A review by lifeinthebooklane
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

5.0

It's Terry Pratchett, I don't think you ever need to say more than that. I loved it because just like the heroine, Tiffany, the greatly missed genius who wrote this had that rare combination of both first sight, and second thought. It truly takes someone with their eyes wide open and seeing to notice the actual colour of sweets.

And there in every colour sweets can be, such as Not-Really-Raspberry Red, Fake-Lemon Yellow, Curiously-Chemical Orange, Some-Kind-Of-Acidy Green and Who-Knows-What Blue.


Tiffany Aching sets off to rescue her brother from the clutches of the fairy queen. Not because she loves him but because he is hers. The chalk downs and wold are hers and their-in lies the making of an excellent witch. Along the way she acquires the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, otherwise known as The Wee Free Men - "Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna' be fooled again!"


Suitable for readers of any age this tale with amuse and entertain you in equal measure. A story with clever subterfuge that hides the multitude of layers and depth, that sneakily makes a big fuss and points the other way to try and sneak its allegory and hidden depth past you. On the surface, it's rather like a Nac Mac Feegle -


You could read the Nac Mac Feegle like a book. And it would be a big, simple book with pictures of Spot the Dog and a Big Red Ball and one or two short sentences on each page.


- but don't be fooled!