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: #71852 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
DROP IN COPY, AUTHOR BIOG/PHOTO AND READER BIOG/PHOTO FROM THUD

An abridgement of Wintersmith (C) Terry and Lyn Pratchett 2006

(P) Corgi Audiobooks 2006
Discworld (R) is a registered trademark

Author photograph by Robin Matthews

Reader photograph by Chris Bennett

Abridged by Keith Darvill

Produced by Maurice Leitch

Corgi Audio is a division of Transworld Publishers, 61 - 63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA

'Dolby' and the X symbol are the trademarks of Dolby Laboratories, Inc

RC

Approx 4 hours

4 CDs

£14.

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

One of my favourites
This has become one of my favourite books. I've always loved the "witches" series and the "nac mac feegle" who appear in Carpe Jugulum invaded my brain, kicked a few bottles around and dossed down.

This is, as others have said, the third in the "Tiffany Aching" series. I admit I enjoyed the first, wasn't too struck with the second (to start with), but with this one Pratchett is back to his best. It hooked me from the start.

Pratchett's talent and skill is in the folklore and the facts which he uses in the books, the little things, like the old belief in summer and winter Gods, the laying out and sitting with the dead, etc. For me it is these small factual titbits that add to the story and make it more than your typical 'story book'. Some of the in-jokes seem to be based on this 'secret' knowledge and understanding (Da Vinci Code but much much better and not boring).

If you've never read Pratchett before then I would heartily recommend this series - Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith.

If you're unsure try the library first. Annoyingly this series tends to be found in the children's section of book shops and libraries - so if you're going in to a library to look at one, take a child with you, or do as I did, and borrow a friend's child.

Crivens! It's another hagglin' hit!
Let's be clear about this. If you're not already a Terry Pratchett fan, you're unlikely to be interested in this book. But if you've got as far as reading the reviews of it, you must at least have a smidgen of interest - so let's discuss why Wintersmith is such an excellent book.

The Nac Mac Feegle (a race of small, blue, vicious, kilt-wearing, boozing and ultimately hilarious men) were first introduced in the main Discworld novel Carpe Jugulum, but have since been expanded upon in the Tiffany Aching series, in The Wee Free Men and A Hatful of Sky. Nominally a series for younger readers, this series has been (up to now) every bit as enjoyable as the main books. Tiffany Aching, a junior witch, is the heroine again here, but the Feegles are the scene-stealers, reducing any reader to laughing out loud - you just can't help it.

In Wintersmith, in which Tiffany inadvertently attracts the attention of the title character (an elemental who creates winter, in short), Tiffany develops further as a character who could potentially feature in one of the main books. There is a welcome return for the unsurpassably funny Nanny Ogg, the formidable Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany's friend/beau Roland. All the ingredients are there for a fantastic read, and Pratchett doesn't disappoint. It's an easy read, difficult to put down, and I was quite sorry when it was all over because I could easily have carried on for another 500 pages.

So, anybody who disnae wanna fight Big Yan, buy this book wi' all its long werdy things, ye bigjobs scunners! (as Rob Anybody might say).

Nice to have hope for a Pratchett book!
I've been so disappointed in Pratchett recently - the "proper" Discworld novels have completely lost their way - but this series has been a treat. These hark back to the early Discworld books, with a small cast of characters, and one story, not thousands of them trying to intertwine.

This continues to tales of Tiffany Aching and her Mac Na Feegle in their battles against the personification of winter itself, who takes an unwelcome shine to Tiffany. The joy in this book is that it stays simple, and allows the characters to grow at a pace that feels natural. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have worthy roles to play, without ever overpowering young Tiffany, and it continues to build the witch mythology nicely ("Boffo" takes over as my new favourite witch idea...).

It's certainly not his best; this feels a little drawn out in the middle, and very rushed towards the end - this was certainly a book that could have been 20/30 pages longer comfortably. But still, it's a treat to read a Pratchett book and enjoy it again, it's something you don't get from the proper books anymore.