- Author: Terry Pratchett
- Series: Discworld #30
- Narrator: Stephen Briggs
- Duration: 7 hr 10 min
- Format: Audio Disks
- Publisher: Clarion Books
- Published: 12/14/2004
- Print Published: 2003
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett is a comic fantasy set in Pratchett’s Discworld, but there is no need to be familiar with the other books in the series to enjoy this one. It is classified as a story for children, but is a delightful and meaningful tale for anyone. Pratchett does not dumb down his stories for the young, and there are many things for adults to think about and enjoy in this story.
Tiffany Aching is a different sort of 9-year-old girl who has had a longing to be a witch since she found how poorly one old woman was treated when folks (incorrectly) thought she was a witch. She is the granddaughter of Granny Aching who passed away a few years before. Granny Aching would not call herself a witch, but she did perform some seemingly amazing feats. This ‘magic’ was generally the practical knowledge of how things worked and when to do things. For example, she ‘brought a frozen lamb back to life’ by cooking it in the oven… placing it in a warming oven at a low warmth after the lamb suffered hypothermia in the snow.
One day while playing by the river, Tiffany sees two tiny blue men who warn her of something in the water. She uses her little brother as bait to lure the fairly-tale monster, Jenny Greenteeth, on to shore where she dispatches her with a frying pan. This catches the eye of a witch, Miss Tick, who impersonates a traveling teacher and comes to meet Tiffany. She points out that Tiffany likely has what it takes to be a witch, including First Sight and Second Thoughts. First Sight being the ability to see what is really there and not what you want to be there, which most people do. Second Thoughts being the ability to think things through in more detail. When she returns home, she encounters the small men again, and finds out her little brother has gone missing. She sets out with The Wee Free Men, aka the Nac Mac Feegles, to rescue him. In their travels they encounter many threats from many fairy tale and dream creatures before their final encounter with the Queen of the Fairies.
This story may have been aimed at children, but it hit home with me. It is fun and funny and insightful and just entertaining. I recommend this one highly. I haven’t read much of Terry Pratchett’s works in the past, but this one is a fine introduction to a writer who brings together, intelligence, wit and just plain silliness in a remarkable way. I will be reading more of his work.
Matt Truxaw is the author of the hard science fiction thrillers: “Plastiphobia: aka Plastivore” and “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale”
They are both available on Amazon in Paperback, Kindle and are free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read either, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets most of his books out of the library so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
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