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Throwback Thursday Review: Wyrd Sisters

Wyrd Sisters audiobook cover. A silvery broom is propped up against the right-hand side, with a crown hidden beneath. The cover is solid black. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Duration: 14 hrs 44 mins.

Wyrd Sisters is the 6th book in Pratchett's extraordinary Discworld series, and the 2nd book of the Witches strand within it. The Witches' stories are one of my favourite Discworld subseries, and there's no dour mood that cannot be improved by the misadventures of Nanny Ogg, and a bit of Granny Weatherwax's headology!

Superbly narrated in its unabridged format by Celia Imrie, Wyrd Sisters brings back the inimitable Granny Weatherwax from the previous Witches book, Equal Rites, and introduces us to the incorrigible Nanny Ogg. The coven is completed by Magrat Garlick, a young witch who believes in a newer -and often much more jangly - way of doing things, which is frequently at odds with Granny Weatherwax's no-nonsense approach.

"The night was as black as the inside of a cat. It was the kind of night, you could believe, on which the gods moved men as though they were pawns on the chessboard of fate. In the middle of the elemental storm a fire gleamed among the dripping furze bushes like the madness in a weasel’s eye. It illuminated three hunched figures. As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked: ‘When shall we three meet again?’
There was a pause.
Finally another voice said in far more ordinary tones: ‘Well I can do next Tuesday.’ "

With frequent nods to The Scottish Play, Wyrd Sisters contains as much royal intrigue and court politics as any Shakesperian offering, but all wrapped up in Terry Pratchett's unique warmth and humour. As the witches find themselves embroiled in a plot to overthrow a kingdom they realise that there's only one way they can put things right; they will have to meddle, despite it being somewhat against the rules for witches. And 'if you're going to break the rules, you may as well break them good and hard...'

If you're new to the Discworld and looking for somewhere to start then I often recommend the Witches books as a wonderful place to begin. Wyrd Sisters was one of the books that helped me really fall in love with the Discworld, and is one of the ones I return to with the greatest frequency.


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