Product Description

Tiffany Aching is a trainee witch - now working for the seriously scary Miss Treason. But when Tiffany witnesses the Dark Dance - the crossover from summer to winter - she does what none has ever done before and leaps into the dance, into the oldest story there ever is, and draws the attention of the wintersmith himself...As Tiffany-shaped snowflakes hammer down on the land, can Tiffany deal with the consequences of her actions? Even with the help of Granny Weatherwax and the Nac Mac Feegle - the fightin', thievin' pictsies who are prepared to lay down their lives for their 'big wee hag' ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73181 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

From the Inside Flap
Tiffany Aching put one foot wrong, made one little mistake . .

And now the spirit of winter is in love with her.He gives her snowflakes and icebergs, says it with avalanches and showers her with snowflakes – which is tough when you're 13, but also just a little bit . . . cool.

And just because the Wintersmith wants to marry you is no excuse forneglecting the chores. So she must look after Miss Treason, who's 113 and has far too many eyes, learn the secret of Boffo, catch Horace the cheese, stop Annagramma Hawkin from becoming an embarrassment to all witches, avoid Nanny Ogg giving her a lecture on sex, stop the gods from seeing her in the bath—

‘Crivens!’

– oh yes, and behelped by the Nac Mac Feegles, whether she wants it or not.

It's unfair, but as Granny Weatherwax says, no one ever said it was going to be. And if Tiffany doesn't work it all out, there will never be another springtime . . .

A glorious and exuberant fantasy tale, crackling with energy and humour, Wintersmith is the third tale in a sequence about Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men.

Set on the Discworld.

From the Back Cover
'She's danced her way into the oldest story there is, and the only way out is through the end'

Every action has a consequence. Even small, spontaneous, perhaps involuntary ones. And as a result of one such action, life for Tiffany Aching is about to get very complicated. By dancing with a charismatic stranger, she has inadvertently begun a sequence of tumultuous events from which she cannot escape. But it's not just Tiffany who will suffer the consequences of that supposedly innocent dance: it's everyone who has expectations of the routines of life - that day will follow night, and that spring will follow winter. Because nature must be allowed to take its course...

'Pratchett is great, not because he doesn't know where to stop but because he knows where not to stop. He packs teenage sexuality, elemental mystery, and outright mystery into the same space...In every sense, fantastic' Independent

'Pratchett's one-liners, the comic dialogue, the satire about teenagers and the credulousness of ordinary folk make for a characteristically entertaining mix' Sunday Times

About the Author
TERRY PRATCHETT 'Brilliantly funny dialogue... high peaks of imagination' THE TIMES 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. His first Discworld novel for children, THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS, was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal, while the second, THE WEE FREE MEN - the first about Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle - has been optioned by Sony Films to be made into a spectacular movie. Two of his Johnny Maxwell tales have been televised by the BBC as TV drama serials.

Customer Reviews

Adorable and funny.
I loved this one. I couldn't put it down. It has extreme cuteness in the shape of kitten (only one), and extreme funnyness in the shape of Feegles and ... chickens. There were scenes in there that were pure slapstick, that made me laugh harder and harder as the scene developed. There's quite a lot of humanity and unhumanity (can't think of another word for it) too, with a bit of Greek mythology thrown in.

Tiffany Aching had to grow on me, and now she has.

What makes a man...?
I must start by explaining my circumstances with this book, when I finished A Hat Full of Sky in June, It was hard for me, not going mad for need of a sequel. The need for it was so strong at one point I nearly brought a proof copy, and I never buy proof copies. So I am sure you can understand why I was there on the day Wintersmith was released, and it was REALLY worth the wait. It was far, far better then I thought it could be.

I am sure you know the story from Amazon's handy synopsis so I will just tell you what I loved most about it. I loved the romance. I loved the descriptions. I love the sense of subtle menace and fear that managed to even make ME feel scared. It really doesn't read like most Terry Pratchett books, that although full of brilliance tend to get confusing. This although not confusing, was not straightforward either, you may need to read some parts twice to absorb them fully, but on the first read it is a wonderful exhilarating rush of beautiful writing.

All of the characters in this story are developed and explored more, you find out far more about Tiffany here, Tiffany the young woman, rather than Tiffany the rather solemn child. Not facts, just more about her as a person, her character. That's what I love about Tiffany, she feels like a living breathing person. Roland, looses the whining and complaining and grows a spine, and we see what may, just possibly, be a softer side to Esme Weatherwax. And of course there's the Wintersmith. The titular character, and boy is he a worthy subject for a novel, his story is very, very moving, by the time I got to the end I was close to tears. Although he could interpreted as the villain, he is such as sad, tragic character, that you just can't help but feel sorry for him.

I began this book on Monday, and finished on the school bus this morning, if I didn't have college I would of probably been unable to drag myself away from the book if someone shouted 'The apocalypse is coming!' I'd probably just stay there and die, it WAS that good.

So if I haven't hammered the point home, buy Wintersmith, you won't be sorry for doing so (and please ignore the fact that it is technically a children's book, it's wonderful that children can get access to gold like this but it can be off putting for adults who think 'children's fiction' is below them.)!

Please rate my review if you have the time!

Not bad, but not his best
As a Pratchett fan, I don't think he can write a bad book as such. That is, if you like Pratchett's style, you're going to enjoy most of his works. This isn't the best of his books, for sure, but I still enjoyed it. The characters are good and there's the usual mixture of humour and wisdom, but it's let down by an uninspiring central storyline and a weak ending.

As this is the third in the series, I would recommend reading the earlier books ('The Wee Free Men' and 'A Hat Full of Sky') first, although they are not essential to appreciating this one (but are better). The book picks up the story of Tiffany Aching, 13 year old trainee witch. If that conjures up images of Harry Potter like antics, forget it - witching in Terry Pratchett's Discworld is more about dispensing justice to squabbling peasants, delivering babies, and escaping from duckings with pointy hat still intact, and Tiffany's training is very much an apprenticeship as opposed to the cosy public school like atmosphere of Hogwarts.

Tiffany is a likeable heroine, mostly because of her down to earth practicality, with just enough magical ability to be interesting. But the story is stolen, along with most of the items featured in it, by the Nac Mac Feegle - the tiny blue fighting men introduced in the first book of the series. There are also some good supporting characters; eccentric Miss Treason, Discworld stalwarts Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax, and new witch Annagramma who thinks magic is more about spells than midwifery and gets a nasty shock...

So what's not so good? I suppose that after three outings, the characters and the concept seem just a little bit tired. They're still good, but they're not that original anymore. The story also suffers from its own structure. Starting with the big climax might make for an exciting beginning but it is also confusing and means the end feels like an anticlimax. I actually enjoyed the middle part of the book much more. The central storyline with the Wintersmith didn't really grab me, and I lost interest by the end. It felt rather like the story petered out, especially as the main drama had already taken place in chapter one.

This story is aimed primarily at children, and I think would be suitable for 12 year olds upwards, though it still will have plenty of appeal for adults too. I would recommend it to established Pratchett fans for the middle chapters, but if you're new to Pratchett start with some of his better works first.

On the whole, not bad but not great. If Pratchett wants to write a fourth he needs to inject some originality and find a stronger central storyline that can carry the entire length of the book.