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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
A worthy conclusion to both Discworld and the Tiffany Aching series. I think Tiffany might be my favourite Pratchett character (tough I will always love you Sam Vimes!), and I'm very glad this book was almost finished when Pratchett left us.
Maybe not as polished as the other Discworld books but still and excellent adventure for Tiffany to finish the story of Discworld with. So sad to reach the end of the line.
Upon the death of Granny Weatherwax, the elves seek to invade the realms of man once again. Can Tiffany Aching rally the other witches of Lancre and The Chalk and protect her two steadings (and the rest of the world)?
Here we are, the book Terry Pratchett was refining when Death finally showed up to claim him. PUT THE MANUSCRIPT DOWN, PRATCHETT. YOUR WORK IS DONE, or something to that effect. As a result, it doesn't quite feel finished but it was enjoyable just the same.
The Shepherd's Crown is a tale of acceptance and changing times, much like many of the later Discworld books. A male witch? Humans living alongside goblins? Elves trying to invade a world moving into an age of iron and rails?
Discworld goes out with a bang when Granny Weatherwax dies in the first few pages and the elves seek to take advantage of the power vacuum. Tiffany has to deal with being Granny's successor, herding the other witches, and deal with Geoffrey, who may in fact be the first male witch on the Disc, all the while contending with massing elves and their fallen queen, Nightshade.
Like I mentioned, Pratchett was working on this book when he passed and, as a result, it doesn't feel finished. While the standard wit and wisdom of Discworld is there, it's a little thin and feels unrefined. Still, I found many parts hilarious and others touching, par for the course for a Discworld book.
While I've enjoyed many Discworld books more, the final tale of Tiffany Aching and the Disc was quite satisfying. I'll miss you, Terry. Four out of five stars.
Here we are, the book Terry Pratchett was refining when Death finally showed up to claim him. PUT THE MANUSCRIPT DOWN, PRATCHETT. YOUR WORK IS DONE, or something to that effect. As a result, it doesn't quite feel finished but it was enjoyable just the same.
The Shepherd's Crown is a tale of acceptance and changing times, much like many of the later Discworld books. A male witch? Humans living alongside goblins? Elves trying to invade a world moving into an age of iron and rails?
Discworld goes out with a bang when Granny Weatherwax dies in the first few pages and the elves seek to take advantage of the power vacuum. Tiffany has to deal with being Granny's successor, herding the other witches, and deal with Geoffrey, who may in fact be the first male witch on the Disc, all the while contending with massing elves and their fallen queen, Nightshade.
Like I mentioned, Pratchett was working on this book when he passed and, as a result, it doesn't feel finished. While the standard wit and wisdom of Discworld is there, it's a little thin and feels unrefined. Still, I found many parts hilarious and others touching, par for the course for a Discworld book.
While I've enjoyed many Discworld books more, the final tale of Tiffany Aching and the Disc was quite satisfying. I'll miss you, Terry. Four out of five stars.
A bit of a letdown, to tell the truth. The beginning was told beautifully, although had this not been the book it was, I'd've been very upset about it. Afterward? I don't know. A half-baked book, I thought (not that there isn't reason for it, but still), with a mish-mash of concepts and underdeveloped characters thrown together. It's always fun being on the Disc, but this book was weaker than most. Of course, given its position as "last Discworld novel", there's no way it could've lived up to the hopes we had for it…
I still have 10 or so more Discworld novels to read and although I'm sure I'll laugh and cry my way through all of them, I'm not sure that they will touch me in the way that the Tiffany Aching books or the Witches books have.
It's taken me quite a while to reach the end of these two interconnected series and I'm going to miss this hardworking group of bossy, kind, bawdy, arrogant, funny, mean, silly, caring women who look after their communities (at least until I make it back around again to these books again).
“BUT YOUR CANDLE, MISTRESS WEATHERWAX, WILL FLICKER FOR SOME TIME BEFORE IT GOES OUT – A LITTLE REWARD FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED. FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT . . .”
“Granny Weatherwax was indeed here. And there. She was, in fact, and always would be, everywhere.”
It's taken me quite a while to reach the end of these two interconnected series and I'm going to miss this hardworking group of bossy, kind, bawdy, arrogant, funny, mean, silly, caring women who look after their communities (at least until I make it back around again to these books again).
Spoiler
Goodbye Granny Weatherwax.“BUT YOUR CANDLE, MISTRESS WEATHERWAX, WILL FLICKER FOR SOME TIME BEFORE IT GOES OUT – A LITTLE REWARD FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED. FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT . . .”
“Granny Weatherwax was indeed here. And there. She was, in fact, and always would be, everywhere.”
The last Discworld book *sniff*
Sadly, it wasn't completely finished before Terry died - the story is complete, but it's a bit bare in places with some threads that don't go anywhere. I imagine the great man was planning to add to these sections and weave them into the main plot but time wasn't on his side.
