Tiffany Aching Returns...

I've been slowly getting back into reading fiction again. As my house has been requiring so many little touch ups, I've mostly been reading non-fiction of the home repair and home decor variety. Plumbing and painting are rapidly becoming musts rather than wants.

So, it's been nice to spend some spare time visiting Terry Pratchett. I received his latest book, Wintersmith as a holiday present and have been slowly devouring it ever since.

Wintersmith is one of Pratchett's YA books: the continuing story of Tiffany Aching, who is learning the art of "hagging" or becoming a witch, and the Feegles, a group of little blue "pictsies" who spend most of their time drinking, fighting, and stealing sheep. In this third book about Tiffany and the Feegles, Tiffany is unable to control her feet and ends up joining in the dance between summer and winter. By putting herself into the eternal dance of the seasons, Tiffany accidentally ends up taking over for summer and stealing the affections of the wintersmith, the spirit of winter itself. Naturally, chaos ensues, and the Feegles, a young would-be hero named Roland, and Granny Weatherwax (the "hag o' hags"), have to help Tiffany put things right.

I wasn't that enchanted with Pratchett's last adult book, Going Postal, but Wintersmith was very good. Pratchett's fantasy is always wonderful with layers of subtext that enhance the story without forcing the reader to acknowledge the reference. Wintersmith is a great example of his finer work. It's not my favorite in the Tiffany Aching series (the first was pretty hard to beat), but it's still a great book and well worth the read.

If anyone else has read it, I'm happy to debate!