Review: "Witches Abroad" by Terry Pratchett

Quick Summary

Type: Novel, Book 12 in Discworld series

Genre: Fiction, fantasy, humor

Summary: "Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named Desiderata who had a good heart, a wise head, and poor planning skills - which unfortunately left the Princess Emberella in the care of her other (not quite so good and wise) godmother when DEATH came for Desiderata. So now it's up to Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg to hop on broomsticks and make for far-distant Genua to ensure the servant girl doesn't marry the Prince. But the road to Genua is bumpy, and along the way the trio of witches encounters the occasional vampire, werewolf, and falling house (well this is a fairy tale, after all). The trouble really begins once these reluctant foster-godmothers arrive in Genua and must outwit their power-hungry counterpart who'll stop at nothing to achieve a proper "happy ending" - even if it means destroying a kingdom." Read Time: 7 days

Rating: 3.25 stars

Review

The start of Witches Abroad was slower than the start of other novels I've read from the Discworld series. The story picked up a bit during the journey, which is incidentally when the majority of the fun, humorous stories so quintessential of Discworld books. I particularly enjoyed Greebo the Cat's victory over the vampire and the Discworld version of the running of the bulls.

When the plot of the book veered more to the 'stories' (the fairy tales Lilith forced on the world), the humor was less present, though the plot was still interesting.

I wonder if the fact that Lilith was Granny Weatherwax's sister was supposed to be a twist; if so, it was fairly obvious - I figured it out the second Granny Weatherwax and Lilith saw each other in the mirror.

Magrat felt a bit like an unnecessary character, with the exception of her role in the ball. I wish Magrat had gotten a bit more of a personality. As best described by Granny Weatherwax, she was a 'wet hen' and as the so-called heir to the title of fairy godmother, I was hoping for more. At the very least, I was hoping for some character development.

With that being said, the climax of the story was entertaining, and the ending satisfying. Overall a fun story, though not my favorite of the series.