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The Bookish Owl – Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Snuff by Terry Pratchett Discworld

I will finally be reading Snuff by Terry Pratchett!

I have waited soooo long to read the last few Discworld books, because I wanted them in the new Collector’s Edition, and now they’re finally here! And they’re pretty, and shiny – and now I need to come up with an excuse to cancel all my plans in the near future.

No, I’m not excited or anything.

And I’m not getting an existential crisis at the thought that this will be the last time I read a City Watch book for the first time. Don’t be ridiculous.

That “The Watch” BBC series better be as good as the Good Omens adaption, or all of you will have to deal with my Vimes withdrawals.


Snuff
by Terry Pratchett

According to the writer of the best-selling crime novel ever to have been published in the city of Ankh-Morpork, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse.

And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder.

He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, and occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment.

They say that in the end all sins are forgiven.

But not quite all…


Snuff by Terry Pratchett Discworld

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The Bookish Owl – Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

This is not going to make sense to non-Discworld fans, but I’m reading Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett now because I need to get ready for Christmas.

Obviously I need to do my reread of ‘Hogfather’ in December and the last couple of Discworld books I have yet to read will be released in the the collector’s edition next week, so if I want  to reread some Death books beforehand, it needs to be now.

Sorry Granny Weatherwax – I’ll continue rereading the Witches books soon!

Since I can already feel myself freaking out about it soon being December as I’m writing this, let’s talk about the book: In Reaper Man, Death is once again MIA because he doesn’t really want to do his job and be Death. For a walking skeleton, this guy has surprisingly frequent mid-life crises.

So basically, this book is about people not dying even though they are supposed to, and if there’s one thing that’s more insane than wizards, it’s zombie wizards. Cue Windle Poons.

I will stop blabbering now, since I know you’re all just here for the owl.


Reaper Man
by Terry Pratchett

‘Death has to happen. That’s what bein’ alive is all about. You’re alive, and then you’re dead. It can’t just stop happening.’

But it can. And it has. So what happens after death is now less of a philosophical question than a question of actual reality. On the Disc, as here, they need Death. If Death doesn’t come for you, then what are you supposed to do in the meantime? You can’t have the undead wandering about like lost souls. There’s no telling what might happen, particularly when they discover that life really is only for the living…


Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

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The Bookish Owl – Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett Owl

It’s been a while, but I’m finally starting on a new book. And since Halloween is right around the corner, I’m going with Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett.

The last few Discworld books will be released in this edition on the 14th of November, so I’ll soon be taking a break from my reread marathon to read those for the first time. But as of right now I’m still revisiting my favorite characters.

I honestly don’t remember much from ‘Witches Abroad’, except from Magrat becoming a fairy godmother, Granny Weatherwax worrying about becoming evil, and Nanny Ogg going full-on tourist and horrifying people in her path. I’m sure there was also a plot in there somewhere, but I can’t seem to recall what it was.

But that just means I have even more to gain from a reread.


Witches Abroad
by Terry Pratchett

Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named Desiderata who had a good heart, a wise head, and poor planning skills—which, unfortunately, left the Princess Emberella in the care of her other (not quite so good and wise) godmother when death came for Desiderata. So now it’s up to Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg to hop on broomsticks and make for far-distant Genua to ensure the servant girl doesn’t marry the Prince.

But the road to Genua is bumpy, and along the way the trio of witches encounters the occasional vampire, werewolf, and falling house (well this is a fairy tale, after all). The trouble really begins once these reluctant foster-godmothers arrive in Genua and must outwit their power-hungry counterpart who’ll stop at nothing to achieve a proper “happy ending”—even if it means destroying a kingdom.


Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett Owl

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The Bookish Owl – Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Wyrd Sisters Terry Pratchett

New book, and it’s Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.

I ran out of City Watch books, so my Discworld reread is moving to the Witches subseries now. I remember not liking this book as much as the other Discworld books when I first read it, but I think it might be because I didn’t yet have the deep appreciation of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg that I developed later. Not sure why it took me so long to get into the Witches books, but it wasn’t until about “Maskerade” that I really started liking them as much as the rest of the series.

I think it might be because, in the beginning, they weren’t as funny as the others, though they had better plots. Or, maybe, it was just because Esme Weatherwax and I can be a bit too similar for comfort…

Either way, I’m hoping to enjoy my reread of the earlier books more!

(Also, don’t worry about Artemis being creepy – I told him it was October, so he’s just getting into the Halloween spirit)


Wyrd Sisters
by Terry Pratchett

Three witches – Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick – have gathered on a lonely heath. A king has been cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. An infant heir and the crown of the kingdom, both missing . . .

Witches don’t have these kind of dynastic problems themselves – in fact, they don’t have leaders.

Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders the witches don’t have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe . . .


Wyrd Sisters Terry Pratchett

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The Bookish Owl – Jingo by Terry Pratchett

Jingo Terry Pratchett

Here’s Jingo by Terry Pratchett.

Yep, I’m rereading all the Discworld City Watch books I haven’t already read in 2019. After that, I’ll probably move on to rereading the Witch books. And then probably the rest of the Death books…

Don’t ever think running out of books is going to stop me from reading Discworld.

Jingo introduces geopolitics to the Discworld. And obviously Ankh-Morpork is going to mess that up (that’s just what Ankh-Morpork does, okay?), and suddenly we have Vimes embracing his knighthood, Nobby in drag, and Lord Vetinari becoming a street performer.

Also, there’s a lot of talk of camels…


Jingo
by Terry Pratchett

Discworld goes to war!

Somewhere in the Circle Sea between Ankh-Morpork and Al-Khali, the Lost Kingdom of Leshp has emerged after hundreds of years beneath the waves. And so with no ships, no army and no money, Ankh-Morpork goes to war against the Klatchian army claiming the rock as their own.

Undaunted by the prospect of being tortured to death by vastly superior numbers of enemy troops, a small band of intrepid men and a very thick troll set out under the command of Sir Samuel Vimes of the City Watch.

If they can survive long enough, maybe they can arrest an entire army for breach of the peace…


Jingo Terry Pratchett