nicanical
Wyrd Sisters is the second book in Discworld's Witches sub-series. Granny Weatherwax responds to a crisis following the accession of a new king. She is joined by Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, the three witches together forming the Lancre coven.
Some parts are convoluted because plot points are explained through the witches' banter, which is often ambiguous although very entertaining. This is a story that will benefit from a reread, allowing the plot to be offloaded to memory.
This is first Discworld story where I laughed out loud. Probably because there's more witty dialogue here, whereas previous entries relied mainly on satire and absurdity.
Wyrd Sisters is the second book in Discworld's Witches sub-series. Granny Weatherwax responds to a crisis following the accession of a new king. She is joined by Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick, the three witches together forming the Lancre coven.
Some parts are convoluted because plot points are explained through the witches' banter, which is often ambiguous although very entertaining. This is a story that will benefit from a reread, allowing the plot to be offloaded to memory.
This is first Discworld story where I laughed out loud. Probably because there's more witty dialogue here, whereas previous entries relied mainly on satire and absurdity.
A sourceror is born (an eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son) disrupting the balance of magical power on Discworld. Rincewind answers the call, supported by barbarian-hairdresser-thief Conina, aspiring barbarian Nijel, Klatchian Seriph Creosote, and the Luggage of course.
The story rambles a bit three-quarters in. Also around this point, circumstance splits the gang three ways. The loss of the fun group dynamic is huge, and why I think the story ends not with a bang but with a whimper.
A sourceror is born (an eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son) disrupting the balance of magical power on Discworld. Rincewind answers the call, supported by barbarian-hairdresser-thief Conina, aspiring barbarian Nijel, Klatchian Seriph Creosote, and the Luggage of course.
The story rambles a bit three-quarters in. Also around this point, circumstance splits the gang three ways. The loss of the fun group dynamic is huge, and why I think the story ends not with a bang but with a whimper.
Added to listOwnedwith 122 books.
Saw the film with Aaron Eckhart years ago, the book certainly ends differently than I expected.
Christopher Buckley's writing is functional and gets out of your way.
Saw the film with Aaron Eckhart years ago, the book certainly ends differently than I expected.
Christopher Buckley's writing is functional and gets out of your way.
Sophomoric prose: too much hedging and qualifying, e.g., "sort ofs" and "kind ofs"; similes made awkward by wrenched comparisons and excessive length; sloppy continuity and logic, e.g., the protagonist, Dresden, returns home after being out all day to pick up "fresh-baked bread" for a spell—if you've been away all day, how fresh could it be?
Jim Butcher overexplains Dresden's thoughts even where obvious: if a character clenches their fists and grits their teeth, you don't need to then say they are frustrated. Also, while some sexual objectification is to be expected given Storm Front's noir and hardboiled influences, Butcher writes these parts like a lecherous teenager. Dresden comes off like a leering pervert, less Bogey to Bacall.
The magic system suffers from its own inconsistencies. It is less a system and more an ass-pull. For example, magic users disrupt nearby machinery:
"It has something to do with being a wizard, with working with magical forces. The more delicate and modern the machine is, the more likely it is that something will go wrong if I get close enough to it."
Stereos, telephones, and elevators are affected yet Dresden can use cars without issue? His personal Volkswagen Beetle does break down in one scene. But that's due to the Beetle's age more than anything else because he rides cabs and drives a TransAm elsewhere without issue. (It's not a matter of chemical combustion versus electronics either because guns are also disrupted).
Another example: magic circles used for summoning or protection are easily broken by penetrating them. Near the end, a plastic canister pierces a field cast by such a circle, disabling it. However, earlier in the book, a plastic bottle thrown and caught from inside a similar circle does not disable it. Why?!
The pacing—to the extent I can discern it separately from prose—is good, with balanced beats of action and reaction.
Sophomoric prose: too much hedging and qualifying, e.g., "sort ofs" and "kind ofs"; similes made awkward by wrenched comparisons and excessive length; sloppy continuity and logic, e.g., the protagonist, Dresden, returns home after being out all day to pick up "fresh-baked bread" for a spell—if you've been away all day, how fresh could it be?
Jim Butcher overexplains Dresden's thoughts even where obvious: if a character clenches their fists and grits their teeth, you don't need to then say they are frustrated. Also, while some sexual objectification is to be expected given Storm Front's noir and hardboiled influences, Butcher writes these parts like a lecherous teenager. Dresden comes off like a leering pervert, less Bogey to Bacall.
The magic system suffers from its own inconsistencies. It is less a system and more an ass-pull. For example, magic users disrupt nearby machinery:
"It has something to do with being a wizard, with working with magical forces. The more delicate and modern the machine is, the more likely it is that something will go wrong if I get close enough to it."
Stereos, telephones, and elevators are affected yet Dresden can use cars without issue? His personal Volkswagen Beetle does break down in one scene. But that's due to the Beetle's age more than anything else because he rides cabs and drives a TransAm elsewhere without issue. (It's not a matter of chemical combustion versus electronics either because guns are also disrupted).
Another example: magic circles used for summoning or protection are easily broken by penetrating them. Near the end, a plastic canister pierces a field cast by such a circle, disabling it. However, earlier in the book, a plastic bottle thrown and caught from inside a similar circle does not disable it. Why?!
The pacing—to the extent I can discern it separately from prose—is good, with balanced beats of action and reaction.
Guards! Guards! is another fun entry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
Pratchett pulls from more areas of Discworld lore here compared with, e.g., Equal Rites and Mort. Equal Rites for instance is a straight coming of age story with wizards and witches, set half in Ankh-Morpork, half in the Ramtops. Guards! meanwhile is a buddy cop story at its core that ties in dwarves, dragons, wizards, and political intrigue, with Captain Vimes's redemption and Carrot's coming of age arcs running parallel with the main buddy cop-mystery story.
This broad scope can make the story feel jumbled. Pratchett also rambles more in this one, unraveling tangents that might otherwise have been tucked into footnotes.
Pacing is good.
Guards! Guards! is another fun entry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
Pratchett pulls from more areas of Discworld lore here compared with, e.g., Equal Rites and Mort. Equal Rites for instance is a straight coming of age story with wizards and witches, set half in Ankh-Morpork, half in the Ramtops. Guards! meanwhile is a buddy cop story at its core that ties in dwarves, dragons, wizards, and political intrigue, with Captain Vimes's redemption and Carrot's coming of age arcs running parallel with the main buddy cop-mystery story.
This broad scope can make the story feel jumbled. Pratchett also rambles more in this one, unraveling tangents that might otherwise have been tucked into footnotes.
Pacing is good.
What an intriguing writing style. Elmore Leonard does most of his work with dialogue and free indirect speech. I scarcely recall any regular descriptive passages but I visualized the story easily.
Freaky Deaky's story is a bit of a crime comedy. The comedy coming from the unexpected and roundabout ways the characters interact with each other. Pacing is good throughout, there's just a feebleness to the ending because of how swift it is.
What an intriguing writing style. Elmore Leonard does most of his work with dialogue and free indirect speech. I scarcely recall any regular descriptive passages but I visualized the story easily.
Freaky Deaky's story is a bit of a crime comedy. The comedy coming from the unexpected and roundabout ways the characters interact with each other. Pacing is good throughout, there's just a feebleness to the ending because of how swift it is.