Friday, February 05, 2010

Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge: Lords And Ladies

Lords and LadiesI'm already up to 5 books in the Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge (including reading the newest--Unseen Academicals--twice), and my initial promise to review them in the order read my have to fall by the wayside as I pull further ahead. However I'm going to stick with it for now to give a quick review of Lords And Ladies.

Lords and Ladies is one of the "Lancre" novels, dealing with the sleepy little kingdom of Lancre, in the heart of the Ramtop Mountains. Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat, having returned from foreign lands (recounted in the previous "Witches Abroad") and resume their meddling in local affairs. Unfortunately the peace of the village is shattered by the arrival of Elves, a cruel, magical race from another dimension. The plot is (extremely loosely) based on A Midsummers Night Dream--but with the elves as the bad guys.  Will the witches be able to put aside their interpersonal conflicts in order to save the day?  Well yes, of course they do, but it's how they do that's important.

I have to admit I've never been as big a fan of the Lancre novels as the other Discworld novels (with the exception of Maskerade, which is one of my all time favourites) but it's a solid story. The addition of visiting members of Unseen University adds to the fun, but my problem with the Lancre novels remains the same. Granny Weatherwax is abrasive,and Magrat is annoying wet. Nanny Ogg is the only character who I can really connect with. Not to say it's a bad novel--once I got into it I enjoyed it immensely, as I always do.

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