Our favorite coven of witches is back, and they're going to be dealing with the most terrifying thing they've ever encountered, traveling to foreign lands!
The third witches book and twelfth over all of the Discworld novels sees us follow our trio from Wyrd Sisters as they travel to the far-off land of Genua. Early on in the book, another local witch, Desiderata, who was also a fairy godmother, passes on and leaves her wand to Magrat. This of course means that Granny and Nanny can't let the young and inexperienced witch go off to foreign parts alone, even if Magrat attempts to do so. But they not only have to deal with their trip, they must also confront the other fairy godmother involved here, Lilith de Tempscire, and we quickly find that Lilith and Granny know each other very well.
This book's plot revolves around how stories work, how they use people to make them turn out as the stories expect and want, and how some people can thwart them. It also relies heavily on the idea of mirrors having magical properties on the Disc, and how their power can be too much to handle for even those that think they are in control. Lily heavily utilizes mirror magic, something that the others, especially Granny, do not indulge in. Granny is not a fan of forcing happy endings on people, something that Magrat, among others, needs to learn. She finds feeding people to stories robs them of their humanity and makes them into things, something she loathes.
As befits the title, a lot of the book concerns itself with our three witches traveling from Lancre to Genua. They encounter a lot of fairy tales in various stages of being told but also references to movies and other books as well, and with Sir Terry's always enjoyable humor to make the journey all the better. We see classic horror, Lord of the Rings, Grimm fairy tales, The Wizard of Oz, and others.
Lilith's main goal is to make sure that stories come true, whether other people like it or not. The current running tale is a kind of amalgam of Cinderella, The Frog Prince, and a few other bits and bobs from other stories. Our trio of witches, Mrs. Gogol and her man Saturday that dwell in the swamp, and some others like the cook Mrs. Pleasant, are working to thwart Lilith's plans. The beautiful young woman playing the unwilling part of Cinderella is Ella. She's nicknamed Emberella for all the work she does in the kitchen, but she prefers just Ember, as she points out the full nickname sounds too much like something that's meant to keep you dry in the rain. Lilith's main co-conspirator is the Duc, who is very eager to wed Ella, and not just because she's stunningly attractive; he needs her for far more personal reasons.
Lilith is such a stickler for people following stories that she punishes people for not following the stereotypes established by narrative. For example, a toymaker better whistle or sing while he works, and must tell the children stories, or else. Mrs. Pleasant, being a cook, made sure she was fat and jolly and if she thought she might get caught out for her part in opposing the story she'd occasionally exclaim 'Lawks!' to throw people off.
Mrs. Gogol is a woman of the swamp, with Saturday being the former baron the Duc had slain for Lilith and the stories. Mrs. Gogol brought him back as a zombie to help repair the damage Lilith and her drive to make stories come true has done to their beloved Genua. She is a powerful voodoo woman, and the best cook in the city. She is the main local opposing Lilith, and welcomes the interference of the witches, at least to a point. She, Saturday, and Ella all have important links to each other as well, so she has multiple reasons to oppose Lilith here.
Nanny Ogg's cat Greebo gets to have a lot of fun in this book, even stopping a vampire at one point. He's usually a terror that even much larger animals avoid, and here he still usually is, barring his encounter with Mrs. Gogol's supernaturally inclined black rooster, Legba. He also gets to experience something that I'm not sure if Smokey wants to, but it would be interesting if it could happen to him as well. It would certainly be a new experience for my young cat.
One new character that will appear with the witches again in future, and especially for Nanny Ogg, is Casanunda, the Disc's second-greatest lover, although he tries harder. He's a dwarf, and he's a character that's always fun to have around. The pun in his name always brings a grin. He's not just a great lover, he's a very open-minded one, and his interactions with Nanny are wonderfully silly and quite charming.
All three witches get their time to shine in their own way, but I especially like a moment near the end where Magrat gets to show that she can stand up for herself when confronting some of Lilith's special servants. It always feels good to see Magrat show that she is also a witch, and she deserves respect.
Seeing the three witches together again, and with Greebo in tow, is a treat. Death makes a couple of cameos with humorous bits in the book as well. The only new recurring character we get is Casanunda, who is great fun. The other characters here are quite good as always for Sir Terry, but I wish some of them would return for one reason or another. It's an interesting take on the idea of stories, something he's mentioned before and will do so again. It's another excellent book, but not quite up there with the best of the best that Discworld has to offer.
3.75 magical mirrors out of 4.
Some fun quotes:
"The dwarf bread was brought out for inspection. But it was miraculous, the dwarf bread. No one ever went hungry when they had some dwarf bread to avoid. You only had to look at it for a moment, and instantly you could think of dozens of things you'd rather eat. Your boots, for example. Mountains. Raw sheep. Your own foot."
"Magrat would be the first to admit that she had an open mind. It was as open as a field, as open as the sky. No mind could be more open without special surgical implements. And she was always waiting for something to fill it up."
"'How come you're in the palace guard, Casanunda?' 'Soldier of fortune takes whatever jobs are going, Mrs. Ogg,' said Casanunda earnestly. 'But all the rest of 'em are six foot tall and you're — of the shorter persuasion.' 'I lied about my height, Mrs. Ogg. I'm a world-famous liar.' 'Is that true?' 'No.'"
Morella is a Gen Xer who likes strange things a bit too much.
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