Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches #3)

Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches #3) | Terry Pratchett

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I'm not sure how to phrase this so bear with me, but I feel this book really EARNED its ending. I've read books where the ending makes the book - that usually involves a somewhat muddled middle redeemed by an impactful ending.
That's not what this was. The book has dramatic and comedic moments throughout, and steadily builds the important parallel discussions: 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? talk of stories and happy endings, alongside talk of agency, of attempting to control people to design a society as an individual sees fit, totalitarianism with good PR, abuse of power, shades of gray, right/wrong, good/evil and where you're standing vs which way you're facing. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? Having Granny Weatherwax in particular, but Nanny Ogg to a lesser extent, understood as people expecting a base level of respect, of free food, lodging and favours as needed, with the tacit understanding that they could be fearsome, even if for the most part they do nothing to be feared, but at the same time have earned the gratitude of their homeland through their service to their community. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? Having Esme Weatherwax so clearly a powerful force that works to not practice magic beyond headology, to be good while also being ignorant to the point of xenophobia, intractable, regularly rude to Magrat, the idea that she is deeply flawed in certain aspects and yet still clearly, resolutely the force for good, the voice of reason against oppression, that she draws a line at which she meddles no further, makes for a simultaneously 2mo

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Robotswithpersonality 5/? exasperating and absorbing character, and developing that sense of her character is what allows the ending, facing off against certain foes to feel so strong. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 6/? On a separate note, it's tricky to determine, as an atheist, how the alternate history suggested for a figure from a practicing religion might be received by its followers. If I can consider it a separate interpretation rather than an appropriation of cultural icons, than Mrs Gogol and her companion are a delight, and again, the process to discover the identity and connections are a fascinating journey. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 7/? Knowing Magrat's path in other books in this series makes it a little easier to stand how much she gets sidelined, dismissed, I realize she's got some unhelpful notions and has much to learn, but her traveling companions are pretty blunt in their disregard, and it felt like this book was working hard to add interpersonal strife at her expense. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 8/? I feel like Greebo is 30% responsible for making me love this book - aside from a casual reference to SA 😬 - Greebo vs. the Vampire Bat, Greebo in The Thing with the Bulls, Greebo's adventures at the end of the story, he plays a much larger role than I remember and it is spectacular! 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 9/? On the heavy-hearted side of things, the scene with the 'big bad wolf' *HURTS*. It's incredibly impactful writing, but I'm not really sure I'm ready to forgive Pratchett for making me cry about a situation I'd never considered before. 😭
Oh, and be prepared for the mirror magic throughout to genuinely give you the creeps, even after you figure out why Esme's getting twitchy about them. Another example of Pratchett's writing getting to me. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 10/10 Yep, would not have guessed a third of the way in that I would enjoy this particular witch book this much upon re-read, but as testament, I could actually see re-reading it again, and I've no higher praise from a book, really. 💁🏼‍♂️ 2mo

julesG It's one of my favourite DW books. Especially because of the things you wrote about above. I'm looking forward to my next reread of it. 2mo

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