky pest constantly demanding "sweets") gets kidnapped by the Queen of the Fairyland. So Tiffany sets out to get him back, armed with her frying pan and a book (Diseases of the Sheep), and accompanied by a talking toad and the Nac Mac Feegle - the little, blue, tattooed pictsies who got thrown out of Fairyland for being drunk and disorderly. They are thieves and brigands, they wear kilts and swords, and they fearlessly attack everything in sight (think of a cross between ordinary pixies and the barbaric Picts of ancient Scotland), but they're a lot of fun and an essential part of the story.
The adventure becomes a journey of discovery for Tiffany, and for the readers, as she learns what it really means to be a witch. There are a lot of lessons for children of all ages to learn in this book, and not just the lessons that Tiffany learns while adventuring her way through the story, but also lessons that are more subtle and intended for the young readers. As a book for children, The Wee Free Men is rivaled by few. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Humor Rates the Five Stars
Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend that I consider to have a similar sense of humor, but I was not prepared for how funny this book is. It takes a while to get going, sometimes it was a bit confusing at first -- probably a function of not being able to read it straight through -- but once the story pieces are in place, it rollicks right along. Not that the entire book is funny, but the parts that are stick with you. I found myself trying to explain passages to my spouse and ignoring the fact that so much of the humor is inexplicable out of context. For starters, if you don't think the fact that many of the supporting characters are "pictsies" instead of "pixies" and are dressed accordingly is at least a teeny bit funny, you may be reading the wrong book. Some of the reviewers on this site have complained about the thick Nac Mac Feegle accents, but I think that style only serves to increase the giggle factor. Especially as an Amurrican who gets a kick out of how different peoples speak to one another.
There are storytelling elements that will feel familiar. I found myself having thoughts of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe as I was reading about the evil Queen and her land of eternal winter, though that may have been a conscious nod to the classic fantasy genre on Mr. Pratchett's part.
On the whole, however, this book gets 5 stars so that other people will read it. I am a certified book junkie who has had to limit the additions to my collection because it is getting too large. This one made the cut for purchase after I finished the copy I had checked out of the public library. I like to imagine that when my kids grow up, this will be the kind of book that they too will enjoy.
It was certainly good enough for me to write my first review for Amazon, a site I've been using since 1997.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Addition to the Discworld Series
Review: This is an entertaining addition to the extensive Discworld series, although not the equal of 'Jingo' or 'Nightwatch'. The story stands alone well, and can be read without any reference to the rest of the series. While nominally a young adult book, it will be enjoyed by adults as well as kids (as is true for the rest of the series). As usual, Pratchett produces a vivid combination of outrageous humour, twisted cultural and literary references, satire and keen understanding of human nature, in a book that is both funny and thought provoking. Young Tiffany Aching sets out to rescue her brother from the dark side of fairlyland, armed with a frying pan, a copy of 'Diseases of the Sheep', and the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, three inch tall, blue skinned, red haired pictsies who will fight, drink or steal anything. The Nac Mac Feegle steal the show (as well as the sheep), causing me to laugh out loud on several occasions. This is, in many ways, an anti-fairy tale, turning the traditional fairy tale standards (and the modern sanitising thereof) upside down, giving us something that is more pragmatic, darker, and also more magical than typical Disney fare. At one point Tiffany reflects that everyone knows that fairy tale adventures generally happen to girls with blond hair and blue eyes, or red hair and green eyes, and that girls with brown hair and eyes are generally left to be secondary characters. This is a book that, in the spirit of Munsch's picture book 'The Paper Bag Princess', rejects the traditional role of helpless princess waiting to be rescued and gives us a story for brown haired people who would much rather be the ones doing the rescuing. In summary, this is a good addition to the Discworld series. Although not as good as the best books of the series, it stands alone quite well, and is definitely well worth reading. (Keep in mind that the four star rating is in comparison to other Pratchett, rather than your average book).
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely loved it!
Review: This is the story of Tiffany Aching, a 9-year-old farmers' daughter, living in a green, hilly, full-of-sheep countryside named the Chalk (DW). One day when she's walking by the river with her capricious baby brother Wentworth, she's attacked by Jenny Green-Teeth, a monster with long teeth and eyes as wide as eight-inch soup plates. Nightmares are invading the land. Not long after, Wentworth is kidnapped by the Queen of FairyLand. Following the advice of Miss Tick, a witch she met at the village fair, and her talking toad, and with the help of the Nac Mac Feegles, the blue-skinned little pictsies with the strong Scottish accent, she arms herself with a frying pan and her Granny's book on Diseases of the Sheep, and sets off in searched of her brother. Beside being extremely funny and packed with action, The Wee Free Men is also a really sweet book, full of Tiffany's fond memories of Granny Aching, who was a famous shepherd of the Chalk, and a kind of witch in her own way. It's a story both for adults and children, telling you to look at the World around you, and teaching you, in a light way, the respect of Nature or other moral values. This might well be my favourite Discworld book, I absolutely loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Another great Terry Pratchett book!
Review: This is the Thirtieth(!) book in Terry Pratchett's series on the Discworld--a flat world, supported on the backs of four massive elephants riding on the back of a planet-sized turtle, anything hilarious can happen here, and eventually does. Young Tiffany Aching has lived her young life in the Chalk, where raising sheep is the normal form of living. But, when creatures out of fairy tales begin to appear, she realizes that something is very wrong. A group of tiny blue men, with bright red hair and kilts (the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free Men) begin to take an interest in her, and Tiffany quickly learns that her very world is under attack by the Queen of the Elves. The Wee Free Men think that she is a witch, like her grandmother, and just maybe she will be one day, but she's not now. But, armed with her native intellect, her determination, and a wealth of memories of how her grandmother did things, Tiffany might just be enough. This is another *great* Terry Pratchett book! I have been a fan of this author for a long time, and this book does not let you down. As is often the case in Discworld books, a couple of "regulars" put in an appearance (Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg), but the show is definitely stolen by the Nac Mac Feegle - they are great! (Rob Anybody, Not-as-big-as-Medium-Sized-Jock-but-bigger-than-Wee-Jock-Jock, he he!) But, even beyond that, the story is enthralling and the characters are quite interesting. If you are a fan of humorous fantasy, then you must read this novel by the king of them all, Terry Pratchett!
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