#Review: Witches Abroad

I thoroughly enjoyed this instalment of shenanigans in the Discworld. The main theme running through it is that stories have power. Their part in the fight between good and evil is emphasised to the max. There are many literary references to look out for including The Lord of the Rings and Dracula. Fairy tales also have a central role and thus we need the help of 3 witches first introduced to us in Wyrd Sisters.

The triple act of the witches Weatherwax, Ogg and Garlic are crucial to give the reader the viewpoint of different types of people. Pratchett also very cleverly uses the combined enthusiasm and lack of experience of youth to lead the reader towards knowledge without hitting us over the head with a mallet.

There were some lovely descriptions and I particularly liked the one of Nanny Ogg’s son Jason:

“He didn’t look as if he could possibly have been born, but as if he must have been constructed. In a shipyard. To his essentially slow and gentle nature genetics had seen fit to add muscles that should have gone to a couple of bullocks, arms like treetrunks, and legs like four beer barrels stacked in twos.”

Then there’s the description of what life would be like for a cat if it was ever to be given human form. Pratchett must have interviewed a cat because I believe he got it spot on.

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