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sylvilel's review against another edition
5.0
No need to say that this got emotional pretty fast, and now I'm finished, I can't stop crying.
I'm not even close to having read all the Discworld-books, but I have read all the ones about Tiffany Aching. And even though this book is clearly unfinished, there is nothing to do but love it.
A worthy goodbye from Sir Terry Pratchett - a true master of the written word.
I'm not even close to having read all the Discworld-books, but I have read all the ones about Tiffany Aching. And even though this book is clearly unfinished, there is nothing to do but love it.
A worthy goodbye from Sir Terry Pratchett - a true master of the written word.
rui_leite's review against another edition
4.0
The star that is missing is just for everything else he could have aded to the book, if the time was given to him. But it's still a very good entry.
Gnuterrypratchett...
Gnuterrypratchett...
tarawe's review against another edition
5.0
There is so much, yet so little, I want to say about this book. It all boils down to you should read it.
madmooney's review against another edition
5.0
Oh waily-waily...
I shall refrain from a full review right now (as it is a few days before the North American release of the book and I don't want any of the books surprises diluted for anyone else).
I will say this: prepare for the tears to come early!
Waily-waily-waily!
When I had finished [b: I Shall Wear Midnight|7576115|I Shall Wear Midnight (Discworld, #38; Tiffany Aching, #4)|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328232764s/7576115.jpg|9934116], I cried. I was so certain that it would not only be the final Tiffany Achling story, but also the final Discworld book (as it included practically all of the series' elements). It felt that Pterry was saying goodbye 'and they lived happily ever after' with Midnight.
But could a 'happily ever after' ending suit the Discworld series?
One of the driving forces of the overall Discworld series is 'change'. It starts off as a comic fantasy series with many elements of high fantasy in its DNA (with some ideas and plot lines borrowed from our own real history). You begin in a magical world, dominated mostly by humans and the first hint you received that the series is going to be completely different is the 'Wizzard' with a cowardly streak.
The world then changes over its 41 installments.
Ankh-Morpork starts off as a 'wild city' of magic and corruption, which is then slowly tamed by its tyrant government.
The Vimes/Watch novels become engines for political commentary, racial tension and equality (for all of the Disc's 'lesser denizens').
The Moist von Lipwig stories kick-off the industrial revolution (post, banks, trains...and taxes :( ) making the entire world a smaller and safer place, but also effectively changing the series into a steampunk fantasy series (any arguments there)?
No longer would 'and they lived happily ever after' be a sufficient ending for the series; you would need something more like 'and although everything changed, everything was all right in the end...except for times when it wasn't, but the got through those tough bits, bettering themselves in the end'-sort of ending.
This is the type ending that I feel "The Shepherd's Crown" provides.
And that is all I will say about it for now
I shall refrain from a full review right now (as it is a few days before the North American release of the book and I don't want any of the books surprises diluted for anyone else).
I will say this: prepare for the tears to come early!
Waily-waily-waily!
When I had finished [b: I Shall Wear Midnight|7576115|I Shall Wear Midnight (Discworld, #38; Tiffany Aching, #4)|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328232764s/7576115.jpg|9934116], I cried. I was so certain that it would not only be the final Tiffany Achling story, but also the final Discworld book (as it included practically all of the series' elements). It felt that Pterry was saying goodbye 'and they lived happily ever after' with Midnight.
But could a 'happily ever after' ending suit the Discworld series?
One of the driving forces of the overall Discworld series is 'change'. It starts off as a comic fantasy series with many elements of high fantasy in its DNA (with some ideas and plot lines borrowed from our own real history). You begin in a magical world, dominated mostly by humans and the first hint you received that the series is going to be completely different is the 'Wizzard' with a cowardly streak.
The world then changes over its 41 installments.
Ankh-Morpork starts off as a 'wild city' of magic and corruption, which is then slowly tamed by its tyrant government.
The Vimes/Watch novels become engines for political commentary, racial tension and equality (for all of the Disc's 'lesser denizens').
The Moist von Lipwig stories kick-off the industrial revolution (post, banks, trains...and taxes :( ) making the entire world a smaller and safer place, but also effectively changing the series into a steampunk fantasy series (any arguments there)?
No longer would 'and they lived happily ever after' be a sufficient ending for the series; you would need something more like 'and although everything changed, everything was all right in the end...except for times when it wasn't, but the got through those tough bits, bettering themselves in the end'-sort of ending.
This is the type ending that I feel "The Shepherd's Crown" provides.
