Product Description

Features a cast of dwarfs, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers and one orang-utan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4970 in Books
• Published on: 1993-11-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 386 pages

From the Back Cover
THE FAIRIES ARE BACK - BUT THIS TIME THEY DON'T JUST WANT YOUR TEETH...

Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven are up against real elves.

It's Midsummer Night. No time for dreaming...

With a full supporting cast of dwarfs, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers and one orang-utan. And lots of hey-nonny-nonny and blood all over the place.

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

Where'd all these Elves come from?
Lords & Ladies, the 14th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, is a wonderful return to Pratchett form for me. It is laugh-out-loud funny and a wonderful parody of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. The Shakespeare allusions aren't quite as bewildering as they were in Wyrd Sisters either, which makes it a bit more accessible for the non-Shakespeare fan.

This book was fantastic. It was a very interesting blend of comedy and grimness. In fact, it was probably the most mainstream plot that I've seen Pratchett produce. The conflict between the Elves and Magrat (and the Elf Queen and Granny) is very straightforward and almost chilling. The Elves are relentless in their pursuit of their victims. Magrat has to do some very harsh things to save herself from them. The Elves are almost unstoppable. Then, there is the Granny's confrontation with the Queen, which is very much like other confrontations between heroes and villains. Granny is captured and the Queen is just playing with her. They discuss what's going to happen to Lancre when the Elves take over. The Queen threatens her life. That sort of thing. These scenes are almost terrifying, and that's the first time I can ever say that Pratchett has done that to me.

However, that doesn't take away from the comedy. There are some truly funny scenes in this book that will make you laugh hard. The Archchancellor of the the Unseen University of wizards decides that he should come to the wedding along with a few colleagues (including the Librarian, an orangutan that used to be human before a magical accident). The scenes with the wizards, as usual, are just hilarious. This includes everything from attempting to hire transport (they don't have enough money, so they have to say that the Librarian is a pet) to the Archchancellor's attempts to woo Granny. As they say, hilarity ensues.

The characters are simply wonderful. It is such a difference between this book and Equal Rites. Not only are they very funny, but you start to care for them as well. Great strides are made in character development. Magrat finally learns what she can do when she's pushed, when she stands up to the Elves. Granny learns to respect Magrat just a little bit. Nanny learns about Casanunda, the world's second greatest lover ("I try harder"). All of the witches seem a bit less testy, but still well within the character established for them in earlier books. Even the wizards get some development, which doesn't happen very often. You learn a bit about the Archchancellor in this one as well. Usually, the wizards are just around for comedy relief.

Probably the best character, though, is Simon. He's one of Nanny Ogg's sons, and he's basically everything at the castle. He's the army, he's the servant, he's the herald, etc. His attempts to get his mother and the other witches to follow royal protocol (like letting him announce their presence to the King) are very funny. Even he gets some development, though, as he learns what it is to be a leader when he has to lead a rag-tag band against the Elves.

There is only one thing wrong with this book. The ending, again, is a bit lack-luster. This time, it's also a bit anti-climactic. It doesn't exactly come out of nowhere, as there is a bit of a set-up. However, I think it still needed a bit more. I applaud Pratchett for trying to turn the clichéd ending to something like this on its head, but I think it needed a little more support.

As far as the characters and the plot go, though, this was a classic book. Not quite as good as Reaper Man (I don't know if he'll ever be able to top that), but still very high up on the list. And ignore what Pratchett says at the beginning of the book. While it does continue straight on from the previous book (which I haven't read), it is still very understandable without that. In his little blurb at the beginning, Pratchett gives you all of the information you will need to understand this one.

If you can't find Reaper Man, this one also makes an excellent entry into the Discworld universe.

David Roy

Lords & Ladies - Pratchett does Shakespear!
Join the Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and the newly-wed Magrat for their amazing third adventure.
Magrat and Verence have had a baby and it's time for the christening, but it's also coming close to midsummers eve and the line between the disc realm and that of the elves is drawing closer.
protected only by the iron dancers and granny weatherwax, Lancre and the rest of the disc looks set to be invaded by the elves. not the beautiful, loving creatures the story books describe, the REAL elves, blood-thirsty, nasty, twisted and cruel. but Granny has other things on her mind.... there's a new witch in town, who's actually pretty good and then her childhood sweetheart turns up for the royal christening and Nanny STILL won't stop singing about hedgehogs!
this book is another of pratchetts parodies of the great bard, like Wyrd Sisters was 'macbeth' and Masquerade was 'Phantom of the Opera', Lords and Ladies is 'A Midsummers Nights Dream', but with the usual pratchett twist!
there's more morris dancing for a start. then there's an ape who APPRECIATES theatre, oh, and a bee-keeper who hates anyone who's not a bee.
did i mention King Verence and his attempts at the Karma Sutra? i didn't? well read the book and you'll understand.
this is one of pratchetts finest books, a page-turning, laugh-out-loud adventure that will keep you reading it again and again for years to come!

My favourite Witches book
I absolutely loved this book, everything about it is just perfect. It is perhaps one of the darker of Pratchett's witches books - the elves are actually quite a frightening adversary. I always hated Tolkein's high-handed elves, so effortlessly beautiful, so graceful, so noble, so eternally young, bleuch! Smug b*stards. Here Pratchett explodes the myth that being beautiful means you must be good.
Nanny Ogg is - as ever - a joy to read about. Her exploits around the 'Long Man' and her date with Casanunda are comic gold, as is her rousing speech to Lancre's ragtag army.
Granny Weatherwax also gets a bit of a backstory and, as a result a more rounded character. We can see why she is like she is and some of what she's had to give up to be the most powerful witch of all.
But it's Magrat who undergoes the biggest change - the scenes of her confrontation with the elves had me on the edge of my seat mentally cheering her on. This is Pratchett doing a more conventional style of adventure than his usual and it's very good.
I could almost taste the night air and smell the snow.