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    Wintersmith
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    Wintersmith
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    Wintersmith
    Ebook365 pages5 hours

    Wintersmith

    By Terry Pratchett

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults * ALA Booklist Editors' Choice * ALA Notable Children's Book

    “Pratchett’s unique blend of comedy and articulate insight is at its vibrant best. Full of rich humor, wisdom, and eventfulness.” —Horn Book (starred review)

    By the beloved and bestselling grandmaster of fantasy, Sir Terry Pratchett, this is the third in a series of Discworld novels starring the young witch Tiffany Aching.

    When the Spirit of Winter takes a fancy to Tiffany Aching, he wants her to stay in his gleaming, frozen world. Forever. It will take all the young witch's skill and cunning, as well as help from the legendary Granny Weatherwax and the irrepressible Wee Free Men, to survive until Spring.

    Because if Tiffany doesn't make it to Spring, Spring won't come for anyone.

    The five funny and fabulous Tiffany Aching adventures are:

    • The Wee Free Men
    • A Hat Full of Sky
    • Wintersmith
    • I Shall Wear Midnight
    • The Shepherd’s Crown

    Tiffany’s mentors, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, star in the novels Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, and Carpe Jugulum.

    And don’t miss Terry Pratchett’s hilarious and wise Discworld novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents! 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061975325
    Author

    Terry Pratchett

    Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) is the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

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    Reviews for Wintersmith

    4/5

    2,185 ratings88 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Not possibly the best of Terry's work, but far from the worst either. Tiffany Aching is still up in Lancre learning to be a witch from old Miss Treason. When she is shown the 'other' Morris dance to welcome in Winter she accidently gets involved and finds that the Wintersmith - King Winter - has become enamoured of her. This is Not a Good Thing, as she doesn't have any of the powers of Summer, to drive him away. Well not yet anyway.....One of the sub themes - romance from a young girl's perspective, is perhaps not something that Terry as a middle aged man is best suited to deal with. He takes a fair stab at it though, and there is always Nanny Ogg to drag the conversations down to the appropriate level. Not as dark as the previous younger DW stories. Narratively it is unusual in that it has a start that only occurs later in the book.
    • 4/5
      This book wasn't due in the shops until the 28th of september, but I was able to buy it at the beginning of the week. So bewarned: here be possible SPOILERS if you haven't yet got a copy. I don't normally have any criticisms of Pratchett, but I was abit disappointed by this book firstly because it began with a chapter that seemed entirely out of kink with PTerrys style and with the flow of the story. This chapter is written like a retrospective and seems out of place ~ unlike the discworld stories we have come to feel so comfortable with. It seems like an ending to another story as Tiffany deals with an extreme winter in her chalk country, with even her father respectfully counting on her as a witch. But don't panic (like I did,) the first chapter is a chunk taken out of the end of the book. By the time you get to that point you will probably feel a need to go back to the first chapter to remind youself of it.The second thing that annoyed me abit was that the chapters seemed rather long. The one thing that I loved about Pratchetts work was the lack of chapters ~ I could begin reading and continue for as long as I liked without the subtle desire of finishing a chapter before I could take a leak or switch off the light. Chapters have been used throughout the Tiffany Aching series complete with the asterisk breaks I love, but still it felt very heavily laden.If you love your mythology then you are bound to love this book even more than you would as a fan because as far as I can tell it deals with the myth of the Morris men, the Holly and the Oak king and the myth of Persephone and Demeter ~ but in PTerrys unique style. We also get to find out about Boffo (not necessarily the clown from Men at Arms) and we also find out something about Horace, Wintersmith and You ~ yes I said You...We also meet the coven again, and see how well Petulia progressed ~ and even poor Annagramma.Despite the sexual overtones I've noticed some people read into the mistake Tiffany makes of jumping straight into a dance one night ...I liked the ending where Tiffany 'gently' lets a guy down. But ~ what happened with Roland de Chumsfanleigh ?
    • 3/5
      I feel like I should have liked this more than I did. I adore pretty much the entire Discworld canon, but in Wintersmith it felt like Sir Terry was holding back quite a bit out of regard for the delicate ears of the kiddoes. I always enjoy the look at the inner workings of the witches' lives, but this one never quite grabbed me.
    • 5/5
      Re-reread June 2015.

