It doesn't have the huge laugh out loud moments that later discworld books have, in part because Pratchett was still finding himself as an author at this stage -- but it's a good addition to the Discworld universe and serves as a solid starting point for the Witches line of Discworld books. Eskarina Smith-the Disc's first ever Female Wizard-is similar to Tiffany Aching in many ways. She knows her own head but has a childlike mentality about a lot of things and it seems that she shares a smattering of stubborness with Granny that makes their stand-offs great to read. However, Esk isn't as well-developed as Tiffany was (though Tiffany did get five whole books to herself) and I often felt like Esk was pushed out of the story a little to accommodate the other larger-than-life characters (Simon and the Arch chancellor of Unseen University to name just a couple). I loved Terry Pratchett's way with words and Celia Imrie's sublime narration, they kept me enthralled.

The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard (on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are ascribed to seven in the real world), Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor.Esk felt that bravery was called for, but on a night like this bravery lasted only as long as a candle stayed alight.” Equal Rites, Sir Terry’s third installment in the Discworld series is a peach of practical magic. Telling the story of a young girl’s conflicting talents for wizardry and / or witchery. Don´t get me wrong, I instrumentalize anything to fit my agenda and continually misuse and wantonly misinterpret the code of objective reviewing, you should have already get used to it if this is not my first review drivel you read, but I at least don´t breed new prejudices. I am only saying, just like Pratchett, that all human problems are related to power hungry, already wealthy males that just can´t get enough. Overall this book had to do something right, because I pretty much tore through it in a weekend, which despite it's short length is still rather fast for me.

Eso sí, este libro no es de los mejores del autor y menos de esta saga. Para mí por el momento me quedo con Brujas 2,3,5 y 6. También entiendo que es de los primeros libros que escribía de Mundodisco. At the Un lugar así, un lugar que solo existe sólo porque los dioses también tienen sentido del humor, debe ser un mundo en el que la magia puede sobrevivir. Y también el sexo, por supuesto. Esk, 8th "son" of an 8th son (on the Discworld, 8 is the most magical number), who inherits the staff of a pretty powerful wizard because - instead of listening to Granny - he is eager to pass on his wizard's staff before he dies and assumes that Esk is going to be a boy. Now I have in the past read probably a dozen or so Discworld novels and have come across some of the major players in this epic series, Granny Weathwax included, who was the star of this book. Whilst I don't remember ever actually reading this book it was wonderful to get reacquainted with Granny W.I was afraid that I wouldn't like this, the third book in the Discworld series, as much as the previous books since it wasn't starring Rincewind and Twoflower, but I shouldn't have worried. Granny Weatherwax and Esk were excellent heroines and just as fun to read about as the boys.

A book chosen for fun, not part of any project, plan, or list. Part of my new appreciation of Discworld and Terry Pratchett. This is a new thing for me, begun this year. Her experiences while trying to get to the Unseen University make Esk doubt whether it is possible for a girl to step into the wizardry world, which is a man’s land. Since the Discworld society expects boys to seek fortune and girls to seek boys with fortune, she wonders that perhaps girls don’t have fortunes to seek. She almost decides to give up even before reaching the university, which is sadly common for many girls in the real world too. Fortunately, Granny’s guidance and her inner spirit make her fight on. I may be overthinking here and this may not be what the author meant at all, but you can replace the word magic in this quote with money. We can buy whatever we want with money but things that matter and the things that we need cannot usually be bought. If this really is what the author meant, then it adds another layer to the gender roles theme of the story, since traditionally men earn money and women take care of the household. I have now read the first 3 books in the series and this is the first about witches. I have to say that I felt this was a bit serious. I know there were jokes in it, but Granny Weatherwax is a bit serious and it really makes for a serious tone. It gets sillier toward the end of the book when they get to Unseen University. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the humor in this book, but it was serious.

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A good witching time atop Great A'Tuin, Equal Rites is one of his best. This would be a great introduction for new Discworld readers. A central theme of this book (also found in many of the other Discworld witch novels) is the contrast between, on one side the (female) witches or wiccans, who are in touch with nature, herbs and headology, and on the other side the (male) wizards who are very ceremonial and use elaborate, mathematics-like tools and rituals. This conflict closely mirrors the age old feud between occult practitioners in Roundworld as well as the rivalry in earlier times between the wise old women of the village and the medical men (and in modern times between herbalists/naturopaths and doctors). Pratchett's characters are very stereotypical of the various types of witches found at wiccan festivals. For once the sky was clear, the high Ramtops standing out crisp and white like brides of the sky with their trousseaux stuffed with thunderstorms." Granny doesn't have her friend Nanny Ogg as conversational foil and counterpoint in this book, and it's surprising how much that limits her character. What's more, while you can see elements of the character Granny eventually becomes, there's a surprising streak of country bumpkin in here here. In later books she loses most of that (which is for the best) and while she may not be worldly, she is still self-posessed and wise. That isn't to say this book is preachy or in your face about it. It simply that the satire is definitely more directed at real world issues than fantasy tropes like the first two books. It sounds like this sort of thing is more common in later books, so I find it interesting that he changed up the style so early on in the series.