Lords and Ladies

Rating:
Summary: Lacks the spirit of its predecessors
Review: The witches are back! After their disc-spanning adventures in "Witches Abroad" Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and the young Margrat return to the hilly Kingdom of Lancre. Not only is Margrat about to be wed to King Verence, also it is the period where the gates to the other world are not so tightly locked: Circle Time has just started. And everybody knows that one should not start dancing around old stones when during this period, if one is to avoid getting their head in a deep mess. And deep mess you are in if the Lords and Ladies break through to this world, because these Elves may be cute, but they can kick quite some ass and more…

Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth Discworld novel and the fourth time the three witches appear on the stage. This book is a bit of a slow starter, but once the stage is set nothing Terry’s imagination goes completely wild. This time maybe a bit too wild, because it clearly results in a rather clumsy ending. Not that this will bother the reader much, because some of the settings really compensate for this flaw: one of the most refreshing scenes is surely the almost love-affaire between our dearest Granny Weatherwax and Arch-Chancellor Ridcully. Nanny Ogg also gets a stalker: Casanunda, the world’s second greatest lover. The appearance of the “ook ook” Librarian and the cameo of DEATH makes this book an all-round classic episode in the Discworld saga. Sadly enough it lacks behind in comparison to its remarkable predecessors: “Weird Sisters” and “Witches Abroad”.

The book is a parody on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and if you are not acquainted with this work – like me, I must admit -, be prepared to miss the clues of quite a lot of jokes (I read it in combination with the annotations available on the internet).

Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Book
Review: This is the 14th of Pratchett's Discworld series. It picks up practically where the last Witches book ("Witches Abroad") left off (arriving back from their trip abroad). This book is based on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." What's nice about this book is the linkage between the Witches and the Wizards. Along with Granny, Nanny, and Magrat, a good part of the book is based on Arch-Chancellor Ridcully's and Granny's youth. There's also some work with the Librarian, Ponder Stibbons and the-now-medicated Bursar. Also, this is Magrat's swan song. The book's not quite as good as "Witches Abroad," but I still had tears in my eyes from laughing so much.

Rating:
Summary: Round the Discworld
Review: A Discworld novel--Pratchett's long-running cash cow that has him at the apex of the UK bestseller lists even more than Stephen King tops the NY Time list. What does that say about our two countries? America's most bought [note a] author plies his trade by staking out our fears in lengthy, brand name driven folk tales. While King has style, it always makes me think of him as a Southerner, rather than a backwoods boy from Maine. In stark contrast, Pratchett writes allusion-laden fantasies about a world propped up on the backs of four elephants on a giant tortoise (or something like that), wherein the jokes flit between Shakespeare parody and the physicality of Mr. Bean. Americans see their world as full of dangers; the British simply see it as absurd.

For all his gore, there lurks something underneath King's monstrous fiction, and the same applies to Pratchett. The absurdity means something to him--it is as if you must choose a worldview, and these are your choices.

Lords and Ladies is the third [note c] book that I've read by Pterry [note d], and I'm surprised to relay that I'm liking him more and more with each successive book. I nearly never bothered with him again after reading the first Discworld book, The Colour of Magic. It had not met its hype, and I waited five years before having a second go at the recommendation of Bob Gore. Pratchett is someone that I've always felt that I should like--I am an unabashed fan of written humor, especially of the British variety, and I like fantasy, especially when it does not take itself seriously. But, for some reason, I never clicked with the Discworld. That may be changing.

This novel concerns the witches that I met in my second attempt at Pratchett (Wyrd Sisters) returning home to the kingdom of Lancre after an eight-month absence and discovering that things have changed a little in the interim. Some gels [note e] have been dancing around the stones without their knickers on, and you know what that might bring: Her and Her court. In a subplot, the youngest witch is getting hitched to the king (who just happens to be the ex-Fool), if she can figure out just what a Queen is supposed to do (and it better not be only tapestries). There's a lot going on here--much more plot than I remembered being in a Discworld book--and it is easy to get lost. The foreword warns potential readers that this book is unlike some of the others in this series as it relies on a certain familiarity with the characters, but I did not have too much of a problem even with my relative novice status.

Finally, the best thing about reading this now (i.e., in 1999) is that I had the ability to look up the Annotated Pratchett Film to make sure I was catching all the jokes. Maybe this is what I needed nearly fifteen years ago when I sat down to read Pratchett for the first time?

