Yes you too can make Bread and Water, Drop Scones, Dried Frog Pills (complete with NO FROGS). Plus it has great (and VERY funny) words of wisdom from Nanny Ogg.

If you like Diskworld I would recomend it. If you are looking for a normal cookbook look somewhere else.

I bought this book for my mother for Christmas and she loves it! It's beautiful to look through, and it's a hysterical read, for anyone, not just cooks.

This heavily edited version of Nanny Ogg's Cookbook made me wish for the days when I was in Ankh-Morpork with me mum and she'd ...

OK, so that's going a bit too far. Please forgive me.

The recipes are all in metric units but that's no real trouble for a resourceful American cook! I have tried several, they came out quite well! The honey mixture for the porridge is delicious. I also liked Rincewind's potato cakes. The gumbo recipe was amazing! Technically, I suppose that I have also had the Librarian's recipe but that is quite probably splitting hairs.

But odds are that you aren't buying this for the recipes. You're buying it for the wit and wisdom of Terry Pratchett. You get that in spades! The way Leonard of Quirm makes a cheese sandwich had me laughing out loud! The sections on etiquette were divine. My personal favorite was about Death but then again, I've always loved that character.

Check it out! You won't regret it!

These books (Truckers, Diggers, and Wings) are a fun romp! Well thought out, well told, with a liberal dose of humor. If you have read any of Terry Pratchett's "Disc World" books, you'll love this light hearted series. ... You can purchase them from Amazon.co.uk for ... plus shipping. You might find a few words spelled differently than standard US English but so what?

This the second book of the Bromeliad trilogy (following Truckers and followed by Wings).

After escaping from the doomed Store of Arnold Bros (est. 1905), the nomes find refuge in a disused quarry. And although life's harder Outside than it was in the Store, after a while everything goes well... until they find out that the quarry is going to be reopened.

At the same time, they also learn that Grandson Richard, 39, an heir to the Arnold Bros (est. 1905) fortune, is going to Florida to watch the launch of his first telecom satellite. To Masklin it's an oportunity to send the Thing back into space where it could contact the Ship which will bring them back HOME. And so he sets out, with Gurder and Angalo, on a trip to the airport.

And as the rest of the nomes are waiting for them to come back, their food reserves are inexorably running out and the humans' presence is starting to be a real nuisance. Are they going to flee and hide or are they going to stand up to them?

As expected, Diggers is brilliant and extremely funny. And again, the confrontation between the nomes' and our view of the world is the source of many of the typically "Pratchettian" puns we've all come to love!

In Truckers, Masklin rescued the other nomes from the store before its demoliton. Then, he led them to a quarry, a place that they could call home. But now, Masklin realizes that the nomes can never really be at home in the human's world, so he sets off to find the airport, and the spaceship that brought the nomes to Earth some 15,000 years ago. But for the nomes left at the quarry, now led by Grimma, things go from bad to worse, and worse still. Where is Masklin, and who will save the nomes?

This book is as funny as the last one. The nomes are so very human, and yet so very different. Plus, the story kept you at the edge of your seat, right up to the surprise finale. What a wonderful book!

'In the beginning was Arnold Bros. (est. 1904) and Arnold Bros. (est. 1904) created the store and everything in it.'

At least, that's what the store nomes thought, but when they meet the outside nomes, and realise the store in being destroyed, they all have to work together and venture into the unknown outside. It's a brilliant book, and if you can, you should read it.

Truckers is the first book of the Bromeliad trilogy (followed by Diggers and Wings).

Masklin and his family are the last ten nomes of their warren, devastated by cold, predators and hunger. Desperately, they set out on a last chance journey and climb up on one of the lorries of the humans.

What they'll soon discover is that this lorry has lead them to the Store of Arnold Bros (est. 1905), the home of thousands of other little nomes who, having never left the Store, think of the Outside as of nothing more than just another fairy tale. The coming of Masklin will be a great upheaval in their quiet lives. And as they learn that the Store is to be demolished, they make plans for their escape.

Although Truckers was originally written for a young audience, it's an enthralling adventure but also a story about understanding other people's ways and helping each other, and no doubt grown-ups will love it too. Because Terry Pratchett's unique sense of humour is lurking round every corner, especially when nomes try to interpret our human world... and what's more to make sense of it!

