The Wee Free Men

Rating:
Summary: The Terrror of Having Your Dreams Come True...
Review: "The Wee Free Men" is Terry Pratchett's second foray into Discworld-for-Young-Adults coming a year and a half after "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents" and six months after his last 'regular' Discworld book, "Night Watch". It revisits ground from "Lords and Ladies" and "Carpe Jugulum", which is fine, because with usual Pratchett flair, he tosses in enough wry satire, strange humor and generally good storytelling that you don't always notice when he goes back to some of his older material.

While the Nac Mac Feegle (the Wee Free Men last seen in "Carpe Jugulum"), little woad-tattooed Pictsies, do feature in a large chunk of the book, the heroine is Tiffany, a nine-year-old witch's granddaughter and budding witch herself who must be the singularly most sensible (but still likeable) character I've ever read in a book directed at an audience less than 18 years old. She struggles to cope with the death of a grandmother who, even though she died more than a year ago, has still had a huge impact on her life. She also struggles with making sense of the world - both as a young girl and as a human being, and she struggles with the Queen of the Elves/Fairies (last seen in "Lords and Ladies") in what becomes a metaphor for maturity and clarity in a large, scary world. Pratchett's moral is that just because you're not yet officially an adult, it doesn't mean that you can't understand the world any less well. This is a theme he's played with before, but it's always appropriate no matter how many times he brings it out.

As a huge Discworld fan, I really enjoyed this book - possibly even more than "The Amazing Maurice...", although it's probably not at quite the same level of literary excellence as his previous work. Fans of Pratchett in general will undoubtedly appreciate his jabs at academia, fairy tales and the Harry Potter series (which future books about Tiffany may someday parody more explicitly). For fans of Discworld, not only are Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle two of his more interesting creations (which is saying something), but the cameo by Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg at the end is delightful. Missing, though, is the obligatory cameo by Death - possibly for the first time ever in a Discworld book.

Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone regardless of age or knowledge of Discworld. As with "The Amazing Maurice..." the Discworld cosmology is relatively light, so if you're not familiar with the Disc, it won't get in the way of enjoying the book. If you are, though, his subtle touches and revisitations throughout the book make it a more integrated work than his last foray into Discworld-Young-Adult. Either way, though, it's a great book.

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Summary: It's as much a Fairy-tale as anything...
Review: ...but can easily be called a Discworld novel, a children's book, or both, because it happens in Discworld and has a young protagonist solving the problems that adults fail to notice.

Tiffany Aching is the second-youngest in a long line of Aching shepherds and farmers who have "the land in their bones" because they've been there so long and are as much a part of the land, called The Chalk (or the Wold, by the old) because of what lies inches below the dense grass that has survived centuries of sheep.

The first youngest Aching person is her little brother Wentworth, a perpetually sticky child who's turned potty-training into a form of extortion. Maybe it's his stickyness, or some sense of cosmic justice, but fairytales - real faerie-tales with the Queen and pixies and things made out of dreams in keeping with faerie-lore traditions from outside Discworld - are out to get him.

The suprising thing is that Tiffany, who thinks he's sticky and noisy and useless, is out to get him back, with the aid of a big iron frying pan and some very small blue people with kilts and swords. The little blue men are rebels against anyone and everything, and call themselves the Wee Free Men. They know the rules of fairytales that Tiffany has been pondering, the way to get Wentworth back, and how to give anything and everything a good fierce kicking.

If you're a fan of Discworld, you'll enjoy this book because it explores folklore the way "Lords and Ladies" and "Hogfather" do and magic/spirituality the way just about anything with the Lancre Coven or the Unseen University staff does. If you like fairytales and folklore, you'll enjoy this book because it explores what happens when the tales and the people they're told to interact directly. If you like children's books that regard children as intelligent beings trying to make sense out of the world and doing a fairly good job of it, you'll like this book.

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Summary: Wee Free Men dialect makes for one difficult read
Review: I have read at least a dozen of Terry Pratchett's books and have enjoyed every one of them. I pre-ordered this and was going to pass it on to my niece who is 13 when I was finished. This was a very difficult story to read in part to the speaking and then writing of dialect of the Wee Free Men. I found that it wasn't funny and as the story progressed, they spoke even more making it even more difficult to read as an adult let alone a child. This is supposed to be a children's book isn't it? I didn't think the story to be nearly as good as "Amazing Maurice", "Soul Music", "Mort", or "Unequal Rights". Those all highlighted the wit of Pratchett as well as his different sense of humor. I found this missing throughout this book. Not a bad story but not equal to his previous efforts. Discworld is his strength, with characters such as the witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick,the Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully, the Librarian, Rincewind, the Bursar, the Watch, Vertineri......He should stick to his strengths. Anyway not a bad book just not up to his other works.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It beats Maurice hands down as a kids book. I think the major problem with some of the reviewers is that they didn't realise that it's a children's book. How can you expect Pratchett at his all time best when he has to take into account that his readers porbably definately haven't read Oedipus Rex or don't know the socio-political status of the world and its countries. That's not to say that the book is dumbed down because it's not. It's vastly hilarious and you can't help but love the Nac Mac Feegle. It gives you great insight into Pratchett's Witches and also offer's a new light on fairytale's to kids. All in all, another great discworld book and I hope to see the wee free men and tiffany back. hopefully even in the adult series.

