Wyrd Sisters: A Novel of Discworld

What else is there to say -Terry Pratchett's wit and wisdom, the wonderful witches Mistress Weatherwax and nanny Ogg- humour that may suddenly slip into deeper water - Terry is only getting into his stride with this book, they just get better and better to an infinite value of better....

Excellent edition. Small, hardcover version. With flyleaf and an excellent cover art. It looks kind of like Barnes & Nobles classics edition but smaller and with thicker pages. I love the hell out of it, I'm building my Pratchett library with these editions. The only downside is that due to copyright issues not all Discworld novels are available in this format, though a good portion are.

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Who doesn't love a good Terry Pratchett? This review isn't in regards to the product but towards the formatting of the kindle edition. Every Pratchett book has footnotes and they are a lovely comedic break from the story full of whimsy and fun. However! The kindle version on my trusty black and white uses asterisk the size of maggot spittle to provide a transition to a reference in the back of the book! I've read these as actual books and am used to skimming down mid sentence to enjoy a nugget of levity. I do not want to thumb my way through an entire novel to read a footnote from the first chapter! It just isn't done! To be frank I did not even know that there was footnotes in this piece until two thirds through! If I had known this a few days ago I could have returned this and saved a couple dollars and spent a few days waiting for the paperback that has good and proper footnotes! Now I will rethink all of my future purchases of the kindle editions of his discworld books!

This was the very first Terry Pratchett, Disc World book I ever read. It is the story that me hooked on the Disc World series and I have been reading and re-reading the whole series ever since. Granny Weatherwax is one of my all-time favorite characters in this series and this book gives her a lot of play. Nanny Ogg is probably my second favorite and she is highly featured in this one as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some lighthearted reading that will have you laughing out loud. *S*

Wyrd Sisters is part of the sprawling Discworld universe created by Terry Pratchett. Despite having tried to read The Colour Of Magic (often regarded as the first Discworld book) a few times I could never get into it. I did not have this problem with Wyrd Sisters.

Wyrd Sisters is a bit of a mashup of the plots of Hamlet and Macbeth (with a good amount of twists) with the three witches from Macbeth having a much more starring (title) role and having a jolly good time doing so. The witches are fantastic characters with Magrat (the maiden), absolutely determined to be a good practitioner of the magical arts no matter how much the other witches mock her, Nanny Ogg (the mother), incredibly earthy and having a sprawling family to show for it, and Granny Weatherwax (the crone), a woman of very decided opinions and indomitable headology skills.

I'm usually a person who likes to read my series in order, but this time I just jumped in midstream with Wyrd Sisters since it was the Goodreads r/fantasy Book of the Month for May 2017. I really enjoyed it. It's not my new most-favorite-book-ever, but it was definitely an enjoyable read. It's important to know you can definitely start with this book without feeling that you are missing out on any plotline or character development - despite being in the middle of a series it stands on its own quite well.

If you're a person who does not like puns in your books, stay far away. This book (as all Pratchett books, from my understanding) is full of puns, jokes, ridiculous metaphors and the like. The humor reminded me a lot of Hitchhiker's Guide and Christopher Moore's books (especially Fool) since this book also stars a Fool in a leading role.

Wyrd Sisters is a richly detailed story about three witches who live more in their own world than ours. They are funny, clever, and of course, witches with power. This book describes their relationship with a child saved from death by a cruel usurper, a Duke and Duchess who play the evil parts, and a theater cast who spreads their stories on the stage.

Everything was good about this story. Pratchett wasted no words with fluff, but kept the adventure and creativity and humor flowing constantly. Terry Pratchett created a world in which I wanted to remain. I didn't want the story to end, it was that good. It was also filled with twists and clever meanderings that came together in the end, but the end wasn't what I thought it would be. It was much better. I even thought I had guessed it, but nope, not even close.

I wish I had discovered Pratchett earlier, but I'm glad I finally did and I look forward to reading many more of his stories.

This was the first Discworld book I read and it’s still one of my favorites.

I love the witches. Magrat reminds me of so many Wiccans I encountered around ten to fifteen years ago.

I remember the first time I read this I could never guess what was going to happen next, but then when something would happen I went “Oh, that makes perfectly good sense.” Everything is perfectly logical, it’s just not always obvious.