Another race also inhabits this Earth, a race four inches tall that lives and moves very quickly, and they are called "nomes." Masklin, the leader of a dwindling band of nomes, decides that a better life must be found, so they stowaway aboard a truck, and find themselves taken to a huge department store. This department store, Arnold Bros. (est. 1905), is populated by thousands of nomes, something the humans above then never suspect. To Masklin and his band this place looks like heaven, but what is the meaning of the signs that read, "Final Sale: Everything Must Go?"

This book is a laugh-riot. Terry Pratchett succeeds is making the Nomes so different, and yet so human. This book is the first of a trilogy; with the other two entitled Diggers and Wings.

If you have anything against a sense of humour - Don't read Terry Prachet. Everyone of my friends are as much in love with his work as I am. If you enjoyed Wings, try a Discworld book! There is none better than Terry Pratchet to help you escape reality for a short time (it's better than any drug!).

Wings is a wonderful, fanciful tale. It is also the third book in a series and is best read in order. Terry pratchet's work is always strong enough to stand alone, but I wouldn't want to miss a single book from any of his series.

This book was reeeeeeaaaaaalllllllyyyyy gggooooodddd and it was introduced to me by my mother who recommended it and from then on i never looked back. i have read as many of his books as i can find and my favourite one in the discworld series is Mort, my fav in the truckers series is Truckers. Wings is about these little blokes who lived in a department store and then in a quarry and now they have to escape from the quarry because the humans have decided to re-open it. Its just about their advendtures to get away. I'll stop there so as not to spoil the book for you. Definetely worth your while.

Most Terry Pratchett fans are well acquainted with death, or rather, with DEATH. Discworld's skeleton-with-a-scythe has bit parts in almost every volume, and starring roles in many. But few of us have ever thought of what Pratchett's world would be like if a group of universal bureaucrats decided to hand him a golden hourglass and, politely but firmly, show him the door. One thing we can count on though is that in Discworld, nothing ever goes as planned.

The wizards of the Unseen University first notice the problem when Windle Poons fails to make it to the afterlife. Instead, he finds himself back in his body, to the embarrassment of the entire faculty. Evadne Cake the medium first notices when her crystal ball starts shouting. Then a compost heap attacks Modo the gardener. Screws keep unscrewing themselves and the entire city of Ankh-Morpork has a massive attack of poltergeistism. And... And... There is just way too much living going on.

Poons, thanks to a note pinned to the inside of his coffin, discovers a support group for the undead. Not a very big one - Reg Shoe the Ghoul, Doreen and Arthur the not-quite-upscale vampires, Lupine the wereman, Schleppel the bogeyman, and a banshee so timid that it leaves notes for people (OOoooEeeeOooEeeeOOOeee). Together and separately the Wizards, the undead, and Mrs. Cake set out to make sense of chaos. Before chaos makes mincemeat of them.

In the meantime, Death is pursuing his retirement. Posing as an itinerant, he takes a job as a farmhand. No matter that he is a 7-foot skeleton, no matter that he harvests hay one blade at a time. People, he discovers, actually like him. An unusual situation for someone whose name used to be Death. It's Bill Door now and proud of it.

This is classic Pratchett work. He is a master at poking us in the eye, tickling our tummies, and warming our hearts, all at the same time. Be prepared for an unending supply of perfectly atrocious puns (an alchemist is nearly killed by a sharp retort) and twisted sentences (people become werewolves by contracting genetics at an early age). Be prepared to learn about the sex life of cities, why there is a Death of Rats but not a Death of Cats, and the folly of automated farm machinery. Above all be prepared to laugh.