And that is all I will say about it for now
lifeinthebooklane's review against another edition
5.0
The Shepherd's Crown may not be the most polished of Pratchett's books but it is (a) still spellbindingly fantastic and (b) a truly fitting end to the Discworld series. It also left Tiffany Aching at a very settled point in her life and with hopes for the future. I'm a romantic so would have liked to see those hopes tied up in a beautifully neat bow, but will have to content myself with knowing they eventually took place.
I loved how this subtly tied in with the rest of the series, from a devastated Mustrum Ridcully to the sludgy River Ankh. It also incorporated aspects from later books in the series, including the age of iron and steam. There were some sad and poignant farewells in this book. I like to believe, had he been granted more time, Pratchett would have written a longer one following the elven battles. Like Tiffany, I had found compassion and forgiveness for the character and was saddened by subsequent events. My poor little heart needed just a bit more sorrow expressed on the pages.
Of course, there was the typical silly, irreverent and at times very schoolboyish humour to stop the tone from being too maudlin. How did I not notice he was describing his own version of the Dad's Army gang? Why do we find jokes about farting so funny? I definitely need to re-read the whole series of Discworld books.
I loved how this subtly tied in with the rest of the series, from a devastated Mustrum Ridcully to the sludgy River Ankh. It also incorporated aspects from later books in the series, including the age of iron and steam. There were some sad and poignant farewells in this book. I like to believe, had he been granted more time, Pratchett would have written a longer one following the elven battles. Like Tiffany, I had found compassion and forgiveness for the character and was saddened by subsequent events. My poor little heart needed just a bit more sorrow expressed on the pages.
Of course, there was the typical silly, irreverent and at times very schoolboyish humour to stop the tone from being too maudlin. How did I not notice he was describing his own version of the Dad's Army gang? Why do we find jokes about farting so funny? I definitely need to re-read the whole series of Discworld books.
badseedgirl's review against another edition
5.0
The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett made me cry from Chapter 2 on. It was not just that this was Sir Terry’s final novel, or that I had tearful endings of my own to deal with, it was the death of a major character. And not just the death, but the nature of the death. One could not help but see it as a reflection of the authors own struggle with a terminal disease. Reading how the character prepared for her own death was one of the most touching and painful chapters of any book I have ever read. This is a novel of endings and it is reflected in this chapter.
I think it is a sign of Sir Terry’s gift as an author that this series started with the death of a major influence in Tiffany’s life, namely the death of her grandmother, and the last book in the series starts with the death of another major influence.
This novel is a fitting end to the career of a man who brought us the glorious Discworld, beautiful and wonderful not because it was a fantasy world, but because it was a world just similar enough to our own, that one immediately felt at home.
And that is all I will say, now I must go and have a cry.
5 of 5 stars
I think it is a sign of Sir Terry’s gift as an author that this series started with the death of a major influence in Tiffany’s life, namely the death of her grandmother, and the last book in the series starts with the death of another major influence.
This novel is a fitting end to the career of a man who brought us the glorious Discworld, beautiful and wonderful not because it was a fantasy world, but because it was a world just similar enough to our own, that one immediately felt at home.
And that is all I will say, now I must go and have a cry.
5 of 5 stars
cwritesu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
- Strong character development? Yes
Pratchett came up with some interesting recontextualization for Book 1 of the Tiffany Aching series in Book 5 by bringing back the primary antagonist of Book 1, the Fairy Queen.
I honestly really appreciated that. It rewards faithful readers of the books, plus allows us to expand our definition of the characters along with Tiffany. I felt the growth in her in how she re-approached her relationship with the former antagonist.
I honestly really appreciated that. It rewards faithful readers of the books, plus allows us to expand our definition of the characters along with Tiffany. I felt the growth in her in how she re-approached her relationship with the former antagonist.
coreysees's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
It feels fitting that Terry Pratchett's final book should be about the death of one of his oldest and most beloved characters. The knowledge that he died while finishing this book certainly colors the story with added melancholy.
Despite this, the book is still shot through with his usual dry humor.
This book makes a wonderful close for both Tiffany's coming-of-age story and Discworld as a whole.
Despite this, the book is still shot through with his usual dry humor.
This book makes a wonderful close for both Tiffany's coming-of-age story and Discworld as a whole.
rainbowdragonz's review against another edition
4.5
This book makes me cry. Everytime. This is the last book, one Terry Pratchett never even finished, and it shows. Every loose end is wrapped up, apart from a little bit at the end that's deliberately open to interpretation. It's very bittersweet because the whole book is one long good bye, especially if read in succession after the others. It's not a bad book it's just one you may not want to read if you don't like endings. This is a book about death and how to carry on after tremendous loss, and about growing up even if you were already grown.