I have the brittish version and the cover is way better. check it out

Rating:
Summary: Not top-shelf Pratchett
Review: In his second Discworld novel for young adults, Pratchett takes us to "The Chalk", a rough land where sheep farmers eke out a meager existence, and six inch-tall Nac Mac Feegles fight with just about anything that moves. Onto the scenes strides Tiffany, a nine-year-old would be witch who gradually discovers a sinister plot by the Queen to unleash monsters against her home while abducting her brother Wentworth. Themewise, "The Wee Free Men" covers much of the same ground as earlier novels featuring the witches, including the strength of folk wisdom and the importance of self-reliance. The story celebrates Tiffany use of intelligence (and a well-placed frying pan) rather than magic or physical strength.

Which is what we expect from Pratchett, of course. But this novel strays from the course in some respects, in ways that are hard to put your finger on. For one, particularly towards the ending it grows sappy. Long passages abandon Pratchett's trademark razor wit and go for an emotionaly glurge in Tiffany's moments of self discovery. And the overall structure of the narrative just jumps around too much, making it hard to keep track of. We also get discussions of government, class conflict, witch hunts, academics, lawyers, and lots more. In fact, the story is almost too densely packed this time, and for whatever reason it just doesn't add up to a towering accomplishment. Try "Guards! Guards!", "Mort", or Small Gods" instead.

There are, of course, flashes of the trademark Pratchett humor. The high point, in my humble opinion, are the excerpts from a book of folk remedies for diseases of sheep. But overall "The Wee Free Men" simply isn't destined to become a classic. Great authors must take risks, and if you take risks then by definition a few of your projects must fail. This books reminds us that even the greatest living fantasy author can't be perfect on every single occasion. Better luck next time, Terry.

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Summary: Crivens ! We Willna' Be Fooled Again !
Review: Miss Perspicacia Tick is a full-time witch with a Gold Swimming Certificate from the Quirm College for Young Ladies. As the book opens, she has just discovered a ripple in the walls of the world - this, she suspects,is being caused by another world making contact. The point of contact appears to be in an area called the Chalk - she thinks she should go and investigate, but her elbow (which is rarely wrong) tells her there is already a witch living there.

Tiffany Aching, the book's heroine, is nine years old and lives on a farm in the Chalk. She has six older sisters, one younger brother (the permanently sticky Wentworth) and is very good with cheese. Throughout the book, it's clear she idolised her Granny Aching, who died when Tiffany was seven. Granny was a shepherdess, an expert on sheep, very fond of Jolly Sailor tobacco and - Tiffany suspects - a witch. Remembering how Granny always said it was important to speak up for those who have no voice, Tiffany has decided she wants to be a witch as well.

As it turns out, Tiffany is the witch Miss Tick's elbow sensed and has the gifts of First Sight and Second Thoughts. Miss Tick is also correct about two worlds colliding - Fairyland, ruled by the Queen, is running into the Discworld. Fairyland is where dreams come true, which isn't quite as pleasant as you might think - nightmares, after all, also count as dreams. Worse yet, after having "rescued" Wentworth from Jenny Green-Teeth, thanks to an expertly delivered frying-pan to the face, Wentworth is kidnapped by the Queen. Tiffany feels it's up to herto rescue him and bring him home.

The stars of the book, however, are the Wee Free Men. Also known as the Nac Mac Feegle, they were thrown out of Fairyland for being drunk, disorderly and rebelloius. A Pictsie race, they are covered in tattoos, have blue skin and red hair and wear little other than kilts and swords. Extremely strong and fast, they enjoy stealing, fighting and drinking - Granny Aching's Special Sheep Linament is a particular favourite. They don't like telling anyone their names, think writing is magical and are frightened only of lawyers. Luckily for Tiffany, they join her raid on Fairyland. Rob Anybody Feegle, the Big Man O' The Clan, is especially brave, while Not-as-big-as-Medium-Sized-Jock-but-bigger-than-Wee-Jock-Jock is notable for his willingness to use poetry in tight situations. The Toad (Miss Tick's familiar) - who is reasonably sure he was once human - also offers Tiffany a great deal of advice on her travels. His current condition is the result of having crossed a Fairy Godmother.

