Scan barcode
A review by poorsapadvocate
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A Hat Full of Sky is one of my favorite books of all time. Terry Pratchett has long been one of my favorite authors, but the Tiffany Aching series has always been important to me. There's something about the witches of Discworld that always inspire me. They aren't just there for power or fame (Annagramma not included), they're there because they know they have to be. Someone has to make sure that people are taking care of each other. And while Weatherwax and the other mainline witches are a laugh riot, Tiffany's books really get to explore these feelings and sense of responsibility. Tiffany was never at fault for her feelings of insecurity towards the other witches, but she was responsible for dealing with them in a healthy manner, both before and after the hiver. The battle with the Nac Mac Feegles is hilarious, and the final confrontation with the hiver is both heartwarming and heartwrenching. Tiffany Aching makes me want to be a better person.
I read the preview chapters for Wintersmith in the back of my library copy like 5 years ago and immediately hated it.
My problems start with the premise. There's just something that really bothers me that Tiffany, whose whole characterization stems around her thinking through situations and seeing them for what they really are, would jump into the Morris dance just because she thought they were doing it wrong. Especially after being told very explicitly by her witch mentor that it would not look the way she expected it to and to not get involved. Granted I wouldn't listen to Miss Treason either; she's easily Pratchett's worst character. Weatherwax does postulate that it may have been part of Tiffany's connection to the Chalk, which does make sense. We can't expect Tiffany to have a connection to the land only when it's cool for her to do so. If she acts for the Chalk, then she should be acting for the Chalk, even when it's inconvenient or dangerous. But it's only brought up once, never confirmed nor denied, and pales in comparison to the number of times Tiffany bemoans the fact that she did something stupid without actually resolving how to fix it. Even the narrator isn't on her side.
But does it get better after the inciting incident? ...Sort of. I do like the idea of exploring themes of love as this terrifying unstoppable force of nature as old as the earth itself, even if one of the things I always really liked about Pratchett's books was that romance was never a defining feature. The witches are still fun, and Annagramma comes out with an unexpectedly great character arc. The Feegles are probably at their best in this book, with the inclusion of Horace the sentient cheese. Some of the best jokes Pratchett has ever told are in this book, especially towards the end. Without spoiling anything, you know you have good characters when you can just put two in a room and see what happens.
But overall, the book is just too slow. The actual plot maybe covers about 150 pages of a 400 page book. The slower pace is not necessarily bad; it's nice to have a more slice-of-life story for once, and I could read the Nac Mac Feegles reading the phone book. But the actual stakes for this story were too high to justify the slow pace. It's hard to fight the literal seasons, but we know the winter is out of control long before Tiffany ever does anything about it. Tiffany spends most of the book just hiding out while the winter is killing people (and sheep.) The whole last book was about Tiffany having to fight a force of nature and own up to her mistakes, so why doesn't she do that here until it's almost too late? I'm glad that Roland has something to do in this book, but Tiffany could have easily become the Hero on her own. She's already done it before.
It's not a bad book. There's a page and a half long sequence where Rob Anybody struggles to spell out "marmalade", it can't be a bad book. But it's probably my least favorite of the Discworld series. Still, I'm glad I read it if only so I can continue with the rest of the Tiffany books now.
I read the preview chapters for Wintersmith in the back of my library copy like 5 years ago and immediately hated it.
My problems start with the premise. There's just something that really bothers me that Tiffany, whose whole characterization stems around her thinking through situations and seeing them for what they really are, would jump into the Morris dance just because she thought they were doing it wrong. Especially after being told very explicitly by her witch mentor that it would not look the way she expected it to and to not get involved. Granted I wouldn't listen to Miss Treason either; she's easily Pratchett's worst character. Weatherwax does postulate that it may have been part of Tiffany's connection to the Chalk, which does make sense. We can't expect Tiffany to have a connection to the land only when it's cool for her to do so. If she acts for the Chalk, then she should be acting for the Chalk, even when it's inconvenient or dangerous. But it's only brought up once, never confirmed nor denied, and pales in comparison to the number of times Tiffany bemoans the fact that she did something stupid without actually resolving how to fix it. Even the narrator isn't on her side.
But does it get better after the inciting incident? ...Sort of. I do like the idea of exploring themes of love as this terrifying unstoppable force of nature as old as the earth itself, even if one of the things I always really liked about Pratchett's books was that romance was never a defining feature. The witches are still fun, and Annagramma comes out with an unexpectedly great character arc. The Feegles are probably at their best in this book, with the inclusion of Horace the sentient cheese. Some of the best jokes Pratchett has ever told are in this book, especially towards the end. Without spoiling anything, you know you have good characters when you can just put two in a room and see what happens.
But overall, the book is just too slow. The actual plot maybe covers about 150 pages of a 400 page book. The slower pace is not necessarily bad; it's nice to have a more slice-of-life story for once, and I could read the Nac Mac Feegles reading the phone book. But the actual stakes for this story were too high to justify the slow pace. It's hard to fight the literal seasons, but we know the winter is out of control long before Tiffany ever does anything about it. Tiffany spends most of the book just hiding out while the winter is killing people (and sheep.) The whole last book was about Tiffany having to fight a force of nature and own up to her mistakes, so why doesn't she do that here until it's almost too late? I'm glad that Roland has something to do in this book, but Tiffany could have easily become the Hero on her own. She's already done it before.
It's not a bad book. There's a page and a half long sequence where Rob Anybody struggles to spell out "marmalade", it can't be a bad book. But it's probably my least favorite of the Discworld series. Still, I'm glad I read it if only so I can continue with the rest of the Tiffany books now.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
Roland's father does not die in this book, but it is heavily implied he does not have much time left. Roland's aunts are almost too comically exaggerated to be really abusive towards him, but Roland's confinement in the towers does parallel to real abuse. No named animals die on screen, although You the cat is never found.