It's still a good book and I enjoyed it, but having just read all the Tiffany Aching books back-to-back I can see the difference in quality, and it's a shame. I'll still give it four stars though because I just can't bring myself to 3-star Terry's last book.
Sadly, it wasn't completely finished before Terry died - the story is complete, but it's a bit bare in places with some threads that don't go anywhere. I imagine the great man was planning to add to these sections and weave them into the main plot but time wasn't on his side.
It's still a good book and I enjoyed it, but having just read all the Tiffany Aching books back-to-back I can see the difference in quality, and it's a shame. I'll still give it four stars though because I just can't bring myself to 3-star Terry's last book.
This was the last novel that Pratchett wrote, and he did so with the help of an assistant, as he was already suffering from Alzheimer's. It shows a little bit - the plot is a little more simplistic than his other work, and there are a few threads that felt less impressive than I was expecting them to.
But overall, it's a great story, and a wonderful send off for Tiffany, who I will be sad to be saying goodbye to. The characters are wonderful, the opening made me cry big buckets of tears, and the Wee Free Men are as delightful as always.
The story almost passes in a blur, and I didn't want to put it down when I turned the final page. So long, Tiffany. Walk the hills of the Chalk and remember.
But overall, it's a great story, and a wonderful send off for Tiffany, who I will be sad to be saying goodbye to. The characters are wonderful, the opening made me cry big buckets of tears, and the Wee Free Men are as delightful as always.
The story almost passes in a blur, and I didn't want to put it down when I turned the final page. So long, Tiffany. Walk the hills of the Chalk and remember.
A fitting end to the Tiffany Aching books, and to Sir Pratchett's long career.
I will admit, I had a hard time getting through the book, and it had nothing to do with the story. The one person Death visited very much surprised me, and hit me a bit harder than I want to admit. Add in it being Pratchett's last book, I stalled on that part.
That being said, when I got over my own hangups, I plowed through this. I've listened to all the audiobooks in the Tiffany Aching series, and the narrator - Steven Briggs - is fantastic.
I will admit, I had a hard time getting through the book, and it had nothing to do with the story. The one person Death visited very much surprised me, and hit me a bit harder than I want to admit. Add in it being Pratchett's last book, I stalled on that part.
That being said, when I got over my own hangups, I plowed through this. I've listened to all the audiobooks in the Tiffany Aching series, and the narrator - Steven Briggs - is fantastic.
4.5 stars
How does one even rate the last book a true genius of writing ever wrote?
This is the last book of the Tiffany Aching series. And also the last book by Terry Pratchett before he finally succumbed to his Alzheimer's.
In the afterword, it is mentioned that Terry didn't quite manage finish his full writing process for this book, which is perhaps why I didn't find it quite the five star experience of "I shall wear midnight". That said, it is complete, and a good read, and a fair ending and beginning for Tiff and her merry blue men. And, when it was done, I found I needed a time to pause. And just sit a while.
How does one even rate the last book a true genius of writing ever wrote?
This is the last book of the Tiffany Aching series. And also the last book by Terry Pratchett before he finally succumbed to his Alzheimer's.
In the afterword, it is mentioned that Terry didn't quite manage finish his full writing process for this book, which is perhaps why I didn't find it quite the five star experience of "I shall wear midnight". That said, it is complete, and a good read, and a fair ending and beginning for Tiff and her merry blue men. And, when it was done, I found I needed a time to pause. And just sit a while.
My first Discworld novel was Carpe Jugulum which is still my favourite, so it seems very fitting for me that my last (new) Discworld novel takes me back to Lancre, the redoubtable Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Tiffany Aching.
Pratchett never finished this novel - not the half-dozen other novels which he appears to have been sketching out when he died on March 12th. It has been pieced together and different scenes stitched to one another like a literary jigsaw and it does show but it is such a fitting tribute to Pratchett!
It's almost banal to be talking about the plot - elves invade Lancre; witches unite to combat them. The elven realm and glamour are familiar and well done; the descent into the Elf King's Barrow was great: masculine, childish, hormonally self-obsessed. The Nac Mac Feegle provide the comic relief, as does a somewhat diabolical goat.
The heart of the novel, though, occurs maybe fifty pages in and took me by surprise. Granny Weatherwax died. The Iron Lady of Lancre, the anvil on which the moral compass of Discworld spun, died.
Is it just me, or has Death been notably absent from the Discworld novels recently? Probably understandable, considering Pratchett's health.
The rest of the novel follows Tiffany Aching's attempts to step into Granny Weatherwax's shoes, maintain two witches' steadings and combat the elven threat.
Granny Weatherwax's death and the vignettes - the guttering of her life's candle - of how her death was reflected across the Disc was so reminiscent of the tributes Pratchett himself received across Twitter and the blogosphere. It was incredibly poignant. It felt like a farewell from Pratchett. A graceful, unsentimental and respectful passing on. I can only hope that Pratchett experienced the same.