      The Tiffany Aching stories are more than simple YA adventures. The young protagonist is a magically talented witch-in-training, but she's also an excellent example for young readers. She's responsible, intelligent, and a deep thinker. It's not magic that makes Tiffany such an admirable character; it's her more mundane talents. These are skills that real people in the real world can cultivate.
    • 5/5
      Although Terry Pratchett always delivers a good story with a lot of chuckles along the way, I found Wintersmith to be slow-going at first. I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story within the first few chapters, but once I got rolling, everything was fine.I've always laughed aloud while reading any of the Discworld novels, and I like TIffany Aching and that her books let me get to know Granny Weatherwax more thoroughly.I liked this book, but I didn't *love* it, since it was slow at first.Quotable:pg. 80 "Why do we do it? It's hard work for not much reward."pg. 173 "They think they're so grown-up! But they're still no better than babies in the sandpit, squabbling over mud pies. I see their lies and excuses and fears. They never grow up, not really. They never look up and open their eyes. They stay children their whole lives."pg. 182 "We make happy endings, child, day by day."pg. 297 "People wanted the world to be a story, because stories had to sound right and they had to make sense. People wanted the world to make sense."pg. 432 "As always happens, and happens far too soon, the strange and wonderful becomes a memory and a memory becomes a dream. Tomorrow it's gone."
    • 4/5
      The final book in the Tiffany Aching series of Terry Pratchett's books. I highly enjoyed this book, just like the other two. I enjoyed how the characters were all brought together to solve the problem at hand. I really like the Nac Mac Feegles, and I can only hope that perhaps someday there will be another story that contains Tiffany and the Wee Free Men!
    • 4/5
      Prepare yourself for winter is coming, and it is going to be cold, *very* cold. And it is all Tiffany's fault. Our adorable witch to be got carried away and now the spirit of winter is smitten with her. Our wee big hag must find a way to let him down gracefully before everyone freezes to death
    • 5/5
      I love Pratchett's Discworld books, and I particularly love the Tiffany Aching books, so it was a surprise to me that I apparently missed noticing Wintersmith for ten years. Well, at least it means a new-for-me Pratchett when I thought that opportunity was gone.

      Tiffany Aching is an apprentice witch, currently living with a witch in the mountains, far from her beloved chalk hills. She's taken as part of her training to watch a dance she didn't know existed, the Dark Morris, which brings the beginning of winter as the Morris Dance we know brings the beginning of summer.

      Since this is the Discworld, the dances really do bring the starts of those seasons.

      Tiffany's feet, unfortunately, get the better of her. She steps into the dance, and dances with the Wintersmith, and gets some of the traits and powers of Lady Summer tangled up in herself. The Wintersmith thinks he has fallen in love with her.

      This is, of course, is a problem for everyone, especially when the Wintersmith wants to marry her and cause Summer to never come again. The Wintersmith has no real idea what being a person is all about, or why Tiffany is upset about the lambs dying when a blizzard hits too late in what should be spring, or why she doesn't love the ice palace he's made to lure her.

      The second half is a Discworld take on Orpheus and Eurydice, and both Tiffany and the local lord's son she rescued from the elf queen's court previously, take a few more steps toward adulthood.

      It's a fine taste of Pratchett, and a nice surprise for me to find it, when I thought there wasn't anything more.

      Recommended.