Reaper Man, to my mind, is the pinnacle of Pratchett's career. This is the first book in the series that truly melded the emotion of some of the previous books with the humor that's always been part of the Discworld universe. However, the emphasis is very much on the former in this case: this is Pratchett's most moving book by far.
There are two basic plots in the book. One is caused by the other, but as the story progresses, there is little correlation between the two. Some people have commented on this as being a flaw, but personally speaking, I don't really see how that matters.
This first plot mainly focuses on Death being fired by the Auditors and Azrael. After this is done, he comes to the Discworld, looking to make a new start. He takes a job with Miss Flitworth at her farm, and things go on from there.
The second plot is based around the death of Windle Poons: and his subsequent return, because of the 'lapse in service' caused by Death's exit. Poons was 130 years old, and his return from the dead makes him 'live' again, ironically enough. For him, death is not like a sleep: it is more like waking up again. The problem is that the rest of the world soon raises objections.
While I have mentioned the fact that Reaper Man is the most moving Discworld book, this is not to say that it isn't funny. In fact, some of the scenes in this installment are nothing short of hilarious, particularly in Poons' side of the story. The attempts of his fellow wizards to 'help' him out, and their military endeavors in the latter part of the book (Yo!) are just sidesplitting.
Death's side of the story is very different. There is some humor here and there, (see the scene with the dyslexic rooster), but for the most part, it has a slight air of melancholy to it: at points, it is almost brooding in nature. The character of Miss Flitworth is rather tragic, and Death's interaction with her makes for some very serious conversation. He learns more about humanity in the process, and it definitely leaves a mark, as can be seen in later Discworld books.
Also of note is the landscape Death's story takes place in: Pratchett does an excellent job here. The images he conjures up in his descriptions are wonderful: one can almost imagine the wind whistling through the stalks of golden corn, gleaming in the sunlight. The imagery is also appropriate: i.e. the harvest and all that implies.
The characters in Reaper Man are some of the best ever featured in a single Discworld book. Of particular note are the people in the Fresh Starters club: each individual is immaculately crafted, and very, very funny. Dibbler turns up, as does Sgt. Colon and Modo the dwarf, whose musings on life in the University are amusing, in their own way. However, the wizards steal the show, as always: their antics in this one had me in fits.
Speaking of great characters, Windle Poons (along with Ronald Saveloy in Interesting Times) is probably the best one book character Pratchett ever created. In many ways, Poons is probably the only time a wizard in the Discworld series actually lives up to the image used so often in fantasy: he is noble, fair and wise, a man who knows what the right thing to do is, and goes out and does it, no matter the cost to himself. His saving of Ankh Morpork at the hands of what the extra life force hatches up is an example of this.
The book rolls along at a good pace, and is of uniformly high quality throughout. However, it's the last 30-40 pages of it that make it the classic it is, for they are deeply moving. The somberness of Death's side of the story draws on to its logical conclusion, and at the very end, permeates Poons' side as well. The portrayal of said emotion is handled well: it is not nauseatingly overdone, nor is it too bleak. It's very matter of fact, leaving the reader to pick up on whatever he/she may. Pratchett also uses some great lines in the book: the very last one, spoken by Azrael, is of particular note.
Reaper Man, like a fair number of Pratchett's books, is a celebration of life. It is death that makes us truly appreciate life for what it is, and this, I believe, is the author's message here. This theme, mixed in with some of the best humor the series has seen, is what makes Reaper Man Pratchett's finest book, and a classic novel in every sense of the word. Highest possible recommendation.

If you've read the other reviews, you probably understand by now that in this episode from the Discworld series, Death gets to take a holiday from his normal duties. This sets up a series of preposterous circumstances that can only be carried off by Terry Pratchett on his insane creation - Discworld.

This was the first of the Discworld novels I ever read, and by far and away the funniest! I was reading it on a flight to San Diego, during the in-flight movie - a taut thriller - and laughed so hard that other passengers were removing their headphones and glaring at me, wondering what I found so hysterical in the film.

This book turned me into a confirmed Terry Pratchett enthusiast. His tongue-in-cheek attitude towards his world and his wonderfully twisted take on life has helped inspire my own looney creative efforts, much to the delight of my children.

Read this book. Then read the entire Discworld series. If you have any sense of humor, you can't go wrong with this one!

This book, long out of print, introduces Pratchett's best heroes, Sam Vimes and Carrot, and sets up the adventures to come. To my surprise, the plot in here holds its own against those in later Vimes novels, and the large space given to the supporting cast is a delight to those who know Colon and Knobby, Vimes' deputies, from later books where they share the guardhouse with a much larger cast. I read the Guards book out of order, and now feel like I should re-read them in order. The whole subseries, even the anticlimactic "Fifth Elephant," stand out from the rest of the Discworld books. Discworld is almost always good. Vimes is even better.

