Herraskaista väkeä (1992)

This re-telling of A Midsummer Night's Dream (yes, the bard's play) is clever Terry Pratchett work through and through. The book even feels like it has Shakespeare's 5 act structure. Every detail at the beginning of the story is a setup to a plot point later in the book, very nicely done; for that, this book earned 5 stars from me.

There are a few speeches by the character of Granny Weatherwax that definitely feel like The Voice of Terry Pratchett, so I found myself trying to apply those words to England, and the planet Earth in general, to determine what his message was. Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe I was applying our year 2020 debates on climate change, criticisms of the Green Revolution, COVID-19 pandemic conditions and responses, and popular isolationist politics to the text when it wasn't really there (I think this book was first published in 1992). Again, that's clever Terry Pratchett work -- you can make what you want out of it. At the very least, there is creative satire, excellent puns, laugh-out-loud wordplay, and raunchy allusions.

I did find that the Granny Weatherwax speeches slowed down the action at the tense climax of the story. I like to believe Pratchett did that intentionally to highlight those speeches as the real coreof the story.

~bint ( )

An enjoyable read, focusing mainly on the Discworld witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat. Magrat is due to get married to the King - this is a direct sequel to 'Wyrd Sisters' although she's having some doubts and finding it hard to feel natural in the role.

But the main story is about an attempt by the glamorous (but intrinsically evil) elves to take over the Disc, or at least the kingdom of Lancre. There's plenty of humour, and more than a nod to 'Midsummer Night's Dream', with some nice characterisation of various folk who came into earlier books.

I only remember reading this once in the past, possibly twice at most, and didn't recall it with any great fondness. But I liked it much more than I had expected. Recommended, but best read after 'Wyrd Sisters' (and possibly also 'Witches Abroad').

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2020/08/lords-and-ladies-by-terry-pratchett... ( )

Delightful! Nanny Ogg had me laughing out loud and Magrat had me gasping with surprise. ( )

The great Re-Read of Discworld continues... with the witches. :) This is a pretty direct followup from Mag's romantic adventure with the king-to-be and culminating in the grand wedding between the two.

As weddings go, every grand personage of the Discworld (or so it seems) has been invited to the wedding, but of course, things don't go all that well with all those crop circles and the E***S who must not be named.

Pretty funny, all told, but it's Og and her suiter who steals the show. And Old Weatherwax. Again. Mags... well... I've never cared much for her. I just want my darling Tiff. Where oh where is she? Why can't I care all that much that Mag is NO LONGER A WITCH?

I complain, sure, but it's not a complaint because I think the novel is bad. Far from it. I just think it's slightly uneven in my enjoyment of certain characters. Nothing more. But is it a fine story?

You bet. :) I'll even a throw in a horseshoe for you. ( )

Enjoyable Discworld book featuring the Witches (and a handful of Wizards) as they prepare for Magrat's wedding and fight off an invasion. Lots of humorous twists at the end, but the middle section got rather slower than I expect from a Discworld book. This is possibly closer to a 3.5 rating for me, but I love the Librarian (and he had some great bits in this book) so I'm rounding up. Plus, THAT HAT. Magrat done good with that one. ( )