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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Trying to get into the Discworld and I loved this book! It was equal parts charming (funny and clever) and challenging (how the world works versus how it could/should work). The characters are vibrant and distinct, the world building fantastic, the magic system hilarious... I'm looking forward to making my way through the series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
the_reading_wren's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I was expecting the story to focus on Esk’s time at Unseen University as a student, but it’s all about her journey to get there, and I enjoyed it a lot more for that. The horror elements were also a bit unexpected!
“They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.
“If you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you.”
“They both savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things.”
“They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.
“If you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you.”
“They both savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
Additional CW for a flooded city.booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
EQUAL RITES is the origin story of Discworld’s first female wizard, and her journey to grudging acceptance in magical society.
The narrative style is wry and witty, the unnamed narrator assuming that the reader is from our world and not Discworld, which provides space for funny comparisons, metaphors, and other observations. The narrator knows more than the characters in an absolute sense, but consistently uses that knowledge to provide humor and context.
Most of the characters start out with some sexist assumptions about how things ought to work, and the point of the story is them realizing the shape of those assumptions and questioning their validity in the face of a child whose existence refutes them absolutely. The cadence of the physical journey and the mental transformation blends together into a well-paced story. I liked it and I’m looking forward to later developments in this slice of Discworld.
I must briefly review a few caveats, however. This stands out as a book with several canonically fat characters but it does not equally mention when characters are thin, leaving the impression that fatness is strange and noteworthy. There’s also a comment about weight loss that technically fit with the moment but was uncomfortable to read and really unnecessary. The other thing is there’s a character with an obvious stutter who is portrayed as being grateful for other people interrupting to guess his next word for him, and then the stutter is magically cured at the end of the book. There are several scenes of him being interrupted while speaking, making it a running gag that ends abruptly once he’s cured. When compared with the subtle portrayals of characters gradually confronting and untangling their sexist prejudices, the handling of the stuttering character stands out as likely being ableist rather than being a fictional portrayal of ableism.
The narrative style is wry and witty, the unnamed narrator assuming that the reader is from our world and not Discworld, which provides space for funny comparisons, metaphors, and other observations. The narrator knows more than the characters in an absolute sense, but consistently uses that knowledge to provide humor and context.
Most of the characters start out with some sexist assumptions about how things ought to work, and the point of the story is them realizing the shape of those assumptions and questioning their validity in the face of a child whose existence refutes them absolutely. The cadence of the physical journey and the mental transformation blends together into a well-paced story. I liked it and I’m looking forward to later developments in this slice of Discworld.
I must briefly review a few caveats, however. This stands out as a book with several canonically fat characters but it does not equally mention when characters are thin, leaving the impression that fatness is strange and noteworthy. There’s also a comment about weight loss that technically fit with the moment but was uncomfortable to read and really unnecessary. The other thing is there’s a character with an obvious stutter who is portrayed as being grateful for other people interrupting to guess his next word for him, and then the stutter is magically cured at the end of the book. There are several scenes of him being interrupted while speaking, making it a running gag that ends abruptly once he’s cured. When compared with the subtle portrayals of characters gradually confronting and untangling their sexist prejudices, the handling of the stuttering character stands out as likely being ableist rather than being a fictional portrayal of ableism.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Sexism
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Racism, and Excrement