I finished it over the weekend and am dying to discuss it with someone!
I’m 2/3rds to 3/4s through.
The cook just died after falling through the trap door whilst ranting under the influence of the Cunning Man
So anything up to there I am good to discuss.
So far I loved the appearance of Esk!!!
I loved the appearance of Esk! I’d often wondered what happened to her, seeing as she was never mentioned again in any of the wizard books.
I also really liked how dark it is - especially for a YA novel. Some of the themes it uses are really quite serious and potentially distressing, but I think Pterry handles their inclusion really well. After all we all know there are things to be afraid of in fairy stories, but he turns the convention on its head, by having the farmer, the handsome prince and the beautiful princess be the ones not to be trusted, while the “wicked” witch is the heroine
I’ll have more to say once you’ve finished it - oh, and did you notice that:
Angua’s now a captain?
Yeah I noticed the Captain Angua thing, though I haven’t given it much thought as it was so low key when mentioned.
I also was surprised by the darkness right off the bat
what with the battering of Amber by her Dad which causes her subsequent miscarriage
It’s out?
scrambles for nearest bookstore
It doesn’t come out here until the end of October. I hate you all. :mad: 
That’s why I ordered my copy from Amazon UK. It ought to arrive Wednesday. 
It’s out?
ETA: I didn’t have any problem buying it on regular Amazon.
Amazon.ca still lists it at October 26th, like Indigo’s site. Fnargh!
Sorry guys!
It’s worth waiting for, though, IMO.
Heh
“Don’t meddle in the affairs of witches because they will clout you round the ear”
I really enjoyed it, but felt the ending was…rushed.
I loved the Boffo reveal- Mrs Proust is great. I wonder about Preston, who has a lot of time for his mum and granny, much common sense and intelligence… and we know Esk has a son…
Irishgirl, yeah, I know what you mean about the ending seeming rushed. I had expected [spoiler] Tiffany’s battle with the Cunning Man to be much harder for her to win. I was impressed, though sorry not to see much of her, that she didn’t enlist the help of Granny Weatherwax, especially as the book’s cover implied that (till we find out that’s actually the future Tiff!).
I had also thought, that what with there being two other young local witches, in the form of Amber and Roland’s fiancee, that we would see Tiffany forming her own coven, with them being her answer to Nanny Ogg and Magrat, but that didn’t really go anywhere, and apparently PTerry’s already said this is his last Tiffany Aching book. :([/spoiler]
I’ve ordered from Amazon UK. I couldn’t afford the overnight shipping so it’ll be here in another week or two.
I couldn’t help looking at the spoilers. I desperately hoped for some of them, dreaded something that looks like it isn’t going to happen. Just tell me this:
Granny doesn’t die, does she? It’s been hinted at a thousand times but I don’t think I can bear losing her.
Just finished. You’re safe LPN.
Not my favourite D.W. series but I can’t wait to read it .
I’ve got it lying around, but I’ve got to clear Brandon Sanderson’s new book off my plate first. Looking forward to it - although it’s not my favourite discworld facet, it’s still Pterry!
Just finished this, and I am highly impressed. Terry Pratchett doesn’t usually get this dark, and his boogeymen are never this scary.
I also giggled more over this one than I have over the last few of his books.
I’m a bit unsure about some of his imagery, as it seemed to be presented in such a way that the reader should see it as symbolism. I suppose I’m not really good with symbolism - I can spot it when it exists but sometimes the meaning underlying it escapes me; and there were many times in the book that I thought “That’s significant, but how and why?” The afterword explained some of it, but the
fire that doesn’t burn
for instance, seemed like it should be some undercurrent of the book that I never quite got.
Maybe I should read it again in a few weeks.
I also wished that some elements were explored deeper, like the duchess’s library and the McFeegle’s (or how ever you spell it) little witch (or whatever Pratchett calls her). It seems like the book is far richer than the issues that it handled.
Anyway… clearly I should have a think and come back to the thread later.
I am very excited about this book - to the point that I almost asked my boyfriend if we could order it from Amazon UK (I don’t have any money). But, I doubt he’d pay for fast shipping so I may as well just wait til 9/28 and buy it at Barnes and Noble.
I prefer the witches and I’ve always liked the Tiffany books (mostly because of the older witches, the trainee witches and the feegles - I find Tiffany to be kind of annoying).
I have to say, I very much appreciate the excellent use of spoiler boxes in this thread. You guys got me even more excited without giving anything away.
I enjoyed the book overall. It is a good example of Pratchett’s characters and his world
however, I never felt that the bad guy had a chance, and the actual denouement was too simple. I am not sure what the Esk scenes added, apart from bringing Esk back, which was good. I have no idea of the relevance of Tiffany meeting her older self.
So, enjoyed, but slightly disappointed.
I agree, the climax was very abrupt and not described well enough, and it left me thinking, did I miss something? How odd. But I felt that way about the entire book.