This book made me laugh at least once a page. My favorite bit was a conversation that included this exchange:

“Is that a dagger I see before me?”

“It’s my handkerchief, you see. You can sort of tell the difference if you look closely. It doesn’t have as many sharp edges.”

Much of the humor also came from the way the setting itself works. Terry Pratchett is (was, dammit! Still not used to that.) one of the greatest world-builders of all time. The Disc sounds totally crazy, but it all works!

But I’m not sure he made up inspiration particles. I’m pretty sure those are real. It’s the only explanation for some of the weird ideas I’ve had.

This book also has the best description of being a writer ever: “Hwel stared at it for a moment, alone in a world that consisted of him, the next blank page, and the shouting, clamoring voices that haunted his dreams.”

I also love this book’s take on destiny. It was thought-provoking.

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series has long been on my to-read list. I’d intended to start with the first book in the series, but as a big fan of witches, instead picked up the sixth book, Wyrd Sisters.

Pratchett’s writing is a delicious, chunky stew rich in humour, delectable description, and nuggets of beloved fairy tales and Shakespearian references generously mixed in. What a treat this story was to read. I’ve never read anything quite like it. Pratchett’s imagination is second to none; his story-telling and description are creative and fun. I will definitely be reading more from Terry Pratchett.

Wyrd Sisters will appeal to those who enjoy the fantasy genre, and outstanding writing.

4.5 stars

I had a rollicking good time listening to Wyrd Sisters. Laughing out loud certainly eased the tedium of a long commute! I had read the book before and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. It's chock full of great characters; my favorites included the witches themselves, the foppish evil Duke going gradually mad, the ghost of King Verence and the persevering Fool. Only Pratchett could make the apprenticeship of a fool the world's most glum undertaking.

As a Shakespeare aficionado, I appreciated all the in-jokes from Macbeth, Hamlet, and even a bit of Henry V. The theater scenes were among the best in the book.

Others have criticized Celia Imrie's narration compared to Nigel Planer. Since this was my first Discworld listen, I had no one to compare her to. I thought she did a good job, particularly with the witches' voices.

Strange things are happening in the kingdom of Lancre. Three independent witches are joining together in a coven, and trying to figure out the best way to work together. A king has just realized he is dead and vows to avenge his murder as he becomes accustomed to being without a corporeal body. A baby is spirited away and hidden among a traveling theater troupe. The kingdom's new ruler is uneasy about his position, and covers for it by brutalizing his subjects.

Something must be done. And even though witches aren't supposed to meddle in things or to use their magic to set situations right, there is just something so irresistible about being able to fix the terrible problems of Lancre.

I liked this book, and especially the way that Shakespeare's influence on the plot kept creeping in. The characters in the story are light and funny, and their interactions are genuine. The three witches seem harmless enough, until you cross them and they are forced to take action. They, and Tomjon, and the Fool, are all very endearing and easy to root for. The novel at times is too cute for its own good, but overall was a really enjoyable read.

Personally upon finishing "Wyrd Sisters", I felt conflicted about the sixth installment in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It wasn't that the story was not good nor that the parodying of various fantasy tropes along with Shakespearean plays weren't funny, but nothing seemed to click throughout the entire book. The first third of the book felt slow paced before things really started going in the plot but it was a sign of things to come as the comedic situations were amusing but not laugh-out-loud funny like the previous five books. While a lot of the characters were enjoyable, namely Disc's dwarf bard Hwel, it was Margat Garlick that was off-putting because Pratchett didn't seem to develop her (given she is one of the titular characters) and might have been a reason why the book didn't click. Overall, "Wyrd Sisters" is amusing but not compared to the previous five Discworld books.

This is my second Discworld novel, after Equal Rites, and I found this to be the more mature and interesting of the two, so I'll round up to 4 stars. Wyrd Sisters is a very funny book of a trio of witches - the indomitable Granny Weatherwax, the bawdy Nanny Ogg, and the misty-eyed Magrat - meddling in royal politics, with echoes of Hamlet and Macbeth and a cartload of ridiculousness.

