Hindsight
is a unique perspective; it makes predilection seem easy. But based on The Colour of Magic and The
Light Fantastic, who would have thought that Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books would begin appearing
with such regularity and increasing popularity?
Probably the same number who said it wouldn’t. (I’d be curious what Sir Terry thought.) Regardless, looking back we can see that for as
fun and funny as the first two novels are, Equal
Rites, the third Discworld book,
is where the series really starts to gain traction. Pratchett seeming to realize the potential of
the Disc, the novel’s exploration of a social theme (in this case, gender)
through a sustained and humorous (and sustainably humorous) narrative became
the trademark of the series.
Equal Rites is the story of
Eskarina Smith. Eighth son—err,
daughter—to an eighth son, her births sees a visitor, the aged wizard Drum
Billet, come knocking to pass on his staff of magic before dying. Without a care to the sex of the child, he
enchants the staff to obey only the newborn child before DEATH takes him
peacefully away. Beyond the power of
Esk’s father and local witch Granny Weatherwax to tame, the rune-covered staff
cannot be destroyed. So they hide
it. But by the time Esk has reached her
eighth year, it’s obvious there is something special about her. So her father sends her to study with Weatherwax
to become a witch. Eventually the staff
intervenes, and before Esk knows it, she and Granny Weatherwax are off on a
perilous journey to Ankh-Morpork to see she receives a proper wizard’s
education. Trouble is, there have only
ever been male students at the Unseen University…
Eskarina
Smith is everything one could want in a plucky young heroine. Intelligent and headstrong—often too much for
her own good, she tromps and traipses her way around the Disc, from her village
of Bad Ass all the way to Ankh-Morpork, upsetting convention everywhere she
goes. A wonderful foil to the
delightfully cratchety Granny Weatherwax, the interaction between the two is
perhaps the strongest part of the book. Full
of color, Pratchett gets the reader to cheer for both as they confront the
almighty wizards at Unseen University.
The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic a hodge-podge of
fantasy cliches—humorously satirized but a hodge-podge nonetheless, Equal Rites sees Pratchett more focused. Esk’s story is developed nicely from
beginning to end in smooth, consistent fashion.
The humor likewise more restrained, the novel also sees Pratchett
digging a little deeper, a little more subtly into his bag of tricks. Not noticeably more or less funny than any
other Discworld novel, there remains,
however, a greater reliance on situational comedy. Playing off the stereotypes of witches and
wizards, well, that’s just the frosting and cherries on the cake.
As
would become the norm in Discword
novels to follow, Pratchett is able to work his humor in mature, witty, and
occasionally profound fashion into the theme of the novel. Gender and gender equality not easy subjects
for a man to write about these days, Pratchett does it with full aplomb,
striking a balance that is difficult to take issue with. The ending of the novel predictable, it is
therefore the manner in which the idea is tackled and developed that provides
the meatiest content.
In
the end, Equal Rites sees the Discworld series begin to fulfill its
potential. A slower paced, more
thoughtful novel (relative to other Discworld
novels, of course), Pratchett takes his time developing Esk’s character, as
well the manner in which gender is treated on the Disc. Relying upon stereotypes of witches and
wizards (too highly humorous effect), the author likewise seems to borrow a
little something from Le Guin; a particular scene involving an eagle appears an
open tribute to A Wizard of Earthsea. I don’t believe the manner in which Tehanu echoes Equal Rites was intentional, but there nevertheless seems some
reciprocity, Granny Weatherwax the lynch pin.
And if I had to guess, I’d say there is more than a pinch or two of JackVance in the Zoons, but I will let the reader decide. Regardless, fans of the Disc won’t be
disappointed with the beginning of the Witches sub-series.
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