Book post. Book #1 - "Wintersmith," by Terry Pratchett

[derien]

(I just want to jump on eor's bandwagon.  However, I suck at this sort of thing.  I know I'm going to be incoherent and not be able to keep it up.  Oh well.)

It's a Pratchett book, which means I'll like it to begin with.  I thought Tiffany got excellent characterization - I particularly liked how she'd have her First, Second and Third thoughts, and while talking to herself she could admit to herself that she was scared, yet flattered, or she'd try to be humble but felt cocky at the same time.  Roland could have gotten a little more time, and the part he had to play seemed a bit contrived.  I was happy enough with the glimpses we got of Granny Weatherwax and more so Nanny Ogg.  The Pictsies of course, as usual, are plot device and comic relief and often feel stilted and contrived, but that's what they are.  I was a little nervous about Rob Anybody learning to read at the end - that could make him a little too... normal.  I was surprised at how Summer seemed to have much more personality and understanding of people than the Wintersmith, and confused by the amount of understanding of humans they both seemed to have at the end of the story, during the Morris Dance.   

I thought the gimmick of giving us a whole chapter right at the beginning which actually happened at the conclusion of the book, and then jumping backward in time, was... gimmicky.  Time seemed to get a little muddling for me at several points, and I suspected it might have for him as well.

However, over all I enjoyed it immensely - it was good fun and a good way to begin my reading for the year. :)

Comments

[soda-and-capes.livejournal.com]

Gah, I really need to catch up on that series. I need more Pratchett.

[derien.livejournal.com]

For whatever reason I don't know, I somehow missed getting "Wee Free Men," and I borrowed "Hat Full of Sky" from the library, but if you feel like looking over my Pratchett shelf while you're in Maine you're free to borrow anything you want. Erm... except possibly a couple which I only have the UK cover copies of, because they were ridiculously expensive for paperbacks. Most of the hardcovers I don't mind lending out because I expect them to hold up to a little abuse, and the other paperbacks I don't mind lending out because they're paperbacks and therefore intended to self-destruct in about ten minutes.

[soda-and-capes.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are superawesome! And hm, it turns out my dad may have a copy of either one or both of the first two, so that may work out for me. We shall see. Thanks OMG SO MUCH, though!

[bravecows.livejournal.com]

Aw, I like the Feegles! I felt the book suffered most from the Wintersmith's not getting enough screen-time -- I was intrigued by the whole non-human-entity-trying-to-be-human thing, and I wish PTerry had expanded on that more.

(Also I'm not quite sure why it didn't work for the Wintersmith, when it works -- more or less -- for Death.)

[derien.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to say I didn't like the Feegles - I do!

Death has been making an effort for a lot longer. Of course Myria LeJean also didn't make an effort for long before she developed a personality... it didn't take her all winter. I don't know. Maybe what with having to deal with making storms and stuff he was a little busy. But the thing which confused me was that in the Dark Morris there was no dancer to represent Summer, whereas in the regular Morris there was a dancer who represented Winter, and the Wintersmith seemed to look through his eyes for that dance - so why should he have such a hard time understanding being human? Also, Summer seemed to have a much better grasp on it. She was jealous.