Thursday, 27th of May, 2004

At the risk of too much bubbling enthusiasm (cf the “genius” comment re Paul McAuley below), I have to say it:
Terry Pratchett is a genius.

He really is, though. While McAuley’s book might constitute “genius” of a sort, Pratchett transcends just about everything else, to be simultaneously hilarious, wise and very very entertaining. He’s single-handedly invented a new genre, with its roots in comic fantasy, yet serious about the scientific understanding of the real world, as well as society and culture; seemingly (especially with the witch books) based in folk psychology, yet often commenting perspicaciously on very contemporary understandings of how the mind works…
I’m not even going to bother to go through and find choice quotes from this book. Suffice to say that, despite being one of the Discworld children’s books, there’s a lot to learn for adult readers here too, as well as a lot of fun to be had.
And there are some sideways pokes at the Harry Potter world (Tiffany Aching, our heroine, being a born-to-be-a-witch type), including a big witching competition where nothing quite goes as expected. This comes as highly recommended as any Pratchett from me - ie, it’s essential.

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