"The Wee Free Men", a "Story of Discworld" rather than a "Discworld Novel", won the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2004. If you've enjoyed anything from the ordinary Discworld series, you'll certainly enjoy this !

Rating:
Summary: The Wee Free Men
Review: Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching follows in her Granny Aching's footsteps as an unlikely witch, to rescue her baby brother who has been kidnapped by the Fairy Queen. Accompanied by a talking toad and armed with her wits and an iron frying pan, she takes on an invasion from Fairyland, and creatures like water hag Jenny Greenteeth, a headless horseman, and hounds with fiery eyes and razor teeth. She allies herself with the Nac Mac Feegle (the Wee Free Men), six inches tall and covered with blue tattoos, who have abandoned Fairyland and its treacherous Queen to live free. Famous for "stealin' and drinkin' and fightin'," they exuberantly plunge into Fairyland with Tiffany to encounter the Queen and her nightmare world with "monsters exactly as bad as you can think of."
Tiffany's clear-sighted common sense and propensity to think things through, coupled with her commitment to fight for the ones who have no voice, which she learned from her Granny, see her through. She is grounded, as a witch needs to be, in the earth where she was raised. In fighting the Queen's dreams the secret is to wake up, to know where you come from and where you are going. The plays on words and banter are also great fun, and the action and humor in this post-modern fairytale will make it a great hit with readers far beyond Pratchett's Discworld base.



Rating:
Summary: Through another Looking Glass
Review: Pratchett has created Tiffany in Dreamland - a Discworld version of the girl on a quest. Could this turn out to become a new timeless classic like Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass? Why ever not. Alice's adventures have infiltrated everyday English culture and language with their images and proverbial sayings. So might the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free Men, enrich our mind's eye and add to our vocabulary with expressions like "Crivens "! Whatever its long-term influence, this wonderful story is highly entertaining for everybody. Its expressive ironic humour as well as its underlying wisdom reach far beyond the Discworld fans.

Tiffany Aching, the heroine of the story, inquisitive and mature for her nine years, views herself as an apprentice witch. She has the tools: a cast-iron frying pan, a piece of string, an unusual book of recipes, and, above all, the memory of her very special granny. To rescue her brother, Tiffany has to enter a fairyland, full of strange and dangerous creatures, all controlled by an evil "Quin". Fortunately, she has inherited "first sights and second thoughts" - a powerful combination for a budding witch. These are essential talents for her to distinguish between reality and dreams: "to see what is really there" and what is imagination created within a dream. "Follow your dream", Miss Tick's advice to Tiffany, builds up to a real challenge when Tiffany, after fighting wild animals and dream-creating dromes finally confronts the Queen. She has to peel off layer after layer of their dreams to escape from being taken over by them, then use her own dreaming power to find a way back to her own reality.

Tiffany's quest wouldn't have a chance at being successful - and would be a lot less funny -without the Nac Mac Feegle. What a hilarious bunch of little guys in kilts (only one girl and the ageing kelda) they are: full of mischief, fighting spirit and a wonderful version of Scottish. Wouldn't you like those around to do the chores around the house! But you would need some witching power - otherwise they would go back to their nasty tricks, like stealing eggs or making the sheep disappear. Their language and vivid expressions are a treat in themselves. Turning up in a black suit with a bow tie, one of them explains sheepishly: "The dream wouldnae let us in unless we wuz properly dressed..."

Pratchett has created a real gem of a Discworld story here - fast moving, imaginative and highly entertaining for young and old. It would not be Pratchett if he did not find a way to weave in some educational messages and real-life round-world wisdoms. [Friederike Knabe, Ottawa Canada]

Rating:
Summary: Quick, amusing, delightful and thoroughly modern
Review: Pratchett's take on physics, the nature of time, lawyers, country folk, elementary education, The Scots, pop culture and many conventions of the fantasy novel amuse me to no end. This is a thinking person's book, referencing thoroughly modern theories of all of the above. These references are embedded in a fantasy quest story true to the genre - there's a resented infant sibling to be rescued, magics working against the heroine, a cast of insane helpers, inner powers as yet undiscovered, and a handful of lawyer jokes.

Brilliant, with lots to ponder once you've put the book down. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A fine unabridged story of Discworld
Review: Stephen Briggs performs The Wee Free Man, a fine unabridged story of Discworld in an engaging audio recommended for young adult and adult listener alike. Armed with only a frying pan and good sense, would-be witch Tiffany is slated to be the defender of her home against the monsters of Fairyland. Her journey into the forbidden kingdom will lead her against the forces of evil - and on the side of the unlikely Wee Free Men, a clan of tiny sheep-stealing six-inch-tall blue men. Briggs adds a powerful narrative voice, here.