The final adventure in Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series brings this subset of Discworld novels to a moving and highly satisfactory conclusion. Tiffany, now nearly 16 years old, is forced to do battle with the hate-filled ghost of a long dead witchfinder, the Cunning Man, who has become obsessed with the young witch and is gradually turning her own community against her. As ever, Tiffany is ably supported by her loyal, intensely fractious, and totally amoral companions, the Nac Mac Feegles, whose leader, Rob Anybody, believes, "After all, ye ken, what would be the point of lyin' when you had nae done anything wrong?" She must deal with the heavy workload of a professional witch (birthing babies, training apprentices, and the like), fight evil, and come to terms with her former boyfriend's impending marriage. Pratchett's trademark wordplay and humor are much in evidence, but he's also interested in weightier topics, including religious prejudice and the importance of living a balanced life. Tiffany Aching fans, who have been waiting for this novel since Wintersmith (2006), should be ecstatic. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)
At once touchingly poignant and uproariously hilarious, this novel is a splendid goodbye to a batch of characters who will be missed by readers who still must admit that, with this fourth volume, their stories have been well and thoroughly told”— — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
In terms of pure humor per square word, Pratchett may be the cheeriest writer around.
One of the most entertaining and literarily rich fantasies for young adults available. Funny, thought-provoking, and completely engaging from first to last.
Pratchett’s skill as a storyteller soars.
Tiffany is Hermione Granger, Gaiman’s Coraline, and Pullman’s Lyra Belacqua rolled into one.
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
At once touchingly poignant and uproariously hilarious, this novel is a splendid goodbye to a batch of characters who will be missed by readers who still must admit that, with this fourth volume, their stories have been well and thoroughly told.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
At once touchingly poignant and uproariously hilarious, this novel is a splendid goodbye to a batch of characters who will be missed by readers who still must admit that, with this fourth volume, their stories have been well and thoroughly told”—
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
At once touchingly poignant and uproariously hilarious, this novel is a splendid goodbye to a batch of characters who will be missed by readers who still must admit that, with this fourth volume, their stories have been well and thoroughly told.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)
At once touchingly poignant and uproariously hilarious, this novel is a splendid goodbye to a batch of characters who will be missed by readers who still must admit that, with this fourth volume, their stories have been well and thoroughly told”—
The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
"At once touchingly poignant and uproariously hilarious, this novel is a splendid goodbye to a batch of characters who will be missed by readers who still must admit that, with this fourth volume, their stories have been well and thoroughly told"—
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Another witch story, this time starring Pratchett's plucky Tiffany Aching. Tiffany made her debut in The Wee Free Men (2003), in which she saved her brother from an evil queen and discovered her true calling as a witch. Three books later, she is the Witch of the Chalk, performing good works and keeping in check the baser instincts of her faerie friends, the Nac Mac Feegles-small, blue kilt-wearers best known for drinkin', fightin', and stealin'. She is unprepared for the coming of the Cunning Man, an energy that turns people against their witch. The villagers' respect turns to suspicion and hostility, leaving Tiffany to find who unleashed the Cunning Man's force and save herself from the flames. Pratchett's final foray into Tiffany's parcel of his Discworld is a sometimes bittersweet meditation on betrayal and forgiveness. Angelina Benedetti, "13 Going on 30", Booksmack! 10/21/10
Library Journal - BookSmack!
Pratchett's fourth—and final—book to feature young witch Tiffany Aching (The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith) is a delight from start to finish. The trademark Pratchett humor is in full force along with the classic elements of a witch, a royal wedding, a royal funeral, a trip to the big city, and an ominous villain. Comic relief comes in the form of frequent appearance by the Nac Mac Feegle (who would not be out of place in a farcical miniproduction of Braveheart) and everyone's favorite randy old hag, Nanny Ogg. A character from early in the "Discworld" series makes a cameo appearance, and we meet a new character, the learned young man Preston. As usual, Pratchett makes wise and wry observations about human behavior, for example, "poison goes where poison's welcome" refers to the mob mentality.Verdict YA and adult readers who like strong heroines and classic tales will enjoy this volume, which is sure to be in demand by Discworld fans.—Amy Watts, Univ. of Georgia Lib., Athens
Gr 7 Up—This is the final adventure of the young witch, Tiffany Aching, and her obnoxious, fawning, and yet lovable small blue companions, the Nac Mac Feegles. In many ways it's a coming-of-age novel, as Tiffany is now on her own. Known as "The Hag O'the Hills," she spends her time tending to the messy, menial, everyday things that no one else will take care of, such as fixing bones or easing the pain of a dying man. But as she tries to serve the people of the Chalk hills, she senses a growing distrust of her, and a loss of respect for witches in general. Along with the Nac Mac Feegles, she has to seek out the source of this growing fear. Tiffany discovers she may have been responsible for waking an evil force when she kissed the winter in Wintersmith (HarperTempest, 2006). The Cunning Man is in need of a host body and is searching for Tiffany. Pratchett combines gut-busting humor and amusing footnotes with a genuine poignancy as Tiffany tries to decide what her future should be. Fans of the author's "Discworld" (HarperCollins) books will enjoy the connections with the larger series, particularly the inclusion of Granny Weatherwax. Simply put, this fourth and final book in the series is an undisputed triumph.—Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO
Ask Tiffany Aching, and she'll tell you: It's not easy being a witch, especially when you're only almost 16 years old.
It can't be easy being Terry Pratchett, either, an author known foremost, perhaps, for his screamingly funny Discworld novels, of which this is the latest. Beneath everything he writes, however, even as he has readers howling helplessly with laughter, is a fierce, palpable love for his fellow human beings, however flawed they may be. A love that causes Tiffany over and over to square her shoulders beneath her pointy black hat and do what's needful.
He throws a lot at Tiffany, who crashed spectacularly into her calling when she armed herself with a skillet and, at the age of nine, ventured into Faerieland (which is not nearly as nice as it sounds) to steal her brother back from its Queen (The Wee Free Men , 2003). Here he challenges her with the Cunning Man, a centuries-old disembodied hatred that seeks ignorance and uses it—"Poison goes where poison's welcome"—against witches.
Themes of memory and forgetting run throughout this tale. Books preserve all memories, even the ones better consigned to oblivion. The Cunning Man is resurrected when Letitia, Tiffany's erstwhile swain Roland's fiancée (Pratchett confronts her with this betrayal, too) summons him inadvertently when trying to work a spell against Tiffany. But one of the Cunning Man's MOs is wanton book burning, a calculated obliteration of memories.
Witches, arguably, embody the accumulated wisdom of their craft, while the Cunning Man is a collective memory of evil. He operates by playing on fear and causing the common folk to forget what their witches have done for them. Tiffany must remember everything she's gleaned from all the witches who have trained her to defeat him, and the key is a childhood memory the old Baron shares with her on his deathbed.
It's not all heavy stuff. Pratchett leavens Tiffany's passage into adulthood with generous portions of assistance from the Nac Mac Feegle, the six-inch-high blue men whose love of boozin', fightin' and stealin' is subordinate only to their devotion to Tiffany, their Hag o' the Hills. When they utterly destroy the King's Head while on an errand for Tiffany, they rebuild the pub—back-to-front, rendering it the King's...oh, crivens, never mind.
And even as he demands more and more of Tiffany—her beau engaged elsewhere, her old Baron gone, the people of the Chalk turned against her—he gives her an army of friends and someone who loves words as much as she does, someone who, like Tiffany and, one suspects, the author himself, knows that "forgiveness" sounds "like a silk handkerchief gently falling down."
A passionately wise, spectacularly hilarious and surpassingly humane outing from a master.
