Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favourites, 16 Feb 2008
This has become one of my favourite books. I've always loved the "witches" series and the "nac mac feegle" who appear in Carpe Jugulum invaded my brain, kicked a few bottles around and dossed down.
This is, as others have said, the third in the "Tiffany Aching" series. I admit I enjoyed the first, wasn't too struck with the second (to start with), but with this one Pratchett is back to his best. It hooked me from the start.
Pratchett's talent and skill is in the folklore and the facts which he uses in the books, the little things, like the old belief in summer and winter Gods, the laying out and sitting with the dead, etc. For me it is these small factual titbits that add to the story and make it more than your typical 'story book'. Some of the in-jokes seem to be based on this 'secret' knowledge and understanding (Da Vinci Code but much much better and not boring).
If you've never read Pratchett before then I would heartily recommend this series - Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith.
If you're unsure try the library first. Annoyingly this series tends to be found in the children's section of book shops and libraries - so if you're going in to a library to look at one, take a child with you, or do as I did, and borrow a friend's child.
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44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crivens! It's another hagglin' hit!, 4 Nov 2006
Let's be clear about this. If you're not already a Terry Pratchett fan, you're unlikely to be interested in this book. But if you've got as far as reading the reviews of it, you must at least have a smidgen of interest - so let's discuss why Wintersmith is such an excellent book.
The Nac Mac Feegle (a race of small, blue, vicious, kilt-wearing, boozing and ultimately hilarious men) were first introduced in the main Discworld novel Carpe Jugulum, but have since been expanded upon in the Tiffany Aching series, in The Wee Free Men and A Hatful of Sky. Nominally a series for younger readers, this series has been (up to now) every bit as enjoyable as the main books. Tiffany Aching, a junior witch, is the heroine again here, but the Feegles are the scene-stealers, reducing any reader to laughing out loud - you just can't help it.
In Wintersmith, in which Tiffany inadvertently attracts the attention of the title character (an elemental who creates winter, in short), Tiffany develops further as a character who could potentially feature in one of the main books. There is a welcome return for the unsurpassably funny Nanny Ogg, the formidable Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany's friend/beau Roland. All the ingredients are there for a fantastic read, and Pratchett doesn't disappoint. It's an easy read, difficult to put down, and I was quite sorry when it was all over because I could easily have carried on for another 500 pages.
So, anybody who disnae wanna fight Big Yan, buy this book wi' all its long werdy things, ye bigjobs scunners! (as Rob Anybody might say).
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice to have hope for a Pratchett book!, 18 Nov 2006
I've been so disappointed in Pratchett recently - the "proper" Discworld novels have completely lost their way - but this series has been a treat. These hark back to the early Discworld books, with a small cast of characters, and one story, not thousands of them trying to intertwine.
This continues to tales of Tiffany Aching and her Mac Na Feegle in their battles against the personification of winter itself, who takes an unwelcome shine to Tiffany. The joy in this book is that it stays simple, and allows the characters to grow at a pace that feels natural. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have worthy roles to play, without ever overpowering young Tiffany, and it continues to build the witch mythology nicely ("Boffo" takes over as my new favourite witch idea...).
It's certainly not his best; this feels a little drawn out in the middle, and very rushed towards the end - this was certainly a book that could have been 20/30 pages longer comfortably. But still, it's a treat to read a Pratchett book and enjoy it again, it's something you don't get from the proper books anymore.
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by Terry Pratchett
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