      I bought this audiobook.
    • 4/5
       I think I might have read too many Witch books in quick succession...This is the 'dating is difficult' installment in Pratchett's stories about teenage Tiffany Aching. She sees a cool gap in the dark morris, impulsively dances into it, and has to live with the consequences of her actions - in this case, that the Wintersmith falls for her, instead of Summer, and follows her around with deadly blizzards etc. It's a good story, although if you squint too hard there are messages that I would not 100% endorse - Nanny Ogg's relaxed 'ah, he's stalking you, but you should make him frightened of you and make him show you some respect' and the whole 'kissing him to melt him to save the world' resolution. I think I like the subplots even better. Anagramma, with her airs and lack of any practical skills, being saved and rallied round, and losing some of her corners (and being part of Granny's 'show how great she and Tiffany are' games). Miss Treason, and her boffo, and the ideas of looking the part and being the part, to get respect and get power. Little snippets of Ronald dealing with his father's illness and his evil aunts. And Horace, the cheese full of personality.Tiffany gives Granny a kitten. That's cute :-)
    • 3/5
      3.5 starsThis is the third book in the Tiffany Aching series. Tiffany is now 13 years old and learning to be a witch. She just can't help herself when she steps in to dance a dance she should only be watching. This results in the Wintersmith (who controls winter) falling for her and pursuing her to marry him! Unfortunately, during all this, Tiffany's teacher knows she will die - she knows the day and time. Tiffany is not old enough to take over the cottage and take care of everyone in the nearby village, so arrangements must be made, even though what is worked out really isn't ideal. I am still enjoying this series. The Nac Mac Feegles aren't in this one as much as I remember them from the others in the series and they are a lot of fun, but even without them as much, I did enjoy this story. It wasn't fast-paced, but being a YA book, it was still fast to read.
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable frolic but knowing of Terry Pratchett's early-onset Alzheimer's gives "Wintersmith" an underlying sadness not detected in "Wee Free Men" or Discworld books. Death is literally a character in Pratchett's books but this one tinkers with the hopefulness and hopelessness of passing time and the changing seasons, imaging what happens when someone tries to tamper with the inevitable.Favorite passages:"Deep in the snow, in the middle of a windswept moorland, a small band of traveling librarians sat around their cooling stove and wondered what to burn next....The librarians were mysterious. It was said they could tell what book you needed just by looking at you, and they could take your voice away with a word.""People wanted the world to be a story, because stories had to sound right and they had to make sense. People wanted the world to make sense.""... as always happens, and happens far too soon, the strange and wonderful becomes a memory and a memory becomes a dream. Tomorrow, it's gone."
    • 5/5
      I loved this book also. By now Tiffany and the wee free men are like old friends. I was so upset to laern that Terry Pratchett has altzhiemers. What a loss for his loyal readers. I couldn't help thinking of this during the scenes of Miss treason knwing of her death adn the decisions she makes and Tiffany reflects upon. What will be your legacy. I love the commentray on Boffo the illusion of our reputation. The ro,ance and intrigue od The Wintersmith how a young girl puts romance and being sought out together with her own mind and actions was great.
    • 5/5
      Anything involving the Wee Free Men is hilarious, and this is no exception. I didn't feel like it hung together quite as well as the first two books, plotwise; there were a couple of secondary plot elements that seemed, if not recycled, somewhat predictable. It's still totally great, though, and if the first two Tiffany Aching books weren't so spectacular, I probably would have rated it 5/5.
    • 4/5
      Well Harper Audio needs to be smacked, you don't start each chapter of a comic novel with tinkly sappy sentimental piano and synthesiser music, but otherwise this is being a delight so far.
    • 5/5
      Simply brilliantly funny satiric fantasy. Pratchett just keeps on getting better and better
    • 3/5
      As with most of Pratchett's books, I found 'Wintersmith' to be extremely entertaining, but not exceptional. Unlike many of the Discworld books, this novel will definitely be helped along if you've read some of the previous books in the series that deal with the same characters (The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky).
      I've read the first, but not the second.
