Wyrd Sisters [Mass Market Paperback]

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]

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.