[a] Remember, the bestseller list only records how many books are sold,[note b] not read.

[b] Actually, it is a measure of how many books are shipped to bookstores, many of which go unsold and are returned to publishers to be remaindered later.

[c] And a half, if we include Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Neal Gaiman.

[d] It's a fan thing, this name. Familiarity breeds weirdness.

[e] Girls.

Rating:
Summary: Far from Terry's best, with but a few moments of hilarity
Review: This is far from my favourite Pratchett fare. It pales in comparison to the other books of his I've read, especially in direct comparison to the other Witches' adventures. "Wyrd Sisters", which Terry proclaims in the Author's Note is prerequisite reading before delving here, was a more exciting adventure for Granny Weatherwax and her curious coven to undertake. "Lords and Ladies" feels like a derivative retread. And "Wyrd Sisters", which deconstructed "MacBeth", brought more insight into its Shakespearean source than this does for "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Witness his treatment of the character of the Fool, so strong and vibrant in "Wyrd Sisters". He is little more than background material here, a bureaucratic imminent king, indifferent to his fiancee's perspective, and caught up in the ritual of his duty. I suppose something could be said for the themes brought out by his transformation from Fool to King, but it didn't interest me one bit. Except for one bit where it is discovered that the Fool, so accustomed to sleeping curled up in a ball outside the King's door, can't truly get used to his new status and thus now sleeps curled up in a ball on the other side of the door. It's a beautiful little moment.

One character who does make a strong impression is second-Witch-in-command Nanny Ogg. Her down home malapropisms and sunny (but implicitly precarious) demeanor make her a joy to read. Late in the book, she is teamed once again with Casamunda, the self-proclaimed second greatest lover in the world and incessant liar. Watch her skillfully fend off his advances; watch him quickly get back on the horse for another go. I'd love to see what Pratchett could do with these two over a whole book. It at least broke up the (soon-to-be) monotony of watching Granny Weatherwax grouch her way through another typical adventure.

The central conceit here is that elves, previously believed to be cute and cuddly creatures in popular mythology, are really evil. Terribly evil. Unspeakably evil. When elves are around "life was certainly more interesting... but usually it was shorter. And it was more colourful, if you liked the colour of blood". Okay? So? I don't think Terry does much with this notion. The elves he concocts are not frightening at all, at least in comparison to other Discworld villains. And the final confrontation feels like every other final confrontation Granny Weatherwax has been involved in. The lack of suspense was a surprising discovery. To me, this is Terry's first true misstep in the Discworld series.

Although I thought little of the story, Terry's sense of humour remains intact. There are many fine examples to choose from, but here are a few of my favourites:

.. a delicious footnote about the naming adventures of the Carter family, ends with Hope Carter becoming a depressive, while Bestiality Carter is generally kind to animals.

.. a word that beings with 'M', that means "seein' the other person's point of view"? Empathy.

.. More fun with Latin: "Il Porcupino Nil Sodomy Est" is, I think, a nod to true hardcore Internet Pratchett fans.

.. the New York second (defined as the time between when the light turns green and the cab behind you honks)

.. "Magrat says a broomstick is one of them sexual metaphor things" (although this is a phallusy)

Terry amazes, yet again, with his verbal gymnastics. I just wish he'd tacked them on a worthwhile story. I guess one sub-par book in fourteen (so far) is not a bad ratio. Don't worry about skipping "Lords and Ladies" on your way through the Discworld catalog. You won't miss much.

Rating:
Summary: Elvish Suspense
Review: This is easily one of the best Discworld novels to date. While trolls and dwarves have been dealt with during the series, elves have been left out...until now. The novel follows the witches just as they are returning from their journey chronicled in Witches Abroad. Magrat is faced with the prospect of actually marrying the King of Lancre, nee the Foole. Meanwhile, Granny begins to question her sanity and to feel her own mortality. Without giving too much away, the novel builds suspense to a level not yet seen in the Discworld series. To further complicate matters, Granny also finds herself face to face with a person from her past...a name which will be very familiar to avid Pratchett readers.