      The story deals with the teenage apprentice witch, Tiffany Aching, who is helped/hindered by her friends the Nac Mac Feegles (blue, Scottish-flavored 'Pictsies'), when, due to an ill-advised dance, the titular elemental spirit of Winter falls in love with her - with less than salutary effects on the climate.
      Engaging characters and witty writing, but a fairly typical coming-of-age-type story.
    • 5/5
      Wow, another great Tiffany Aching novel. I love this series, and anybody that likes fantasy would enjoy them, not just young children or girls. The Nac Mac Feegle are the BEST, and I really hope Sam Raimi makes The Wee Free Men into a movie (see Wikipedia's info under "The Wee Free Men" for details).This book was a wonderful ride through winter on the chalk with Tiffany. She gets herself involved with the Wintersmith, the spirit of cold that brings the winter to the world, and has to work things out so that summer will come back. The Feegles played a pretty big part in this book, and I hope to see more of them later, as long as you hide all the alcohol.This book was a great third-book-in-the-series book, it just keeps getting better and I can't possible recommend them enough. I will read these to my children when my wife and I get around to having them!
    • 4/5
      What's interesting about the Tiff series is that it just _barely_ takes place on the discworld. I'd have to get out my Disc Mappe to find out exactly where the Chalk is, although it must be somewhere near Lancre, but for all the attention paid to the world around it, the Chalk might as well be in Cornwall. Of course, you'd have to explain away how Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg showed up in that case.Tiffany now moves all the way to the age of thirteen. She makes a bad mistake near the beginning of the book which she may end up paying for for the rest of her life, or perhaps longer. In setting things aright, she must learn how to keep her balance. The characters of Roland and Annagramma are vastly expanded in this one. I suspect we won't see much more of Annagramma, as by the end up the book she seems surprisingly content with her lot, but Roland is obviously working to become a major player and a romantic suitor for Tiffany. There was a strong implication near the end of the previous book that Tiff and Granny Weatherwax are headed for a showdown, but we must wait for that denouement another day. In my opinion, young Ms. Aching will not be ready to fight *that* battle for at least thirty years, but we shall see how the author wishes to handle it.The plot doesn't seem to advance as much as slip from one bon mot to another until the climax occurs, rather like some of the original Rincewind stories which weren't much more than successions of gags. The mature Pratchett has advanced far beyond those days, but still the scenes are a bit awkwardly pinned together. But I look forward to finding out what happens to Tiffany at age fifteen!
    • 5/5
      A dark story but readable to the end
    • 4/5
      I'd been thinking that it would be keen to read some stories about Granny Weatherwax's youth. Then I realised I was, only with added grown up Granny to boot.
    • 4/5
      Last for the month (so far, still a couple of days to go I suppose) is Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett's new Discworld book. This one is the third in the sub-series, aimed more nominally at kids, starring trainee witch Tiffany Aching and the Nac Mac Feegle. The plot this time has Tiffany accidentally getting entangled in the Dark Morris dance at the transition between summer and winter, having the elemental spirit of winter fall in love with her, With Dark Consequences, and having Tiffany and the Feegle have to sort the whole mess out.Reading a new Pratchett book after Gaiman's new collection is a refreshing breeze; where Gaiman labours over his repetitive theme, Pratchett still manages after all this time to write new Discworld books that return to familiar themes, but do so with an energy that keeps you reading. Pratchett writes the sort of jokes that you find yourself laughing at, and then groaning at yourself for having done so, but it's all fun.
    • 3/5
      Must have read this one before but couldn't remember a thing about it. Have an extra half star. A comfortable and familiar world, entertaining and interesting.
    • 3/5
      Not one of Pterry's worst, but not one of his best either. Although I am a rampaging Nac Mac Feegle fan, and they're very well used in this one. There's also bits in it that might make more sense if you're familiar with/live in Scotland (for example 'Scheemie' is a real Scottish word). Enjoyable read, but not outstanding.
    • 4/5
