Product Description

The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the new-born baby's sex...This is a third hilarious adventure by the author of "The Colour of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1857 in Books
• Published on: 1987-11-13
• Original language: German
• Binding: Paperback
• 282 pages

From the Back Cover
The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the new-born baby's sex...

A THIRD HILARIOUS ADVENTURE BY THE AUTHOR OF THE COLOUR OF MAGIC AND THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

About the Author
Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie.

Customer Reviews

All good things come in eights...
The one where a wizard passes on his staff to an eighth (and therefore blessed) son...who turns out to be a daughter. Cue all sorts of problems on the Discworld, where (until now) there have been no female wizards. This story marks the first appearance of Granny Weatherwax, shepherding the powerful trainee wizardess Esk to the wizard seat of learning known as Unseen University. Once there, Esk and trainee wizard-cum-quantum physicist Simon save the Discworld from creatures of the Dungeon Dimensions (again). A complex tale interweaving science and gender equality - rather heavy going compared to its early Discworld predecessors `The Colour of Magic' and `The Light Fantastic'.

I gave this book to my mother when I was already a fan...
...And she liked it very much!
I think this is a good starting point for anyone new to the series. Its plot makes you think of a Studio Ghibli film (in a good way, mind you) but Pratchett's humour sparkles as brightly as ever.

Third in the Discworld Series
Terry Pratchett has become one of the most popular authors alive today and his popularity is richly deserved. But not even with his fertile mind could he ever have envisaged the heights to which his Discworld series would rise. This book first published in 1987 is the third of the Discworld novels and the author is really getting into his stride in the series that broke all records and continues to do so with new books being regularly published.

Pratchett's wit and imagination are second to none. Who else would have or could have thought of the Discworld, a world of mystery and magic sitting on the back of four elephants, who in turn are standing on the back of the great turtle A'tuin the whole lot journeying through an eternal void. Are you with the plot so far?

Wizard's have the uncanny knack of being able to predict their own death, or so thinks Drum Billet. Having seen his own demise rapidly approaching he sets out to pass his power and his staff on to his predicted successor, who as tradition would have it, has to be the eighth son of an eighth son. The only problem with this is that the eighth son just happens to be a daughter and whoever heard of a woman becoming a wizard. But it's too late Drum Billet has gone to wherever dead wizards go and Eskarina has inherited a wizard's staff and is even now under the doubtful tutelage of Granny Weatherwax, who reckons this being a wizard is as easy as falling off a broomstick for a witch of her calibre . . .