- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Corgi; paperback / softback edition
- ISBN-10: 0575066024
- ISBN-13: 978-0575066021
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,772,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Wyrd Sisters (Discworld Novels)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
The wind howled. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The wind howled. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Parodying Shakespeare is a cottage industry among novelists. Few, however, have the talent to weave sound philosophy within the narrative. Pratchett introduces some thoughtful notions along with his compelling characters. From the introduction of Esme Weatherwax in Equal Rites, he fills out the coven residing in the kingdom of Lancre with her cohorts. Each brings a highly unique style to the craft. Esme, acknowledged but undeclared head witch, is traditional, effective and highly sensitive to what's "good for people". Magrat Garlick, well-read, modern and innocent [if you can reconcile those viewpoints] personifies perfectly the modern "Wiccan" mystic. Nanny Ogg almost oozes practicality - having gone through three husbands and is served, if resentfully, by her phalanx of daughters and daughters-in-law. The story itself, however, concerns another matter - one far more pertinent to today's world.
What is, or should be the role of monarchy in modern society? Pratchett uses the Hamlet example to examine this question in a new and penetrating manner. Kings can rise and fall through many means. Duke Felmet, desirous of disciplined rule, fells the incumbent. According to Pratchett, assassination is a "natural cause" of death for monarchs [as is execution, but that's elsewhere in the series]. The coven, aware that the former King Verence of Lancre has been murdered by a potential usurper, becomes protector of the heir. It "protects" him by shipping him off with a troupe of mummers. Thus Shakespeare as example is supplanted by parody of the playwright and his work. The coven, however, senses what Shakespeare never expressed - monarchy's role in regard to the land and the people.
In Shakespeare's day, Elizabeth, the ruling monarch, expressed her love for "her people" and "the country". She was nearly unique in that view. Pratchett, always sensitive to nuances, employs this concern in this tale. On a world ruled by magic, the land itself discerns the injustice of the murder, reacting with anger and pain. Esme, who "borrows" minds, perceives the grief and gathers the coven to go beyond merely hiding the heir. Larger questions are at stake.
Pratchett's ability to weave philosophical questions into what is advertised as "humorous fantasy" is what keeps him at the forefront of the genre. His witty approach gives the widest possible audience the chance to examine the issues he raises. If you miss them or overlook them, he still offers a fine story told in his engaging style. If you are new to Pratchett, you can start the Discworld series comfortably here. If you are an established fan, you will discover this to be one of his better efforts. It is something to read more than once without eroding the pleasure of the first encounter. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book soon after it was first published 14 years ago, and I have just re-read it.
It's as funny as ever (provided you really know Macbeth), but the really impressive thing is that, even when you have read all the other novels in which the characters have subsequently developed, they remain consistent. Granny Weatherwax is still gloriously herself - never confusing being good with being nice - and Magrat the junior witch is a recognisably immature version of Queen Magrat. The gags never get in the way of the personalities.
The Discworld books may be funny, and they may have started as spoofs on swords-and-sorcery literature (of which I read more than I care to remember when I was an adolescent), but this is *real* literature.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read 1/2 dozen of this series, I think the best ones involve Granny Weatherwax - a highly formidable lady. Nanny Ogg is hilarious,and I can identify with Margat, the well-meaning but unconfident young witch who gets bossed around by the older two. This novel sees Pratchett doing his own amusing take on Macbeth, also ripping off the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. But he also uses the book to make the serious point that stories are powerful and can be used to change history (or at least our memory of it). Maybe he makes this point as the play Macbeth is historically dubious (Shakespeare not wanting to offend Queen Elizabeth). In this book, as usual, Pratchett borrows heavily from others, but he is so good at parody that he gets away with it.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Getting better all the time
Mr Pratchett is really getting to grips with the Discworld with this book- I enjoyed the others ( that's why I continued to buy them.. ) and each one got better than the previous. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robin
Good book, poor narration
I wonder if talented Celia Imrie is a little ashamed of this careless performance and at what point she realised that her cut glass version of Mistress Weatherwax was a mismatch... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Doris
Wyrd Sisters (Paperback) by Terry Pratchett
Very amusing story about the Wyrd Sisters. My daughter loves it and also likes a great novel to giggle at. Thank you for the speedy delivery
Published 3 months ago by CINDY
Wyrd Sister: A Discworld novel
A purchase of three books. Decent price, excellent service and communicaton and the trade makes revenues for charity. I'm pleased.
Published 6 months ago by Michael Mal
Wyrd indeed ...
This is the sixth of the Discworld novels, and a very good book in the series. It features a story based around Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax and Magrat, the three witches, who... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keen Reader
Wyrd certainly but hilarious too!
Shades of the Scottish King, the Danish prince...is there a subject the divine Terry hasn't tackled? Brilliant as ever.. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jannyg
Better than I remembered
I have been listening to Terry Pratchett novels for as long as I can remember, my Dad had this in particular novel on cassette I remember enjoying the story then and I loved... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Kirsty Jane
One of the best Discworld books
The witches books in the Discworld series showcase some of Terry Pratchett's best writing. The characters are so well constructed. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Six Impossible Things
The Play's The Thing!
Having just been introduced to the discworld series of books,it was interesting to note that each one is a satirical take on areas of culture that have shaped our present day... Read more
Published 15 months ago by L. Tait
Best of the discworld
Having read all of Pratchetts books this is by far my favourite, absolutely hysterical. You either get Patchetts humour or you don't, there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ms. Catherine J. Harris
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