      Another highly enjoyable part of the Tiffany Aching tale. I liked this bok better then 'A hat full of sky', but I didn't think it was as good as 'Wee Free Men'. Perhaps because in 'Wee Free Men' the concept of the NacMac Feegles was completely and hilariously new to me and now the novelty and surprise have worn off a bit. (Not that they aren't funny, anymore. Crivens!)
    • 4/5
      Rough synopsis - Tiffany Aching, 'apprentice' witch, gets caught up in magic much larger than she is, which causes all kinds of interesting weather events to happen. I am reasonably enamoured of Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books (of which this is the 3rd), much more than I have been of many of Pratchett's Witches books. This may be because his world building and writing have matured over the many years that he has devoted to the Discworld, or because I find her more comprehensible than the other Witches, but more likely a little of both. I also find that seeing the other witches through the eyes of Tiffany is a much more sympathetic viewpoint than the more removed perspective that I remember from the early ones. This book brings back the theme of the vaguely anthropomorphised deity, and the intermingling of the every day and the godly, that I have been noticing in recent Pratchett works. I'm thinking, say, of Small Gods, although that is a more focused look on belief than this. I quite like Pratchett's take on faith in both of these books - I can understand the immediacy of belief, and use it to inform my understanding of historical perspectives on religion. This probably indicates a failure of imagination on my part, that I require fantasy to explain history, but sideways thinking has never been a skill that I have much faith in. As to my favourite four--characterisation, world-building, plot, writing--all of these get ticks for this book. The wide range of characters, from the young Tiffany, through the troublesome Rob Anybody of the Nac Mac Feegle, to the cantankerous but wily Granny Weatherwax, all capture the attention, with none of the major characters coming across as half realised. For all the existing world-building of the Discworld, I found this to be full of new details and ideas about what makes a world. The plot is well paced, grabbing my attention (and costing me sleep), and the writing, as ever, appears effortless. This was a pleasure to read
    • 4/5
      The turn of the seasons seems like a dance orchestrated by nature to be both seamless and purposeful, but what if someone cuts in when she isn’t supposed to? Wintersmith is the 35th book of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series and the third in the subseries featuring witch-in-training Tiffany Aching. Unfortunately for Tiffany she finds out that when you succumb to the rhythm of the music, you find yourself in a Story and have to see it through.Tiffany has been training with 113-year old Miss Treason, who uses subtle “special effects” to impress people, when she is taken to witness the dark morris one night. The dance that welcomes the winter draws on Tiffany and she joins in, unfortunately she comes face to face with the Wintersmith—winter himself—and he falls in love with her believing she is the Summer Lady. The problem is as time progresses, Tiffany starts exhibiting traits of the Summer Lady while the Wintersmith believes to successfully woo her, he must become human. Unfortunately Miss Treason isn’t able to help Tiffany through things as she passes away and Tiffany goes to train with Nanny Ogg as well has help Annagramma figure out how to be an actual witch in taking over for Miss Treason. In the end, Tiffany realizes she has finish things with the Wintersmith with a kiss to finish the dance.Throughout last several books in the Discworld series, Pratchett has delved into various themes that touch upon real world issues except in the Aching books. Like the previous two books of Tiffany’s subseries, Wintersmith focuses on characters, world-building, and plotting. Although a tad older Tiffany’s continued development is seen throughout, Pratchett spends time growing the character of Annagramma while also enhancing the reputation of Granny Weatherwax. Even though this is the 34th book in the series, Pratchett is still able to world-build the Disc with elemental forces and psychological dispositions of people in various parts which are different and also the same. And finally the plotting which was well executed writing that began with a bang then suddenly took you to the quiet beginning of the story and progressing steady as you waited to find out how Tiffany was going to “end the story”.The Tiffany Aching subseries is Pratchett giving young adults an introduction to the Disc with is interwoven strains of fantasy and humor. Wintersmith is a fun, easy read that gives even adults a fresh look at their favorite series.
    • 4/5
      Granny Weatherwax is cool, calm and collected, and rather scary. Tiffany Aching is undoubtedly cool, quite calm and collected for a thirteen year old girl, and she's working on the scary thing. Boys beware!
