Over the years Pratchett's adult Discworld novels have lost some of their charm for me. Some of the joeks were taken to extremes that then devalued them (Monstrous Regiment) and even the old ones I once loved seemed somehow overly complex and clever, no longer offering the simple charm of a tale well told.
The books for younger readers however, the Tiffany Aching series and Maurice and his amazing educated rodents, still delight me and in recent years it's to these that I have gone seeking a story.
I shall wear midnight, being the last, is in many ways about endings. Tiffany does endings well and the book ends this part of her journey, with her finally really taking control and understanding what it means to be a witch with your own steading, as well as what it means to grow up.
The book is charming and creepy and the reader gets a feel for the what sort of person everyone will become in the long run, once you are done reading. That's a pleasing effect, diffiuclt to do without spelling it out, but ultimately satisfying if done well as it is here. The Cunning Man is an ingenious creation, the worst of us all in many ways and scarier for being ultimately the unpleasantness that already exists in people. Tiffany handles herself well throughout, though occasionally taking missteps in the process. The Nac Mac Feegles play a less central role in someways in I Shall Wear Midnight, which again is appropriate, this is really Tiffany's tale.
The best in an excellent series and a superb ending.
3 comments:
Thanks for this, I really like the "young adult" novels Terry Pratchett writes, and especially the ones about Tiffany.
I think a good YA novel can be every bit as satisfying as an adult novel. :)
I'll have to catch up with the series, I enjoyed the first and second! Sounds good!
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