The story moves along briskly (and many section breaks make it easy to dip in for just a few pages at a time), with lots of humor, and oddball but endearing characters, and whack-a-doo plot points, and a satisfying ending. I enjoyed the read, but this book, like most parodies and novels built around humor, was a little too weightless to get me truly invested. I was happy to read it but felt no particular urge to pick it up again after putting it down; and I'd happily read more Pratchett and more about the witches, but am not in any rush to do so. Still, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good dose of comedic fantasy.

It seems to me that these first couple of Discworld books is dominated by witches. Introduction to series ('Colour of magic' and 'Light fantastic') is utterly unremarkable for me now (though I liked them as a kid), but the witches storyline remained powerful and gained on power over the years. It has been a long time since read this one and up to this days just had a vague remembrance of the plot and main idea. Remembered the coven, Magrat Garlick as a progressive witch who happened to get involved with Granny and Nanny and stuff like that. But, apart from the main plot-line everything was in a mist. Finding out how good this book was (or is) almost kicked me out of my chair.

Yes, it's another one of the Discworld novels which doesn't really have to do anything with fantasy and parody. Sure, Pratchett would like you to think so, but you'd be missing the better part of the book if you just stick with that reasoning. Sure, there is narrative causality present here as in the other Discworld books, there is parody on theatre and parody of lords and ladies, but underneath it all lies the debate about nature of power, concept of destiny, and the idea of a human being. Powers that do clash here, and whose struggle marks even our world, fall into a number of different categories. There is a power of words, gossip, rhetoric, oration, almost godlike power of theatre (i.e. fiction) clashed together with Granny's headology, power of illusion, appearances, grasping the inherent truth that lies dormant in everything. Lurking above them all is sheer power of rulers, power exercised for powers sake, consuming power which destroys humans and cities alike. Amongst the threads of these forces destiny shows up her head and Discworld characters will be hard pressed to avoid being crushed by its unrelenting pressure. Granny and her coven (even though Granny doesn't think much about such business as covens) will try to make everything right, will try to differentiate between the forces and help the world (Land) to restore its balance. Once again, Pratchett tries to re-establish status-quo of the world (Granny being the biggest adversary of anything new here), but in this case he does it in a way that makes sense, and sheer magic of his writing and usage of English language, his admiration for people and their flaws, pulls you right into the story from which you cannot escape until it's finished.

It almost seems like Pratchett decided to set aside comedy for this one (still bringing some of it up just for good measure), and started to write his own mimetic charade, one that does resemble the theater of the absurdity, one that does reflect the world in which we live in. His writing is the main advocate for the ideas presented in this book and it shows us that comedy bits of Discworld are just smoke on the water - charlatans trick to attract attention. Once we separate our minds from Discworld mode of storytelling, entire storyline shows itself like it is, grim and sad, but strangely comforting. Pratchett shows us people like they are, somewhat distorted through the lens of the fiction (which is precisely what Granny does with Duchess), he shows us the world in its bareness and leaves us to deal with it. And, surprisingly, upon seeing all of this, we don't feel despair. Book is strangely comforting just by pointing the fact that you're not alone in the world that looks like that. Just by reassuring you there are lots of people out there who notice this, and the ones who deserve a second chance. And this is something that we forget more often than not. It need reminding now and then - and "Wyrd sisters" do excellent job out of it.

I love the Discworld series. This is yet one more book in a long line of great novels in this series. I'm so happy that Pratchett has created characters that are older and women, even if they are witches. The main witch characters are spunky and full of fire. And the parallels to Macbeth and Shakespeare are so clever and funny.

I listened to the audio version and I didn't like Celia Imrie as much as I like Nigel Planer. I know she has narrated Equal Rites, but for some reason this book didn't really hit home for me. I thought her characters were fun and funny, but the non-dialogue portions were kind of dull and I found myself zoning out occasionally. I hope future book grab my attention better.

Take Granny Weatherwax- Pratchett's witch extraordinaire who everyone respects and fears just a bit, Nanny Ogg- The witch everyone actually likes, and Magrat Garlick- a New Age witch who really thinks a coven would be a good idea and Pratchett has on hand a cast that will play delightfully on The Fates, MacBeth, and the theater in general. The Kingdom of Lancre has put up with their less than beneficent rulers for some time, but when the kingdom is usurped by Duke Felmet and his rather power hungry wife, things get out of hand as the wanton acts of cruelty against the land and its people can no longer be tolerated. Enter the newly formed and rather dysfunctional coven, the king's fool, whose loyalty is threatened by newly found notions of romance, and a theatrical group who have a member who has a particular impact on the future of the kingdom. The story moves along quickly, bouncing from the duke's gradual descent into madness with the witches' comic infighting, with aplomb. Although the character of Tomjon has a bit too much Carrot Ironfoundersson in him with his ready command of those around him, Pratchett does pull a nice switch at the end as the king is perhaps not the best man but the right one. Not as strong as some of the other books but a fun read.

The King of Lancre has died of natural causes. As everyone knows, it is very normal and even traditional for a king to die from a stab wound to the back followed by a swift plummet down a steep staircase. As is also traditional, the king's heir and his crown have mysteriously disappeared and it's no doubt only a matter of time before he grows up and returns to reclaim his birthright etc etc. Some things are Traditional. Unfortunately, the new king and his scheming wife aren't hot followers of Tradition and as a reign of terror falls on Lancre, it falls to three local witches (and a psychotic cat called Greebo) to take a hand in events...

Wyrd Sisters sees Pratchett stepping up to the plate a bit more. Whilst the improvements in his writing skills have been clear and steady over the first five Discworld books, it was with this one that he really hit his stride, balancing moments of drama, comedy and even romance (of the awkward, stuttering kind) very nicely. The story is wholly unoriginal, being essentially a Discworld cover version of MacBeth (with a bit of Hamlet thrown in as well, not to mention too many clever references to performers from the Marx Brothers to Charlie Chaplin), but Pratchett doesn't worry about that and instead just revels in the sheer joy of writing here.

The town of Lancre and its somewhat crazy collection of inhabitants is vividly described, and the three witches (Granny Weatherwax, returning from Equal Rites, and newcomers Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick) are among Pratchett's better-written creations, but what makes Wyrd Sisters work is its thematic underpinning. Pratchett had previously toyed with using the Discworld setting to explore various real-life ideas and here addresses the idea of propaganda, the notion that the winners decide what history is and the general power of the written and spoken word, which can sometimes override reality and the truth. Pratchett doesn't harp on about it at tedious length (as he does in some of the weaker books in the series) but uses this theme and idea to inform the action and story, and pulls it off very well, if not quite as well as in the very best books in the series (some of which are coming up quite soon).

Wyrd Sisters (****) is a funny and smart book that sees Pratchett's writing skills stepping up a notch. It is available now in the UK and USA.

Some Discworld books have a lot of humor in them, like the first four of the Night Watch series. This book, the second of the Witches series, is a far more serious story with a darker tone than some other Discworld books, including other witches books.

The first Witches novel,"Equal Rites,"("rites" is spelled this way on purpose, Pratchett likes wordplay) and the third, "Witches Abroad," are lighter and more funny.

Still, this is a very good book! Excellent story. In this novel, Pratchett takes on Shakespeare's "Macbeth," and throws in just a little of "King Lear." You don't need to have read Shakespeare's plays to appreciate this story, but if you have read the plays, you'll appreciate this book more.

In this Discworld novel, Terry Pratchett takes on Shakespeare with a trio of witches, the killing of a king, ghosts in abundance, and an heir that is spirited away for safety.

If you're familiar with Shakespeare, there are a lot of laughs. While there are still a lot of laughs if you're not, you may get the feeling that you're missing something. I've read a few of the Bard's plays, but I frequently felt that I should have been getting a reference and wasn't. A sort of whoosing feeling going over my head. But most of the story doesn't rely on Bardic references. Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick join Granny Weatherwax as witches of Lancre, and, despite the witches habit of not interfering with things, find themselves having to right the wrong of the king's murder. Between seeing how the witches- not being city, or even town or village people- react to theater (they don't understand the conventions of men dressed as women, of fake sword play or the like), watching as too many inspirations hit Hwel the dwarvish playwright (causing a lot of rewriting, as some of his inspirations are more Charlie Chaplin than Hamlet) and wondering if the witches will be able to get the rightful heir onto the throne there is a lot funny stuff. Not one of Pratchett's best, but definitely worth a read.