    • 4/5
      Plot: Fast-paced and a good foundation for brilliant scenes. It's got the sideplots that could easily become a book on their own, it's got the twisting and turning into unexpected directions, it has an ending that comes after a proper build-up and delivers what it promises. Characters: Tiffany works well as a central character, and it's interesting to see her development from the first book. She manages to hold her ground in comparison to established characters, which is an achievement given that those characters are Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, who are up to standards. Side characters are lovingly sketched, and there is no truly boring character around. Style: Pratchett at his best. The quirky scenes, the one-liners, the footnotes, the running jokes, the sheer bizarreness of the whole situation. It's a book that works on several layers. Plus: The witches. Tiffany and Roland become a little older and can do more as characters. Occasional absolute insanity. Minus: The Feegles are at times hard to understand when you're not a native speaker. Summary: Solid Discworld novel, well done and highly enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed Wintersmith, the third book in the Tiffany Aching series immensely. It took me over a week to read it as I kept it at work as a balm for my heart. It does get annoying dealing with know-it-alls for twelve hours five days a week. Terry Pratchett did more than provide me with entertainment and distraction in Wintersmith.
      Tiffany’s peer Annagramma is exactly like the insufferable woman I work with. Annagramma was introduced in A Hat Full of Sky, the second in the series. She is the prize student of Granny Weatherwax’s rival Mrs. Earwig.
      I loathe trying to train someone at my job when they claim to know everything. Thanks to Tiffany, I now have these handy tips in the future.
      “You know how to prepare placebo root, do you?”
      “Of course. Every one knows that.”
      I learned instead of asking them to show you, which would result in them pretending to be tired or calling in for “having a bad day”, this is what you should do:
      “Good, watch me and see if I’m doing it right.”
      My Coworker Annagramma would then say “Of course.”
      Pratchett had this spot on. People do tend to have faith in people who only pretend they know everything when in actuality they do not have a clue.
      The characters were delightful as usual. I busted my gut laughing at Miss Tick’s antics. Granny Weatherwax is unrivalled in her awesomeness.
      Tiffany gets in a jam after she steps in and dances with the Wintersmith. He now thinks he is in love with poor Tiffany and embarrasses her by making tiny snowflakes in her image.
    • 5/5
      How to write about a Pratchett book without it degenerating into incoherent fangirly squeeing? I'll try, but I'm not making any promises.This is the 3rd Tiffany Aching book, which is a subset of the Discworld series. Tiffany is a young witch-in-training.In Wintersmith, Tiffany turns 13, which is a difficult enough time in any girl's life. But Tiffany's not just any girl, so things are exponentially more difficult. Her biggest problem starts when she (unintentionally, to be sure) steps into the dance between the Wintersmith and the Summer Lady, resulting in her taking on some of the attributes of the Summer Lady, and in the Wintersmith falling in love with her.Then her current mentor, Miss Treason, announces that she'll be dying soon, and the race is on to decide who should take over her cottage. Tiffany is likely the best qualified, but Annagramma is older and more likely to be accepted by the locals.Enter Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. Granny manipulates things in her usual twisted way, and Nanny is her usual blend of practicality and earthiness. And of course there are the Nac Mac Feegles, who are just hilarious.Wintersmith is a young adult novel, but that's mostly because the heroine is 13. The story is universal enough and complex enough to appeal to adult readers as well.Tiffany takes responsibility for a serious mistake--she gets advice and help along the way, but ultimately, she has to fix the problem herself.She also has to bite the bullet, swallow her pride, and focus on what's best for everyone in the long run rather than what makes her happy now.Both of those are lessons that aren't limited to young people--they're not easy for us grown-ups, either.*sigh* Instead of squeeing, I ended up synopsizing. Sorry about that. It's a great book. I'd recommend reading Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky first, and maybe a couple of the Discworld witch books too, so you're familiar with Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, but you probably don't have to.