G!G! is the brilliant introduction to Sam Vimes and the Night Watch (eventually the City Watch) of Ankh-Morpork. Fencing (sort of), fighting (rather one-sided), torture (only a little bit), revenge (maybe some), giants (my, but Carrot certainly is tall), monsters (dragons and trolls count, right?), chases (when the Night Watch runs away), escapes (see previous), true love (sort of), miracles (one in a million chance)...
Sam Vimes and Carrot Ironfoundersson are my two favorite characters on the whole Disc, after Death. I just have to love this book, mostly because it gave us the characters. It sets the stage for the later books, and the City Watch subseries is the most dedicated to internal consistency and continuity among all the Discworld books. This is an essential book to see the beginning of the rise of the Night Watch and Sam Vimes, and it really sets the character of Carrot. The literal-mindedness of Carrot in this gives one an even deeper appreciation of some of the later jokes surrounding him.

I remember the first time I read this book. My friend lent it to me going on about how amazing it was. He was right. Terry Pratchett's discworld series is probably the most succesful series of comedy novels ever in the U.K./Ireland/ Australia. They are kind of like Monty Python mixed with Tolkien. They are classified as fantasy but don't let that scare you away. They are just piss takes on modern society and damn it they are funny! I have lent Guards! Guards! to around 12 people. All of them loved it. All of them ran out and borrowed/bought the rest of the discworld series. They are all just so good! I'll tell you how universal they are; My grandmother even likes Discworld novels. Guards! Guards! is about a dwarf who finds out that the reason he is six feet tall is because is human. His name is carrot(because of the shape of his body not the colour of his hair). He joins the Night Watch in Ankh-Morpork. A city where even the thieves have a guild(they give you a reciept). The watch is led my Captain Vimes. A man who drinks to forget about his drinking problem. His fellow guards; Nobby(disqualified from the human race for shoving), and Colon. At the start their only problems are trying to stop Carrot arresting thieves and assasins, and trying to stay upright. But then a dragon comes along and spoils everything... I suggest very strongly you read this book. Then it's sequel Men at Arms. Then ALL the other Discworld novels. You will never look back.

My nine year old son has to do an oral book report a week so I'm always looking for things that might interest him. JOHNNY AND THE DEAD fit the bill and was fun for me to read also. For americans, we had to get past the barrier of a common language (Pratchett uses British colloquialisms, not american ones - e.g., lift, Maths, etc.) but actually ended up having fun discussing the use of language. This book is absolutely not morbid and the "vertically challenged" (buried 6 feet under) are far more amusing than scary. I'd call this a book full of sweetness and gentleness and the best of the Johnny Maxwell series (3 total titles?). It's probably more suited for a slightly older reader, but 9 year olds on up will enjoy this work. Addendum: my 3 year old was listening attentively as I read a chapter or two as well!

Johnny Maxwell is just a normal twelve-year old kid, or at least he tries to be. Things just seem to happen to him that don't happen to anyone else - aliens inside a computer game surrender to him and name him their Chosen One, for example (as told in the first book of this series). Compared to that adventure, seeing dead people almost seems rather prosaic. The Trying Times Johnny has been living in have advanced past his parents' shouting and Being Sensible About Things to Phase 3, which sees him now living with his grandfather. He often takes a short cut to school through a local cemetery, and it is there that he meets the Alderman, the long dead and buried Alderman. His friends Yo-less, Bigmac, and Wobbler can't see dead people the way Johnny suddenly can, but events soon convince them that Johnny isn't just fooling around with them. Johnny meets all of the dead people in the cemetery, all of whom are quite put out when they learn that their cemetery, a place which the rules of being dead say they cannot leave, has been sold by the city (for only five pence) to a corporation planning on building office buildings there. Since Johnny is the only human who can see them (and why Johnny can see them is rather a mystery, although the Alderman thinks it is because he is too lazy not to see them), the dead look to him to save their eternal resting place. Stopping a big corporation from doing something the city has granted them the legal right to do is no easy task, especially for a twelve-year-old boy and his friends, but Johnny is wonderfully resourceful.

