Maskerade short review

As a massive Discworld fan, the next book on my list to pick up was Maskerade, which is a part of the Witches sub-series. I am not reading these books in any particular order, just picking up whichever takes my fancy but I do know I want to finish the Witches and most of Death's books by the end of the year.

This book is based on opera and more specifically the Phantom of the Opera. Agnes who we know from previous Witches books runs away to Ankh-Morpork from Lancre and joins the opera, but Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are looking for a third witch and while on the hunt a night out to go to the opera sounds like it won't harm anyone.

Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are some of my favourite Discworld characters and do not fail to provide. They make the best pair and you can't help but love them. Granny may be formidable and someone you don’t want to cross who often goes against what she should but she never fails to get her way. Nanny on the other hand will always be welcoming and motherly but she also has another side to her that wouldn’t necessarily always be expected. These two have the best banter and their antics always make me laugh.

There are so many elements to this story I can't discuss them all but I will mention some. I enjoyed the opera theme as someone who did not enjoy the music lessons at school in which we looked at The Phantom of the Opera, I enjoyed the twists Pratchett put on it and how the Witches reacted to it all. I also liked how this story included so many different things in a way that worked, including murder, music and publishing. I also loved the cameos of the City Watch which is made up of some of the most obvious people out there and the librarian with his bowtie.

Overall you need to read a Pratchett book to truly understand, I can only explain it so much and the Witches (along with Tiffany Aching) will always hold a special place in my heart. I am looking forward to finishing the Witches books but also sad that I'll soon enough no longer have another one full of Granny and Nanny's antics that I can just pick up when I need that laugh.

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