Truly excellent
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The previous Pratchett book staring Tiffany Aching, `The Wee Free Men', was an absorbing and entertaining read but this second book in the series is simply another degree of excellence above its predecessor. In this book Tiffany is now eleven and is leaving home for the first time in order to learn what it means to be a witch. Travelling to the mountains she stays with the research witch Miss Level but a creature from the dawn of time is stalking her and will make life difficult once it catches her.
It has been a long time since I read an entire book in a single day but this one was just so absorbing and entertaining that I just could not put it down. The book is as intelligently written, bringing the characters and scenery to life as effectively if not better than any other Discworld book. The book is also as funny as anything else Terry Pratchett has produced in the last few years. The Nac Mac Feegle, while still important, have something of a reduced role in this book but they are still up to their old tricks and produce some of the most entertaining parts of the story.
If the previous book had a fault it was that it seemed to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the Discworld but thankfully that is put right here with appearances by such Discworld staples as wizards and Death, meaning that the book feels a part of the rest of the series. I cannot help but feel that Terry Pratchett was on top form once again for this book and I feel the final confrontation at the Witch Trials is one of the best sequences that he has ever put to paper. `A Hat Full of Sky' is a brilliant book and is not only my favourite Discworld book but has also stormed strait to the top of my list of all-time favourite books, I just worry that after this the next book in the series `Wintersmith' will not be able to live up to the same standards.
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waiting for its sequel
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Yes its a nice tale but it really is on the way to its sequel.
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My Daughter loves this!!!!
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I have never read any Terry Pratchett books myself but my better half rates them very highly. I bought this for my nine year old daughter and she loves it. She has been eager to get to bed just so she can read a little more and has even been taking it to school so she can read during wet play!!!
She has always been a keen reader but this is the first book that has ever had her hooked and looking forward to her next installment.
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A Hat Full of grown up story....
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I take all Pratchett's books as if they were written for me! I don't think of them as children's story's. With this one I leapt into each page being absorbed by the story more and more as it went on.
I loved Tiffany she reminded me of a younger version of myself. Her hard headed attitiude and strength of character made me smile to myself, thinking of how similar we were. My gran is still alive but she and I had a relationship as close as Tiffany and Granny aching when I was tiny child. Granted, I didn't take up with a hoard of blue micro Scots that made Saturday night Glasgow steriotypes seem tame, or fall into a parallel world of wintery witches and evil mystic characters but hey ho!
I got to the end feeling rather breathless and quite exhausted, having sat down one quiet Sunday to read it from cover to cover!
Go for it, it shouldn't dissapoint.
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Stitch This, Bigjobs !
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First published in 2004 and set on the Discworld, "A Hat Full of Sky" is the sequel to "The Wee Free Men" and sees Tiffany Aching return as the book's heroine. Tiffany, now eleven years old, has been brought up on a farm in an area on the Chalk. She has six older sisters, one younger brother, wields a mean frying pan, is very good with cheese and has already impressed the Discworld's greatest witch. Granny Aching, who dies when Tiffany was seven, continues to be a big influence on her grand-daughter. Granny was a shepherdess, very fond of Jolly Sailor tobacco and - Tiffany is convinced - a witch. Remembering how Granny said it was important to stand up for those who have no voice, Tiffany has decided she wants to follow in her footsteps.
The book also features an exceptionally rowdy, and thoroughly entertaining, bunch of fairies. The Wee Free Men, we also known as the Nac Mac Feegle, are a Pictsie race who were thrown out of Fairyland for being drunk, disorderly and rebellious. They are covered in tattoos, have red hair and blue skin and wear little other thank kilts and swords. An extremely fast and strong race, they are fond of fighting, stealing and drinking - Granny Aching's Special Sheep Liniment is a particular favorite. There have been a few changes since "The Wee Free Men", however. The clan now has a new gonnagle, Awf'ly Wee Billy Bigchin Mac Feegle, and a new Kelda, Jeannie of the Long Lake. Jeannie, as tradition demands, has married the Big Man o' the Clan, Rob Anybody Feegle. She is also responsible for possibly the biggest change of them all. The Nac Mac Feegle had once been afraid of reading and writing, believing it to be a dangerous type of magic. Jeannie now wants the clan, beginning with Rob Anybody, to learn how to read and write. For a while during "The Wee Free Men", however, Tiffany was the clan's temporary Kelda - as a result, they have never forgotten her and still try to protect her. It also means that Jeannie doesn't like or trust the young hag at all.
As the book opens, Tiffany is leaving the Chalk for a spell (boom boom !). She's been apprenticed to Miss Level, a very peculiar research witch but clearly with some talent. (Miss Level's cottage is also home to Oswald, a kind of anti-poltergeist : instead of messing things up, he's obsessively tidy). Tiffany travels to Miss Level's with Miss Tick : unknown to either of then, however, they are being followed by a hiver. This is a type of demon without a body, brain or shape of its own. Instead, they search for and take refuge in bodies of great power - and this particular hiver has targeted Tiffany. Tiffany has inadvertently learnt how to 'borrow', a trick which leaves her own body unattended. Unfortunately, this will makes things easier for the hiver to take up residence. Luckily, the Wee Free Men want to follow and protect her - if they can convince their new Kelda it's a good idea.
Like everything else I've read by Pratchett, this is an excellent book. It's easily read, features plenty of likeable characters and there are plenty of laughs. Although I would recommend reading "The Wee Free Men" before this instalment "A Hat Full of Sky" is definitely recommended !
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