The ending of this book didn't have much spark to it, but overall Johnny and the Dead is an even better read than the first Johnny Maxwell novel Only You Can Save Mankind. It also rings quite distinctly at times of the type of humor showcased by the author in his Discworld novels. There is one bit early on that is just hilarious. Wobbler puts the idea in Johnny's head that dead people basically lurch around like the zombie types in Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and this indirectly leads to the Alderman trying to moonwalk in the cemetery. The dead people as a whole put a lot of life into this book, oddly enough. Among the fascinating, entertaining dead folks we meet are an ardent suffragette, an inventor who is quite proficient at manipulating electronic equipment, a brilliant man named Einstein - Solomon Einstein the taxidermist, and a dyed-in-the-wool Marxist who is quite disappointed at the way things have gone in the world since his death. The vibrant personalities of the dead men and women more often than not clash in a number of very funny ways as they all try to cope with modern life or the lack of it.

This book does stand up fairly well on its own, but the characterization of Johnny and his friends is not detailed enough for you to really get to know them without having read Only You Can Save Mankind already. This is considered juvenile fiction, but as with everything Terry Pratchett writes, men and women of all ages, providing they have at least a nascent sense of humor, will find much to enjoy and laugh about in these pages.

Johnny Maxwell and his band of quirky pals are back in "Johnny and the Dead," the sequel to the unusual SF "Only You Can Save Mankind" and the second book of this trilogy. Funny, quirky, with an ingrained lesson and snappier writing, this tops the previous book and promises more to come.

Johnny Maxwell sees dead people. (Yes, like the little boy in "Sixth Sense.") For whatever reason, he sees the dead in their graveyard -- not really ghosts, but not alive either. Among them are a crabby former soldier, a distant relative of Einstein, a sprightly suffragette who died in a freak mishap, and a staunch Communist who STILL doesn't believe in life after death. All in all, they are a fairly harmless bunch.

But a massive, mercenary, progress-obsessed corporation has just bought the graveyard for fivepence, and it will soon be razed for new construction. The only people more dismayed than the living inhabitants of Blackbury are the dead ones. So as the dead break their bonds to "uvlive," Johnny and his friends will try to save the graveyard from... a fate worse than death?

This book is not only more entertaining and humorous than "Mankind," but it is also more polished. Pratchett's style becomes more flowing and easy, and the message he puts in it is not ham-handed or badly-written. It's also extremely light and entertaining most of the time, such as when the dead Communist calls up a radio talk show host and speaks frankly about being "vertically challenged."

Johnny is thoughtful and intelligent, quiet until he has a reason to speak out. His buddies Wobbler, Yo-less and Bigmac also return, with their individual personalities even more individualized: Wobbler is a little odd (wants to see a goat sacrificed), Yo-less is intellectual and more on Johnny's level, and Bigmac loves food. Perhaps the only problem is that if you haven't read "Mankind," you won;t know who the other boys are, but that is the only area in which "Dead" is difficult.

Fans of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series will enjoy the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, full of laughs, thoughts, and weird occurrances that will have you rolling on the floor.

The better of Mr. Pratchett's books contain more than a jot of commentary on human nature, and a strongly ethical bent. "Guards! Guards!" covers the ground quite well, in the vein of "Catch-22" and the Retief series by Keith Laumer, and adds a dose of Machiavellian manuvering. Excellent and quite accesible!

This was the 15th Pratchett book i have read and its the bes

Pterry here has managed to be not only funny but serious. Carrot comes across a bit too stereotypically, but Vimes is the most human of the characters, indeed one of the most human of teh series. There are indeed Tolkien references, (and also Casablanca! Note the flickering sign outside Vimes's window - so traditional it's very hard to leave out, but stil . . . )

Lady Ramkin is still a tad flat (She doesn't come into her own, really, until Jingo) but her relationship with Vimes is very well done, and very . . . there. It wrenches at you. It's one of the best parts of the book. (i think that the Patrician's view on life, as explained to Vimes, is even better, but I'm a real Vetinari fan.)

If you haven't read any other Discworld books yet, START HERE. (or possily at Mort.) t's the best in the series, excepting Jingo, which builds too much on it to be a starting point. My only reget when I read this was that I had read Men at Arms and Feet of Clay before I got my hand! s on it.

Terry Pratchett was recently awarded a well-deserved prize for "lifetime service to Booksellers". That's not surprising, although finding enough shelf space for two dozen Discworld books must be a challenge. Witches Abroad is one Discworld tome deserving a permanent niche on any shelf - especially yours. You'll return to it often.

The clash between established experience and youthful endeavor is caught here in Pratchett's matchless style. Granny Weatherwax, Lancre's predominate headologist, is severely challenged by the youngest member of the coven, Magrat Garlick. Magrat's heir to a powerful device and honour - a fairy godmother's wand. Magrat's life is further complicated by an identity crisis. She's not always comfortable in her role in life, and this new responsibility compounds the problem. Nevertheless, she's been given the wand and a charge to prevent a marriage. A formidable task, given that the marriage is to occur in "forn parts".

The witches' journey to Genua is one of the highlights of Pratchett's inventive mind. Esme's participation in a Cripple Mister Onion contest along the way would make the most ardent card player shudder in recognition. The innocent Granny exhibiting "beginner's luck" is priceless.

Pratchett introduces us to the power of the story in the universe. Stories "play themselves", shaping people's actions to their own ends. People who resist their roles in stories do so at their peril. This story, so classic and well established, should be irresistible, but then it hasn't dealt with Esme Weatherwax. The struggle is immense, with mighty powers brought to bear in seeking a resolution. Only time will tell which has the greater power.

Most of Pratchett's stories have the value of being timeless. Among the Discworld tales, this one has a particular ageless quality. It can be read at any time with many levels of pleasure and value. No other book in the witches' Discworld series quite matches this one for confirming the worth of Esme Weatherwax as one of Pratchett's finest character inventions. Yet, whatever you find on Discworld, you must remember its equivalent resides somewhere here on Roundworld. There's that lady just down the street . . .

For me, the Discworld is never as much fun as when I have Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick as my chaperones, and Witches Abroad is a truly seminal work starring my three favorite witches. This is a story about stories, and on the anthropomorphic wonderland known as the Discworld stories are so powerful that they can become almost unstoppable forces; they are so important that they shape people rather than the other way around, making people do things for the sake of the stories alone. Once a story gets going, it's almost impossible to stop it. You don't tell Granny Weatherwax that anything is impossible for her to do, though, nor do you tell her you need her help, not unless you don't want her to come. The fairy godmother Desiderata knows this, although she is not particularly adept at training a successor (and since witches know when they are going to die, her death is no excuse for such lack of planning). Just before she dies, she wraps up her magic wand and sends it to Magrat Garlick, Lancre's youngest, most good-hearted, tradition-obsessed, open-minded, overlooked witch along with a note telling her appointed successor that she must go to Genua to prevent the girl Emberella from marrying the prince and that she must tell Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg that they are not to come with her. Thus, all three witches are soon flying away from their homes in Lancre in route to the eastern port of Genua. Their journey finds them bumping headlong into a number of different stories, Pratchett-twisted episodes such as one involving a young girl in a red cape, her grandmother, and a wolf. It soon becomes obvious to the three witches that someone is making stories come true, but only Granny secretly knows just who is behind all this. Arriving in Genua, they are exposed to the city's own brand of magic, namely voodoo, run up against snake sisters guarding poor Emberella, delight in an entirely new kind of cooking (the ingredients of which are kept from Granny for the most part, which is obviously quite the right thing to do), and set out to stop the warped Cinderella-based fairy tale events surrounding Emberella, knowing that, should Emberella marry the prince, the other fairy godmother (they come in pairs, incidentally), the witch wielding and invigorating her power by the use of mirror magic, would have power over the whole city and force her happy endings on everyone in town. There's nothing wrong with happy endings, but being made happy against one's wishes and knowledge is one of very many things that Granny doesn't hold with. As Magrat's attempts to use the magic wand result in only pumpkins and more pumpkins, success in this unexpected tour of fairy godmothering duty requires all three witches working together, and Granny herself needs all of her skills at headology when she confronts an important figure from her past.

The ingeniously satirical incorporation of fairy tales by Pratchett makes this book worth its weight in gold, but it is the constant bickering and resulting comedy between the three very different witches that makes this book so entertaining. There is no citizen of the Discworld whom I find as fascinating and entertaining as good old Granny Weatherwax. Her obstinacy and refusal to admit a deficiency of any kind is quite comical in and of itself, but put this beside poor Magrat's idealized notions and unconventional ideas (such as her decision to wear pants and thus, to Granny's horror, let men see where her legs are underneath them) and Nanny's ribald, good-natured humor and zest for life (and alcohol and dirty songs, etc.) and you've got a recipe for high comedy indeed. Nanny's unique cat Greebo also takes on vast importance in this novel, offering us yet another unforgettable travel partner in this strange world of Pratchett's ingenious creation. Granny's character is especially well-developed in this novel, and the new-found insights into her childhood offer quite a telling new insight into her personality. Witches Abroad is among the best of the best of Pratchett's Discworld series.

I have never read a Terry Pratchett book before (except from half of Moving Pictures), but I think I might start now, since Witches Abroad is definitely one of the best books I've ever read. I particularly liked Granny Weatherwax, who is one of the greatest characters I've ever met in a book in the sense of having flaws and behaving badly and still being someone you just have to like. There are a lot of great scenes in the book, like Granny playing cards on the boat and her fight with Mrs Gogol, who is another wonderfully drawn character, too. So if you ever wondered about what makes stories happen, or what it really means to be a fairy godmother, just buy this book!

I've read most of Pratchett's novels, in publication order, up to the most recent handful, and this is by far my favorite, along with INTERESTING TIMES. The City Guard of Ankh-Morpork is a happy concept, and all the books about the Guards are way above Pratchett's average.

Imagine a police procedural in which very few of the policemen are human. Comic book writer Alan Moore currently has a series which takes this to the n-th degree... none of the policemen are human, and no two are alike: TOP TEN. If you want to try a Pratchett novel, try GUARDS, GUARDS! or MEN AT ARMS or FEET OF CLAY. Excellent introductions to his "cosmos" and to his unique style of wit. "DON'T SALUTE!!!" (You'll learn why.)

O.K., some of the discworld novels are better than others, and I can't write a review on every single one. This one is my favourite Discworld novel. I loved the way the whole thing got something of a mystery novel, (naturally in this point Feet of Clay is more rewarding). I don't know why, but only Terry Pratchett seems to be able to manage this kind of fantasy. The few other examples of funny fantasy I tried weren't hardly very funny at all. Other authors just steal from Tolkien, or (directly or via Tolkien) from some mythology. Well, Pratchett also does, the world being carried on the back of a turtle isn't his very own idea, but his way of using other sources is far more elegant than those of any other author I've ever read (except Tolkien perhaps, but you hardly can really compare other authors with Tolkien). Other authors steal, Pratchett hints. And within all the books there's a vast amount of moral, sometimes more, sometimes less, that would be boring with any other author, but with Pratchett it's just more fun. If the man's been able to write about 20 novels in the last years, that are that good, I'm quite confident, that he'll manage this some more years, and I'm always eagerly awaiting the next one. Yes, naturally, close up to Men at Arms there is Guards! Guards! on my favourite list.

This book is one my favorite and, I believe, one of the best of Pratchett's Discworld Series. I can say it in one word: Carrot! He is one of my favorite heroes on the Discworld (only Rincewind and Nanny Ogg compare with Death a close third). As usual, Carrot comes through with flying colors. There are just so many interesting things in this book: the plot about the "gonne," Leonard de Quirm (and the way he acts with the Patrician), Cuddy the dwarf and Detritus the troll, the silly guildsand their ridiculous presidents, Carrot and Angua, I could just go on.

Especially good was the troll-dwarf issue, the way they had to work together to interview the guilds without making complete fools of themselves and just basically get along. Also, it is funny how intelligent trolls get in low temperatures.

The plot alos makes for a nice mystery story. Pratchett really worked on this one. We start out with a 4-man watch and end up with one over 60 people! The Watch really grows up and will add many laughs to future stories. One of the best: a must read.