Wintersmith

Terry Pratchett (author)

Corgi Books, UK: 2007; 399pp

ISBN: 9780552553698

Genres: adventure, fantasy, humour

The Big Wee Hag is in trouble again and the Nac Mac Feegles are determined to help her as best they can. But what can a clan of little blue men (albeit magical ones) do against the might of the spirit of Winter?

Tiffany Aching made a mistake when she joined a dance not meant for her. Now the Wintersmith is trying to court her which is both terrifying – and just a little bit thrilling. Who wouldn't feel flattered, seeing their face in every snowflake? But as Tiffany gradually realises, the Wintersmith is not a normal man and 'no' is not a word he understands. As a witch, Tiffany must find the solution herself. If she doesn't many people, including those she holds most dear, will freeze as the natural cycle is totally disrupted.

Terry Pratchett is a highly regarded and extremely well known fantasy writer. The Discworld is both an incredibly complex and totally, wonderfully, hilariously illogical world. The Tiffany Aching novels are a subgroup in the Discworld books, following the adventures and developing talent of a girl who is likely to become as powerful and well-respected a witch as the great Granny Weatherwax. In Wintersmith Tiffany is reminded yet again that skilful witchcraft is mostly about managing people and doing the messy, practical things that others generally avoid; she learns about the secret of Boffo; she finds that a coven can be a pretty boring and at times just plain irritating way for an overly confident young witch named Annagramma to attempt to control her peers; and most of all she learns that even during the big, mysterious, spectacularly magical events (such as kissing the Wintersmith), a witch's job is, above all things, to think.

You rarely find Pratchett novels in the second-hand bookshop because his readers become diehard fans, releasing their collections only under severe duress – or death. Libraries do have copies but they're usually out on loan. Pratchett is for those who enjoy really clever humour of the kind that requires a certain level of reader engagement. His cynical affection for humanity in general means that his books are highly entertaining for others of a similarly bleak, black humour but he also has an apparently bottomless well of creative ideas, impossible creatures and an ability to interweave them with myths, legends and folklore.

Tiffany Aching is a character to delight all readers but will especially appeal to girls: a strong, intelligent female lead is a rare thing in fantasy and Pratchett does it superlatively.

'First Sigh and Second Thoughts, that's what a witch had to rely on. First Sight to see what's really there and Second Thoughts to watch the First Thoughts to check that they were thinking right. Then there were the Third Thoughts, which Tiffany had never heard discussed and therefore kept quiet about; they were odd, seemed to think for themselves, and didn't usually turn up very often.' (p44)

Same series: A Hat Full of Sky; I Shall Wear Midgnight