Witches Abroad: Three Witches, One Bad Godmother, and a Twisted Quest to Stop a Fairy Tale Wedding (Discworld Book 12)

Josh Mauthe

Not quite the impact of later books, but it's so much fun (and so funny), and still so rich...so who cares?

"What a joy it was to realize that there was a Discworld book I hadn't read! Witches Abroad was the 12th Discworld book, which means that coming to it late means going back to a Discworld where the Watch is still a bit of a joke, where Tiffany Aching has yet to emerge, and where so many of the social changes with regard to the less human creatures of the Disc had yet to occur. What it also meant was returning to a time when Terry Pratchett wasn't quite using the series to explore profound truths like he would later. (It would hit that landmark in a big way in the next book, Small Gods.) That's not to say that Pratchett had nothing to say here; Witches Abroad is fascinated by the power of stories in our lives, from urban legends to fairy tales, and how we so often use the power of stories to override sense and logic, throwing our lives and passion after a plot line that always works on paper. That's rich fare, and if Pratchett would revisit it to some degree more effectively and powerfully in Hogfather, that doesn't detract from the great ideas he's tossing around here. But none of that really has any impact on just how much fun reading Witches Abroad is. Pratchett tosses in any number of fairy tales, letting his wonderful trio of witches - the elderly, unbeatable, and determined Granny Weatherwax; the dotty, pleasure-seeking Nanny Ogg (and her terrifying cat Greebo); and the inexperienced but enthusiastic Magrat Garlick - crash their way through them, leading to any number of "fractured fairy tales" filled with anarchy and absurdity. And with Pratchett being Pratchett, that's not enough for him, so he takes on bull-running, Cajun cooking, Mardi Gras, vampire stories, the self-image of cats - oh, and sibling rivalry, political power, the importance of belief, and more. There's no shortage of social commentary here, ranging from the important to the trivial, and all of it feels insightful, funny, and deeply humane. (Also, his descriptions of Cajun/creole cooking are so accurate as to hurt.) And as always, it's written in classic Pratchett style, with nary a sentence passing without a joke, a great aside, or a clever bit of phrasing. And why play a scene normally when you can pack the book with silliness, including what it's like when animals become people, the divide between magic and just messing with people's heads, a few surprisingly racy double entendres, and what it means to be "foreign". In other words, it's what made me fall in love with Pratchett: the fact that he combines a slew of ideas, a wondrous imagination, clever prose, satirical bite, great insights, and rich plotting, and makes it all look easy. I don't know how he did it, but I can say that there will never be another like him again, and I'm just glad that I got my last chance to jump in fresh to a classic Discworld novel. ["

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July 22, 2018 Verified Purchase

Diana D

Absolutely Brilliant!

"Ah, I really do love the Witches series, and this one is, so far, my favorite of the three that I've read thus far. In brilliant Pratchett style, ALL fairy tales are fair game for skewering. There's a great dose of Pratchett's signature philosophical musings on the nature of good and bad, and in this case, the whole concept of Story itself. The three main witch characters are priceless: Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax, and Magrat Garlick just steal the show. And I loved the addition of Mrs. Gogol and her voodoo wisdom and magic. Just great!! ["

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August 12, 2025 Verified Purchase

Blake Petit

Best of the Granny Weatherwax series

"Although I've loved Pratchett's "Discworld" series for some time now, I've never really cared for the Granny Weatherwax series. Both "Equal Rites" and "Wyrd Sisters" left me kind of cold. "Witches Abroad," however, really stands out and pulled me in -- perhaps because the subjects Pratchett are lampooning in this volume are both rather close to me: fairy tales (stories in general, actually) and Mardi Gras (I've lived near New Orleans my entire life). Pratchett seamlessly meshes elements of Cinderella with Little Red Riding Hood with Sleeping Beauty with the Three Little Pigs with a dozen other stories we all know and love, poking as much fun at storytellers as at stories themselves. I love this sort of thing, the blending of classic stories, not unlike the musical "Into the Woods" or the excellent DC/Vertigo comic book series "Fables," and Pratchett does it as well as anyone. This is definitely the best of the Granny Weatherwax books I've read. ["

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September 2, 2002 Verified Purchase

Constant Reader

Fractured Fairy Tales in Discworld

"Once upon a time in this 12th Book of Discworld, a witch doing extra duty as a fairy godmother dies and leaves her magic wand to another witch with very little instruction except to not let Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax help with the fairy godmothering. No other instructions could have ensured more help from those two. In Discworld, the world is a flat disc, balanced on the backs of four elephants which are standing on the back of a giant turtle. There are many novels set in Discworld, and most of them are clever, witty, and rapid-fire novels. Almost all of the Discworld novels fall into different categories: Tiffany Aching, Rincewind, the three witches, Sam Vines and the guards, and Death. This is a book of the three witches. Terry Pratchett is a master of satire that somehow remains timely. (He writes for example toward the beginning: “But the trouble was that ignorance became the more interesting, especially big fascinating ignorance about huge and important things…” Sounds timely to me.) This book is a fractured retelling of fairytales, a great journey through mangled but recognizable locations, and magic gone wrong. That sounds like a train wreck of a mash-up, but do not forget that this is a Terry Pratchett book and he can make nonsense make sense. It is also satirical, absurd, and occasionally silly. For example, the wand seems only to make pumpkins, but you would be surprised how occasionally pumpkins are helpful. There is method to the madness. Terry Pratchett does a wonderful job of maintaining the integrity of his absurd world and his characters while keeping everything fresh and creative. As always, the humor is wrapped around serious themes. It may be absurd, but it can also be thought provoking. I cannot read too many of them in a row, but when I need something different, a Discworld novel is the perfect metaphorical palate refresher. Like all the Discworld books, the tone is satirical and clever. These books do not contain any scenes, language, or images that would rate even a PG-13 rating at the movies. If a reader does not have sufficient maturity, much of the book will be wasted, because you won’t get the jokes or understand the satire. ["

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July 17, 2018 Verified Purchase