Tiffany is a nine-year-old girl, the daughter of a sheepherder, who isn’t really noticed by much of anyone, especially now that her Granny Aching has died. That is, until the day when she sees a monster come out of the river. She hits the monster with a frying pan, and the path of her life changes: she discovers the monster was a witch. And then her younger brother is stolen by the Queen of Faeries. Tiffany, being the sort of girl she is, decides not to wait for help, and tackles the problem head-on… with the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free men.
The plot from there meanders a bit, taking Tiffany to the lair of the Nac Mac Feegle and into the realm of the Faerie Queen, before she manages to do some incredible (but incomprehensible) bit of magic to bring her — and her brother — back home. But this book isn’t about plot. It’s a wonderful example of character- and world-building. The characters — from Tiffany down to the Nac Mac Feegle — are fully drawn and exciting and interesting and engaging. And funny. Very, very funny.
Which are all good reasons to read this book.
Rated: Mild — some swearing involving small pixie men, mostly for humorous effect
[...] not terribly schooled in the world of Terry Pratchett, having only read the Tiffany Aching books, but I loved this one. It’s nothing like those books (and probably nothing like the [...]
[...] Aching has discovered she is a witch, has gone through training, has accidentally joined a dance she shouldn’t have and has had to [...]