In which we discuss which witch is the witchiest witch which does witching...

[jsbowden]

I read Wintersmith the weekend before last, and it was another look at the Discworld from a different perspective.

It's another YA entry with a focus on Tiffany Aching, but I like what Pratchett has done with this storyline and character, so I'm cool with that (though I REALLY would like to see another mainline Discworld novel soon...please?).

This story begains at the end...sort of. It starts with a vision of AN end. One possible end. The Nac mac Feegle. Gotta love 'em. Rob Anybody. It's not just a name, it's a lifestyle.

Anyway, our heroine (is that a drug or a female hero? I can never remember which is witch) is taken to view the welcoming of winter, and finds herself filling a hole that wasn't meant for her. Never step in to the shoes of a demigodess when you aren't.

I rather enjoyed this book. It moved nicely, and Pratchett's writing style isn't really any different for the YA books, it just has a different focus. A thirteen year old apprentice witch from the Chalk training in Lancre has a very different worldview and decidedly different ideas of what's important than does a member of Ank-Morpork's City Watch, Death's granddaughter, a monk making sure History happens, a Librarian in the Discworld's premier school of magic, or even Death himself.

She has yet to meet real Trouble, but only because it hasn't trampled its way across the disc and run into her. Queen of the Elves? The Hiver? Accidentally stepping in to Summer's role? Child's play. Let's see her take on The Luggage.

I also picked up The Art of Discworld. It's now out in a softcover format (still has the nice thick pages with Paul Kiddby's wonderful work in full color all over it). Reading Pratchett's comments were interesting. He expressed something I've sort had running around in the background for a while now. Granny Weatherwax may have more raw magical ability than any of the other witches out there, but Nanny Ogg has more real power. On her own, and in her ability to point Granny at whichever target she thinks needs an arrow. Even Granny has contemplated Nanny's abilities in her head on more than one occasion. She doesn't understand Gytha's power, and has fallen under its influence quite regularly. I'm not sure she notices.

Gytha Ogg is one of the few characters I don't think looks right. As a young woman, she was someone every man chased (and she was always happy to be caught), and even aged, she should retain that in some fashion. Getting old will mute it, but it shouldn't totally subsume it. The Mona Ogg lacks something for the same reason...Nanny O. should look more like the sexpot she was at that stage in her life.

Comments

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Nanny Ogg's portrayals have always bothered me for much the same reason: Why is she always drawn with lumps and warts?

(And, really, Granny is the biggest reason I *don't* like the Witches books. She always strikes me as a sanctimonious deus ex machina character who inevitably succeeds through bullheaded "unstoppable force" writing despite having no idea what's really going on.)

[torrain.livejournal.com]

To be fair, in most of the Discworld art I've seen, everybody is drawn with lumps and warts. Except Agnes/Perdita and and Angua, who just have lumps.

(There may also have been an exception for the protagonist of whatsitsname, the female sourcerer...?)

But yeah, though I chalked it up to dozens of kids and no-one really looking like a sexpot, it's always seemed a little odd.

(ObWeatherwax: with certain rare and specific exceptions, like a stolen invitation, I think she knows enough about what's going on to justify applied force rather than unstoppable force.)

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

I like Susan's depiction save for the hair. I always have this image of her hair being almost completely straight (she bends on occasion, so should the hair) and totally practical, just like her. The afro is just wrong.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

Granny is sanctimonious, but she's got a handle on how things work. She's just never really figured out people despite her headology. She knows the parts, but doesn't get the whole, and she's definately not at her best with a crowd. She knows how to manipulate people, but beyond that, I don't think she really understands them. Nanny can and will manipulate people too, but for her it's more of a side thing she does for her own amusement. With the exception of the attitude she takes with her army of daughters in law, she's generally pleasant, she likes people and works for what's in their best interests, and only resorts to getting nasty if all else fails. Granny's default mode is less than pleasant.

Granny puts you on maximum defensive; Nanny has you putting down your guard to help her out long before you realize that maybe you should have held on to that pike, if you ever realize it. Most of the time, she never has reason for the people she's interacting with to realize just who and what they're dealing with.