Wyrd Sisters (1988)

Í þessari 6. Discworld sögu leik nornir aðalhlutverkið. Þær eru furðufuglar, notast yfirleitt við náttúrulyf og eðlilegar forskriftir til að hjálpa íbúunum í kringum sig en eru færar um ólíklegustu hluti. Pratchett stelur hér úr glettnislega úr smiðju Shakespears þar sem nornirnar byrja að fikta í pólitík með ráðum sem snúast algerlega í höndunum á þeim. ( )

Book 6 of the Discworld series.
Much the same style as earlier volumes, but with the minor variation that this plot consisted of one major thread, while earlier books had multiple threads that came together at the end.
The wry humour is still there, but I'm starting to wonder if the occasional smiles are worth the 350+ pages of reading (eg quaffing is much the same as drinking, but you spill more). But, still, a pleasant diversion. ( )

Love the witches. Granny Weatherwax is iconic. ( )

When King Verence of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, Duke Felmet, the three witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick know that this will not mean any good. By coincidence, they happen to get the old king’s son Tomjon and his crown and take care of both until the boy is old enough to fight his uncle. However, the kingdom is angry about their new leader long before and therefore, something must be done immediately. A slight adjustment of time will help them to send an equal to the new king.

Terry Pratchett’s “Wyrd Sisters” is the sixth instalment of the Disc World Series and was first published in 1988. Due to its very own universe, the novel has not lost the slightest bit of its appeal in more than 30 years. The three witches instantly remind you of the three famous witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and, accordingly, they are only the beginning of a brilliant adaptation of the Bard’s great tragedy – just that it is not a tragedy but utterly funny.

Continuing to explore Disc World leads to small new feature one can detect in every new novel. I totally adore how Pratchett created this world with such a love for detail that remind you of the real world but that is just a bit different to fit into the flat planet’s peculiarities. Especially the animals – this time a cat – are intriguing and charming.

Even though each instalment has its own appeal, I was highly interested in this one due to see how the author transformed Shakespeare’s plays. Surely, I was far from disappointed. Chief playwright Hwel calls his theatre “The Dysc”, the witches meet in a stormy night and – of course just like in Macbeth – ask the famous question when they will meet again, the play within a play and the ghost of the former King quite obviously are taken from Hamlet – there is much more to uncover which is just great fun.

There is not much more one can say apart from calling the novel a masterpiece. ( )

I've been listening to the audio for the past month, as narrated by Celia Imrie, but either my copy, or the production as a whole was so horribly done - 90% of the thing sounds like it was recorded from underneath a feather pillow - that towards the end I finally cracked and last night picked up my hardcover edition and finished it off.

That's not to say Celia Imrie did a bad job - she didn't, she was excellent (although her Nanny Ogg voice was too shaky and sometimes made her difficult to understand). If you're tempted to listen to this book on audio, and you see this particular edition, listen to a sample first and make sure you're edition is not muffled under a pillow.

As for the story - taken at face value, it was ok. But you can't take any Pratchett at face value, and the veiled subtext upgraded it, for me, to good (with bonus points for the mugging scene). I love Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg. I wasn't quite getting the appeal of Greebo, until the scene with the Fool - that moment where he looks down at the Fool from atop of his head was sublime, (and Celia did it perfectly). As for the Fool himself, I think I liked him more for having heard him narrated, than I would have had I read him from the start; Celia infused an intelligence in him I'm not sure I'd have given him, given the repetitious nature of his speech.

I think I failed to receive the characters of the Lord and Lady Felmut the way the author intended them. If satirically humorous is what he was aiming for, I definitely failed. These two just came across bitter, twisted and creepy - I should say Lord Felmut did; Lady Felmut just seemed to me a straight caricature. And since I'm complaining (not really) I'll add that while I loved the element of The Land, I wish Pratchett had not been quite so vague about it and it's connection to the throne. I understood it well enough but would have enjoyed it more with a tiny pinch more detail. And I understood the dynamic at the end, between the two brothers, until Granny, Nanny and Magrat got through with me. And how old is Magrat supposed to be anyway?

Overall, even though it doesn't sound like it, I did enjoy the story - it's Pratchett after all, and even his weak books are better than a lot of best efforts. I'm going to try Witches Abroad on audio too, because even though this edition's sound quality sucked, I think I get more enjoyment out of the stories when they're read by someone who obviously understands Pratchett's writing. But I'm definitely checking out the samples first. ( )