urn:lcp:equalrites00prat:epub:baab9fb7-32b9-4b6c-8bef-48e578ce2083 Extramarc OhioLINK Library Catalog Foldoutcount 0 Identifier equalrites00prat Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t06x0b46s Isbn 0451157044

The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard; on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are sometimes ascribed to seven in other mythologies. Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor. However, the newborn child is actually a girl, Esk (full name Eskarina Smith). ...

Fantasy Books Of The Year

Her experiences while trying to get to the Unseen University make Esk doubt whether it is possible for a girl to step into the wizardry world, which is a man’s land. Since the Discworld society expects boys to seek fortune and girls to seek boys with fortune, she wonders that perhaps girls don’t have fortunes to seek. She almost decides to give up even before reaching the university, which is sadly common for many girls in the real world too. Fortunately, Granny’s guidance and her inner spirit make her fight on. The story is about a wizard who is dying who passes his staff the eighth son of an eighth son (which is required to become a wizard). Unfortunately for him, he was a bit careless and the eighth son was actually a daughter. So this girl goes on an adventure to become a wizard in an all-male university. Overall this book had to do something right, because I pretty much tore through it in a weekend, which despite it's short length is still rather fast for me. Witch supreme (or that's what I'm calling her) - and that only because of her stare, to say nothing of her actual magical talents. And yes, I can totally see Maggie Smith playing her in a movie!

As a result, this book is merely great rather than utterly brilliant. Even rough-hewn early Pratchett is better than 75% of all books out there. But a female wizard is something completely unheard of on the Discworld. Esk is unsuccessful in her first, direct, attempt to gain entry to the University, but Granny Weatherwax finds another way in; as a servant. While there, Esk witnesses the progress of an apprentice wizard named Simon, whom she had met earlier, on her way to Ankh-Morpork. Simon is a natural talent who invents a whole new way of looking at the universe that reduces it to component numbers. Granny Weatherwax's character was quite heartwarming. She reminded me of a lot of middle-aged women who originally believed in the stereotypes and expectations of society but went on to change their minds as they encountered spirited youngsters. She went from “this is how it has always been, so we’re going to follow tradition” to “why does it have to be this way?” I didn't appreciate this as much the first time although I got the whole social bit perfectly... and mainly that was because I hadn't quite gotten as invested in the characters that would soon become the main driving force of the novels.

All Terry Pratchett Reviews

It's the first book about the witch called Granny Weatherwax. She is, amongst other things, a midwife in the Ramptops (the area where she lives) and is therefore present during the birth of Esk when the dying wizard makes his fateful mistake. Since girls can't become wizards any more than boys can become witches, Granny Weatherwax wants to teach Esk witchery. She soon discovers however that it isn't enough - Esk's magic continues to burst forth and since Esk's staff is quite cheeky too, all Granny can do is get Esk to the Unseen University.

It's a wonderful read with a journey across a good stretch of the Disc and many minor characters who colour the place and let you know what you're getting yourself in to. The bad points can be forgiven in retrospect: it was his third and the books that follow just get better and better. Re-reading is 1000% better than simply reading Discworld books.In Dec. of 2007, Pratchett disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. On 18 Feb, 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Bel-Shamharoth is an Elder God of the Discworld first introduced in 'The Sending of Eight' in The Colour of Magic. C'hulagen is obviously made up out of the same ingredients as C'thulhu, and the Insider refers to the unnamed narrator of Lovecraft's The Outsider. At the Spending time with Granny Weatherwax (one of my all time favorite characters in literature) was a treasure but this time around I noticed what how much I liked Eskarina and I wonder if she was a template upon which Tiffany Aching was later drawn. Granny had counted the temples with a thoughtful look in her eyes; gods were always demanding that their followers acted other than according to their true natures, and the human fallout this caused made plenty of work for witches." pg 76, ebook

I know that the books get even funnier, wittier and just more and more involved with the wonderful world that Sir Terry created, but this was just a 5 star read, laugh out loud funny and world building from the RamTops to the Rimfall.The Necrotelicomnicom is another reference to the Phonebook of the Dead (see the annotation for the dedication of Equal Rites), but is also a pun on the evil book of the dead Necronomicon, used by H. P. Lovecraft in his Cthulhu stories. I liked how the issue of gender roles is portrayed in this book. Starting from the title which is a play on “Equal Rights”, to the characters to society's expectations, Sir Terry Pratchett has captured the real-world issues of gender discrimination in his magical world of Discworld. No deberías pasar tanto tiempo entre magos, niña, estás empezando a tomartelos en serio. Todos se autodenominan Altisimo Señor lo que sea y no sé que Imperial. Es parte de su sistema. Hasta los hechiceros lo hacen, una habría imaginado que eran más sensatos, pero no, en el fondo son todos iguales”. In 2008, Harper Children's published Terry's standalone non-Discworld YA novel, Nation. Terry published Snuff in October 2011. The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard (on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are ascribed to seven in the real world), Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor.