The Shepherd's Crown: The Fifth Tiffany Aching Adventure (Discworld Series #41)

by Terry Pratchett

Overview

Fantasy grandmaster Sir Terry Pratchett's final Discworld novel, and the fifth to feature the witch Tiffany Aching.

A SHIVERING OF WORLDS

Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring. The owls and the foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots. An old enemy is gathering strength. This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power. Now Tiffany stands between the light and the dark, the good and the bad.

As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her. To protect the land. Her land.

There will be a reckoning. . . .

THE FINAL DISCWORLD NOVEL

The five funny and fabulous Tiffany Aching adventures are:

• The Wee Free Men
• A Hat Full of Sky
• Wintersmith
• I Shall Wear Midnight
• The Shepherd’s Crown

Tiffany’s mentors, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, star in the novels Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, and Carpe Jugulum.

And don’t miss Terry Pratchett’s hilarious and wise Discworld novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents! 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062429988
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Series:	Discworld Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	77,894
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.68(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

Hometown:

Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

Date of Birth:

April 28, 1948

Place of Birth:

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England

Education:

Four honorary degrees in literature from the universities of Portsmouth, Bristol, Bath and Warwick

Editorial Reviews

A Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle.

Neil Gaiman

Elegiac and comforting, funny and serious.

Horn Book Magazine

Terry was one of our greatest fantasists, and beyond a doubt the funniest.

George R. R. Martin

A writer of monumental talent.

Rick Riordan

Discworld is one of the very most fabulous creations in all of literature.

Patrick Ness

There is something deeply suitable about the significant focus here on legacy and what is left behind. Savor this one; it’s literally the last authorized book coming.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Beloved fantasy writer Pratchett died this spring, and his dedicated and immense fan base will want his final novel. His storytelling is pure magic, and fans will grieve anew that this is the last of it. Stock up.

Booklist

No writer in my lifetime has given me as much pleasure and happiness.

A. S. Byatt

Beloved fantasy writer Pratchett died this spring, and his dedicated and immense fan base will want his final novel. His storytelling is pure magic, and fans will grieve anew that this is the last of it. Stock up.

Booklist

★ 09/07/2015
Pratchett's characteristic generosity is very much at the fore of this final Tiffany Aching tale, the last Discworld novel from the author, who died in March. Fans will also find plenty of other well-loved elements: exuberant wordplay, vaudevillian humor, the rambunctious blue-skinned Nac Mac Feegle, and—beneath it all—a susurrus of shivery archetype and myth. The death of a powerful witch, an event most solemn and heartfelt, reverberates throughout the world and sets the crackling adventure in motion. Sensing a new weakness in the barrier that separates their realm from the Disc, the cruel elves of Fairyland prepare for an invasion. Meanwhile, Tiffany is stretched thin in her work as witch and all-around healer when her responsibilities expand to include a second community. At the same time, peaceful Geoffrey—a character new to the series—heads toward the town of Lancre with the aim of becoming a witch, though women traditionally hold that position. As Tiffany, Geoffrey, and others gather to combat the elvish incursion, Pratchett allows some longtime characters to reveal surprising new qualities, including the delightfully insufferable Letice Earwig ("pronounced ah-wij," of course) and Nightshade, Queen of the Elves—Tiffany's foe from her earliest adventure. Rather than tie everything up with a simple happily-ever-after, the ending leaves Tiffany poised to begin a new phase of adulthood—one with the potential for adventures that are now up to readers to imagine. Pratchett's final work is a tour de force of compassion, great wit, and gleeful storytelling. He will be missed. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Fans will also find plenty of well-loved elements: exuberant wordplay, vaudevillian humor, the rambunctious blue-skinned Nac Mac Feegle, and-beneath it all-a susurrus of shivery archetype and myth. Pratchett’s final work is a tour de force of compassion, great wit, and gleeful storytelling.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“There is something deeply suitable about the significant focus here on legacy and what is left behind. Savor this one; it’s literally the last authorized book coming.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“Terry was one of our greatest fantasists, and beyond a doubt the funniest.” — George R. R. Martin