Rating:
Summary: A Midsummer Night's Entertainment.
Review: This is one on my favorite Terry Pratchett novels , with loads of characters, a great plot, and one of the best narrations ever. The story goes on like this: Elves, who are able to deceive humans about their looks, decided to take over the peaceful kingdom of Lancre. But the Elves face problems: The people of Lancre are not going to give in without a fight. Cause Granny Weatherwax is leading them. Technically. And to top it off, a group of wizards and a very Casanova-like dwarf happens to be there. And so all the ingredients for a total slaughter is there, ready for you.
A great story, and I especially like the Wizards' coach journey towards Lancre. Bound to make you laugh. It WILL make you laugh.

Rating:
Summary: O.K. for the "fantasy as farce" genre
Review: I am not a big fan of comical fantasy...I've always preferred the gritty Robert E. Howard style to the silly and anachronistic Piers Anthony school. But I must admit that Pratchett has a gift for working up endearing and memorable characters and putting them smack dab in the middle of totally off-the-wall and unbelievable settings and situations. The characters come across as very real persons (may remind you of folks you actually know...), and Pratchett conjures up the chummy atmosphere of a rural English town (Kingdom of Lancre=Medieval England) quite nicely with the humorous verbal exchanges of the principal players (Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax are a hoot).

This novel differs from most other works of its kind in one startling aspect...the elves are the bad guys. For all of you fantasy fans who are sick to death of tired re-hashings of Tolkien's faeries, this will no doubt be a refreshing curve ball. Pratchett presents them here as an extra-dimensional race of magical humanoids devoid of morality who utilize the inherent self-loathing of human beings to achieve their sadistic ends by clouding men's minds with glamour. The elves enter Disc World at Crop Circle time when the fabric between the dimensions of the Multiverse are weakest...in this story, the weakest spot in Lancre is located at the Dancers, a ring of standing stones that fell from space in ages past. The stones actually serve as a barrier for the Gentry, for they are composed of a sort of iron ore base that hampers the elves' powers of perception and action. So, the elves have to relye upon human BELIEF in them to weaken the space-time fabric even more so that they may achieve the power to act freely in Disc World. Of course, Granny is wise to what's up (she "knows what time it is", so to speak), so most of the action in the book centers around Granny and her chums trying to push back the elf invasion of their home dimension after a group of bumbling local craftsmen perform a version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Dancers (to celebrate Magrat's marriage to King Verence) and bring about an influx of the sadistic Gentry (after the area has already been weakened by the dancing and sabbats of a group of young witches who mistakenly believe that the stones were put up by Druids...). Oh, well, just read the book.

I still don't know exactly what to think of this goofy novel, but at least it left me curious enough to want to check out some of the other Disc World books.

Oh, as for the cryptic references to ancient Celtic Britain..."Herne the Hunted"=Cernunnos, "Queen Ynci"=Boudiccea, you may note more :).

Rating:
Summary: Hey nonny nonny!
Review: This Pratchett book picks up on something that Shakespeare missed; if elves are GOOD, why were they so careless with the humans in Midsummer Night's Dream? Pratchett reveals why; "elves are BAD". They're chilling enemies but they've met their match in Weatherwax's coven!
This is not only epic and creepy, but has a lot of character development. We see Weatherwax starting to become afraid of death... only to make a final and tragic stand against the elves.
" You try to frighten me with becoming OLD? "
It's a great book, full of action, drama, humour and orang-utans. And with that, I'll leave with the Nanny Ogg to "Oberon" quote:
" Now, I have a soft spot for you. But I have kiddies, you see, and they don't leave milk out for elves or hide under the stairs because of thunder or run home because they're scared of the night, and before we return to those dark days I'LL SEE YOU NAILED. "

Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This is an excellent Discworld novel. Worth a look, if only for it's interesting take on elves, which is about as far from the Tolkein version as one can imagine. Warning: the description on the back of the book is completely off in tone, making the novel sound like a fantasy genre version of "Gremlins." Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is an enjoyable, even moving reading experience- so go buy it. C'mon. You know you want to.

Rating:
Summary: If you Hate elves... this is your book *grin*
Review: If you are a Pratchett fan then I am wasting my time telling you what a genius Terry is... if you're not yet a Pratchett fan, you need to find your introduction book to the master of Fantasy Satire.

Something in the Ramtops is allowing a touch of Fairy to re-enter the world and the Witches three are sitting still for it. But everyone else think that Elves are wonderful, terrific, anazing and glamorous... till they find out what those words REALLY mean...

A must have for any fan of the Wyrd Sisters.