Witches Abroad, the 12th novel in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, features the return of the Witches after the events of Wyrd Sisters. It’s a very effective book that shows the true power of stories in the world. On the Disc, stories have a power of their own and reality changes itself to conform to the grooves etched out by a story. The story is a living, breathing entity and modifies the people involved in it. It’s also a darn funny book, though not quite up with the rest of the Discworld books in that regard.
The Story, as it shapes our characters
Fairy godmothers come in pairs: one good and one bad. Desiderata Hollow was a good one, the fairy godmother to a young orphan girl in the far-away city of Genua. Lilith was the bad one, and she wants the orphan to marry a handsome prince, which has the lovely side effect of granting her ultimate power in the city. Unfortunately, Desiderata is old. Not only that, but as a witch, she’s able to know exactly when Death is going to come for her. And it’s right now. So with a little preparation, she knows that she’s going to have to get the Three Witches of Lancre to Genua to take her place and make sure the wedding doesn’t happen.
That’s harder than it sounds, however. Stories write their own endings, especially ones that have been told and retold throughout time. The orphan girl always marries the handsome prince. That’s just the way it is. You can’t go changing stories, because the stories will work against you. But Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat have to try. If they don’t, Lilith will succeed in her plan. Happy endings are set in stone…aren’t they?
As the three witches travel to Genua, they stumble upon even more stories that journey on their own road to the usual ending. The stories are getting out of control. And when Granny learns who is behind all of this, even her normally steel nerves are shaken. For possibly the first time in her life, she’s actually nervous. And with all of these damned foreigners acting so foreign, how’s a witch supposed to do what she needs to do, anyway?
What Did I Think?
Ah, it’s nice to be back on the Disc for awhile. Witches Abroad takes our witches and puts them in a bunch of new situations, letting us learn more and more about them. Thankfully, the situations are also hilariously funny, made even funnier by Granny’s reaction to them. She bulls forward without stopping, demanding that the world conform to her demands instead of the other way around. So what if they do things different in another land? They’d better just start doing things her way while she’s there. It was a real treat, and really demonstrated how fun these characters can be.
Of course, Granny gets the most character development, as events in the book start to take on a more personal note. She’s actually afraid, which is a first, and it’s slightly unsettling to see her like that. But she doesn’t lose any of her charm as she intimidates some dwarfs, grouses that Magrat is running around in pants(!) and generally remains her crotchety self. She is probably the funniest character in the book because of all this. There is a priceless scene on a riverboat where she works to retrieve the money Nanny lost gambling with some card sharks. It’s simply wonderful to behold as she shows how, even though she may not understand the customs of foreign parts, she has a street-level knowledge that no one is a match for. It’s probably my favourite scene in the book.
Nanny is also very well done, especially when she shows off her knowledge of all these foreign countries (even if a lot of it is wrong). She’s the most experienced of the witches in the game of life, as she’s been around the block or two. I was familiar with Casanunda, the world’s second greatest lover, from a subsequent Witches book that I read first. This is the book where Nanny meets him, and she’s the only character that he could interact with and be at all funny. She “knows the ways of the world, ” so to speak, and thus finds his advances touching and amusing. She’s also the only person who understands Granny and can keep any sort of leash on her. Thus, she plays an important part by being Granny’s sounding board and confidante. Her letters home to her son are great fun as well, especially when she says that they ordered “steak tartar” and everybody looked at her funny when she said she wanted it well-done.
The other characters are pretty good, too, if unremarkable. Magrat continues to be the “straight man” to all of the fun, and she constantly gets into fights with Granny over what they’re going to do. Having read Lords & Ladies (the next book in the Witches series) already, I saw the beginnings of what was to happen there. I don’t know if it meant more because of that or not, but it did make it interesting. Unfortunately, other than that, she’s not that intriguing. I did like the trouble she was having with her new power, and how it took on a distinctly Halloweenish tinge. The other minor characters have their moments and are amusing, but they’re not really anything special.
The story moves along at a brisk pace, and is fairly short (about 285 pages). For awhile, I was beginning to wonder if they would ever get to Genua, or if this would be more of a travelogue. There are many humorous stories that take place on their trip, from the Dwarven mountain to the riverboat and to a castle full of sleeping people. Many fairy tales are parodied here, and even more are parodied by Nanny or Granny talking about them. There are too many to mention here, though, and half the fun is seeing how Pratchett twists them to meet his own needs. The book does begin to drag a little bit during their travels, however, and is only lightened up again when they stumble upon another fairy tale being acted out. There were times I wished he’d just move on and do something else, and then he finally did and everything was all right. I also really loved the mirror motif throughout the story, and how mirrors can amplify magical power, especially if you stand between them and let them reflect back and forth. I thought this was nicely done and original.
This is a very satisfying addition to the Discworld mythos, and it’s also a quick and easy read. You will laugh a lot during it, so read it if you need a pick-me-up. Pratchett does it again, and I can’t wait to read the rest of his books that I haven’t yet. The Witches have quickly grown into my favourite cast of Discworld characters, and it was good to read another of their adventures. This book is fine to read by itself as an introduction to the Witches, but it’s even better if you read Wyrd Sisters first.