“A Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle.” — Neil Gaiman

“Discworld is one of the very most fabulous creations in all of literature.” — Patrick Ness

“No writer in my lifetime has given me as much pleasure and happiness.” — A. S. Byatt

“A writer of monumental talent.” — Rick Riordan

“Beloved fantasy writer Pratchett died this spring, and his dedicated and immense fan base will want his final novel. His storytelling is pure magic, and fans will grieve anew that this is the last of it. Stock up.” — Booklist

“Elegiac and comforting, funny and serious.” — Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2015
Gr 6 Up—Pratchett (The Long Utopia [HarperCollins, 2015]) leaves his fans with one last glorious tale of Discworld, this one starring his youngest heroine, the witch Tiffany Aching. When Death comes for Granny Weatherwax, she leaves behind her cabin and, by default, the job of unofficial leader of the witches to Tiffany. For the teen protagonist, being a witch has always been about doing what must be done, so she shoulders the burden but goes about things in her own way. She has soon taken on the first-ever male witch apprentice, Geoffrey, a man who has a soothing way with people and animals. Work becomes the least of Tiffany's problems once word of Granny Weatherwax's death reaches the realm of the elves. A cruel usurper casts out their Queen who is viewed as weak because of her caution after her earlier defeat by Tiffany and her wariness of the human's new iron horses. Tiffany shelters the diminished Queen while facing the threat of marauding elf hordes, backed by her trusty Nac Mac Feegles and other allies. Though this title was written during Pratchett's final days, there is nothing rushed here; indeed, this final book stands among the very best of his work. In one poignant scene, Death remarks on Granny Weatherwax's passing, "And far away, in someplace unthinkable, a white horse was being unsaddled by a figure with a scythe with, it must be said, some sorrow." And so, too, will readers mourn the loss of such an irreplaceable writing talent. VERDICT Readers young and old will savor this tale that emphasizes the values of hard work and standing firm in the face of evil. An exceptionally crafted finale from one of the greats.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

School Library Journal

With the warmth, humor, and assurance of an old friend, Stephen Briggs, who worked with the late author for more than 25 years, delivers this fifth Tiffany Aching Adventure with all his heart. Sir Terry Pratchett is known for gleefully having taken up the big questions—time, tides, mollusks, et al.—in his bestselling comic-fantasy Discworld novels. And so it goes with one of Pratchett’s most beloved and fully realized characters, the young witch Tiffany Aching. She must make her tiny corner of the world safe from marauding fairies, presumptuous barons, and flying toenail clippings. This is a special book—Pratchett’s last. One can hear Briggs summoning up the voices of the Pictsies, Hags, and Wizards one more time as he heads for a worthy conclusion to a saga that only Pratchett could conjure. B.P. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

2015-09-01
"Cry ‘Crivens!' and let loose the clan Mac Feegle!" The tiny, blue-skinned, kilt-and-not-much-else-wearing warriors will be needed, as the barrier between Discworld and Fairyland has grown thin, and the fairy folk are itching to break through again. As ever, young witch Tiffany Aching is ready to square her shoulders and do what needs to be done—she is a witch, after all, and that's what witches do—but even the young woman who banished the Queen of the Elves, faced down the hiver, survived a dance with the Wintersmith, and vanquished the Cunning Man will need help. In addition to Rob Anybody and his swarm of hard-drinking, brawling relatives, Tiffany has the support of the witches—even Mrs. Earwig and Queen Magrat—and a character new to Pratchett's universe: Geoffrey, a boy who "weaves calm" and musters an army of old men who stubbornly resist obsolescence. If Pratchett explored the double-edged sword of memory in I Shall Wear Midnight (2010), here he explores the complicated notion of legacy, as Tiffany must assume her full responsibilities as a mature witch and begin to cultivate apprentices of her own. If some subplots are not as fully integrated into the story as one might wish and there are some bumpy transitions, who cares? This is the late Pratchett's last book; even not-quite-perfect Pratchett is something to treasure and can proudly take its place in one heck of a literary legacy. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews