Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel: 3

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She told me that if magic gives people what they want, then not using magic can give them what they need. At the university, the librarian seems the only one smart enough to see Esk and see her for what she is - and to be kind to her (granted, only after she gave him bananas but still). I firmly believe that Equal Rites is the best book to start with if you've never read Terry Pratchett or Discworld.

Lovely tome, this. I fell for Pratchett only recently, after giving “Guards, Guards” a try. To me, he’s the fantasy equivalent of my favorite Science Fiction humorist, Douglas Adams. I enjoyed “Equal Rites” just as much as “Guards, Guards.” For once the sky was clear, the high Ramtops standing out crisp and white like brides of the sky with their trousseaux stuffed with thunderstorms."

My Book Notes

The story is about a wizard who is dying who passes his staff the eighth son of an eighth son (which is required to become a wizard). Unfortunately for him, he was a bit careless and the eighth son was actually a daughter. So this girl goes on an adventure to become a wizard in an all-male university. This motive is repeated throughout the whole series, be it in the witch novels, Tiffany Aching, or the other sub series, it´s the most realistic part of this fantasy world, the reflection of the real world aberrations ruling for millennia since matriarchy was abolished by all the monuments of patriarch idiocy called human history.

One element that never wavers in this story is the character development, the big strength of this book. The characters are funny, charming, likeable, inquisitive, and flawed; they are not just fantasy parodies, they are real people. Some of the best moments in this story are when the characters experience the realisation of their flaws for the first time and are forced to deal with them, and they always do, usually in spectacular fashion. Characters interaction is another big strength, the dialogue is sharp and witty, the banter really flows, and you get the sense that you are watching real people having real interactions with one another. Character building is a hallmark of Pratchetts writing, and its great to see just how strong it was so early in his writing career. That isn't to say this book is preachy or in your face about it. It simply that the satire is definitely more directed at real world issues than fantasy tropes like the first two books. It sounds like this sort of thing is more common in later books, so I find it interesting that he changed up the style so early on in the series. But power is unpredictable, and these bright young students soon find themselves in a whole new dimension of trouble. Let the battle of the sexes begin....

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Witch supreme (or that's what I'm calling her) - and that only because of her stare, to say nothing of her actual magical talents. And yes, I can totally see Maggie Smith playing her in a movie! Pratchett's writing is a lot better in this book than the first two, a clear demonstration of how a writers craft matures the more they write. His writing style this early in the series is still very hit and miss with some amazing sections of dialogue offset by some average world building, in particular the scenes where he tries to explain the how magic of Discworld works. Tedious. The pacing in this story is pretty good for the most part, with a smooth start and a fast finish broken up by some slow staccato sections in the middle. These sections seem to correspond with the magic description sections which makes sense to me as these sections are quite confusing and often require a couple of re-reads to understand the point Pratchett is trying to make. On the whole the writing is a vast improvement on the first two books and while there may be a few issues with the writing it us great to have an A to B narrative that had been previously missing. A Morris Minor is a British car that non-Brits might be familiar with either through the video clip for Madness' song 'Driving in my car', or through the TV series Lovejoy. In that series, Lovejoy's car 'Miriam' is a Morris Minor. For the rest of you, and is descrbed as follows: Equal Rites, Sir Terry’s third installment in the Discworld series is a peach of practical magic. Telling the story of a young girl’s conflicting talents for wizardry and / or witchery.

If I was not already a Terry Pratchet fan, I would be after reading this exceptional book as we are formally introduced to Granny Weatherwax, witch. Qué ganas tenía de releer esta saga. Es una de mis favoritas de Pratchett (por el momento). Esta novela la encontré de casualidad en una tienda de segunda mano en Oviedo. En ese momento estaba leyendo la saga de la muerte. Otra saga que también recomiendo bastante y también pendiente de releer ( tengo más lista pendiente de relecturas que de nuevas lecturas pero en fin). You could fill a whole book with witty musings from Granny W, and there were plenty in this book, but I shall just limit myself to "be shure to wear loose clowthing also that no vysitors exspected", oh and "Nevertheless I think that on the whole I would prefer you to move your hands ".Pratchett was a feminist and there is no better way than the contrast between the first novels around the incompetent, and to a certain extent evil, Rincewind, and the selfless and clever witches to show and demonstrate mens´ hairy deficits and how he is rolling. Whenever the power hungry, manipulative, conservative, lazy, aggressive,… males, wizards, emperors, soldiers, merchants,... do something, chaos, destruction, and madness are a logical result while on the other hand, anything blessed with witches help, runs smoothly and peaceful. And while it wasn't quite as funny to me as The Light Fantastic, there were more than a few laugh out loud moments and quotes that I highlighted for later. Everybody knows there’s no such thing as a female wizard. So when the wizard Drum Billet accidentally passes on his staff of power to an eighth daughter of an eighth son, a girl called Eskarina (Esk, for short), the misogynistic world of wizardry want nothing to do with her. Granny had counted the temples with a thoughtful look in her eyes; gods were always demanding that their followers acted other than according to their true natures, and the human fallout this caused made plenty of work for witches." pg 76, ebook Plus, Granny Weatherwax is a great character. I've read that she changes quite a bit in the Wyrd Sisters and beyond, but I'm glad I can see how she started out before I jump into that.

The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard; on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are sometimes ascribed to seven in other mythologies. Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor. However, the newborn child is actually a girl, Esk (full name Eskarina Smith). ... I loved Terry Pratchett's way with words and Celia Imrie's sublime narration, they kept me enthralled.

Equal Rites

The early Discworld novels were still finding their feet, and Equal Rites falls into this category. It's a meandering story that loses its point a little, but is still full of fantastic characters and Pratchett's signature brand of creativity and fun. Reading this after I've just finished the Tiffany Aching Discworld books makes me draw a lot of parallels. The Tiffany books is probably where Terry was going with this, but couldn't quite manage it. This is only the third Discworld novel, and that is apparent, and it's quite a short read. There are quite too many our-world mentions and weak gags and occasionally the plot stutters, but altogether it is impossibly wonderful. Infused with the spirit of second-wave feminism (as told by a well-meaning white man), it tells the story of a young girl who is destined to become a wizard, much to the concern of both witches and wizards alike. But to me it also felt like a tale about the older generation coming to terms with and learning to embrace the desire for change promoted by the youth. Spending time with Granny Weatherwax (one of my all time favorite characters in literature) was a treasure but this time around I noticed what how much I liked Eskarina and I wonder if she was a template upon which Tiffany Aching was later drawn.