"Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back."
"Why?" said Tiffany.
"There's no one to stop them."
There was silence for a moment.
Then Tiffany said, "There's me."
Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk's local Nac Mac Feegle - aka the Wee Free Men - a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds - black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors - before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler …
"Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back."
"Why?" said Tiffany.
"There's no one to stop them."
There was silence for a moment.
Then Tiffany said, "There's me."
Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk's local Nac Mac Feegle - aka the Wee Free Men - a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds - black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors - before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone...
In a riveting narrative that is equal parts suspense and humor, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett returns to his internationally popular Discworld with a breathtaking tale certain to leave fans, new and old, enthralled.
Crivens, I might have learned a few new fun swearwords
5 stars
Great book! I love the Nac Mac Feegle. Their way of seeing the world and how they not understand big chops is hilarious. The book gets a bit weird in the end, but I still would recommend it.
I was so reluctant to start a book that doesn't center on the Ramtop witches. Mainly because I didn't want to read too much about anyone who's not Granny Weatherwax. But I'm glad I still read this, I like it a lot in so many different ways, it feels like a really well rounded story!
I might just be a shallow person, but I enjoyed the earlier, more Feegle-heavy parts of this book the most. In the later interactions with the Queen of Fae, I had the uncomfortable impression Pratchett had one or more serious points about psychological abuse.
Review of 'The Illustrated Wee Free Men' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Kva om Pippi var magisk?
Eit sitat om bokas heltinne er: «She’d read the dictionary all the way through. No one told her you weren’t supposed to.», som minner meg då eg fekk barneleksikon til bursdag, og kunne opplyse om at eg hadde lest dei ferdig to veker etterpå.
Eg har forsøkt meg på ulike inngangar i Discworld-serien, likt nokre og falt av andre, men det er først her eg har følt meg heime.
Terry Pratchett seamlessly traverses the humorous and heartfelt in this book. It's a lovely coming-of-age story with pacing that never leaves you wondering when something exciting is going to happen next. While Tiffany Aching doesn't particularly read as a 9-year-old girl, her character is so sassy and enjoyable to behold that it's hard to be bothered by her rather adult attitude.
Pratchett espouses on the responsibility we have towards our community and our families, no matter how dumb or difficult they may be, and left me thinking about how we could all stand to embrace our inner witch a little more.