T;LDR: A high fantasy novel in the Discworld universe (#3), the Witches’ series (#1), I enjoyed this whimsical fabulous novel so much, I read it twice.
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
While this is written early in Terry Pratchett’s career, I didn’t notice. But then, it was my first ever Pratchett novel, which means I’m obligated to read more to see how his writing improves (cough, cough). I loved a lot about this book, disliked very little, and needed to read it a second time just to be sure. This gets my highest rating – 5 stars.
Plot
A dying wizard believes he is passing on his staff and knowledge to the eighth son of an eighth son, who at the moment of his passing is just being born. In his haste, he failed to check one thing – the sex of the baby. And thus, Eskarina is given the powers of wizard.
The problem? Only men can be wizards and only women can be witches. In the small community of Bad Ass, a witch named Granny Weatherwax takes on training Eskarina in the ways of the witch, hoping that will fix the Wizard’s error.
It does not. In fact, it compounds it. Granny soon realizes the child needs to be properly trained at the wizard school, The Unseen Academy, which is a long way away from home.
Granny and 11-year-old Eskarina set out on a long journey to prove that women can be wizards or whatever else they wish.
T;LDR: A newborn eighth child of an eighth son is mistakenly given the powers of a dying Wizard. A fun adventure ensues as the girl named Eskarina travels to a far away land with her witch guardian to learn to control her magic. Will the Unseen Academy let her in or will dark forces stop her from learning control?
What I Liked & Liked Less
Granny Weatherwax is awesome and apparently only gets better from here in later books (according to some of the reviews I read). She’s determined, tough, and yet has her own prejudices and issues. She grows as a character in this book, although she was quite fierce and well-rounded before her adventures with Eskarina.
I liked that while magic was mostly easy for Eskarina, it wasn’t easy for her to get what she wanted – to be trained as a wizard. It felt like a lot went her way for most of the book, but having her not get her main wish allowed for her to learn and grow in a natural way.
Cutangle was a character I heartily disliked at first. He is blustery and dismissive, feeling more important than he really is. And then he goes on an adventure and I liked him a lot more after that. He also grew, although in a shorter time frame than Granny or Eskarina.
And I liked what the shadow beings represented in the end. That’s all I’ll say on that because I don’t do spoilers.
The world set up is a bit confusing to me. I could never figure out how the time (sunset/sunrise) worked, which meant any of the scenes where it was important didn’t make sense to me. I believe this is a ME thing, rather than an author thing, because I can get caught up in words and lose all comprehension in the process.
And that’s it. That’s all I have an issue with.
To Sum Up (too late!)
Overall, this whimsical tale has it all – a fun fantasy world, a plucky heroine and a sassy companion, a quest adventure, and an underlying message about the equality of men and women. It is a story told tongue firmly in cheek and you have to enjoy the silly to enjoy the book. Thus, it gets my highest rating of 5 stars.
About the Author
Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. In 1987, he turned to writing full time.
There are over 40 books in the Discworld series, of which four are written for children. The first of these, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal.
A non-Discworld book, Good Omens, his 1990 collaboration with Neil Gaiman, has been a longtime bestseller and was reissued in hardcover by William Morrow in early 2006. It has also been made into a TV series.
In Dec. of 2007, Pratchett disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. On 18 Feb, 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
Sir Terry Pratchett passed away on 12th March 2015.
You can find my truncated, but similar, Goodreads review here.
If you wish to purchase this book, pick your vendor of choice here, or just cave to the man and get it from Amazon here.
This book fulfills another square in my Fantasy Bingo Card – the square with witches.