Author: Terry Pratchett
Cover Artist: Josh Kirby
Publisher: Corgi Books
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publication Date: 1986

It is well known that stone can think, because the whole of electronics is based on that fact, but in some universes men spend ages looking for other intelligences in the sky without once looking under their feet.

Equal Rites is Pratchett’s third Discworld novel and the first that features the witches, Granny Weatherwax in particular. You do not necessarily have to read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic to read this one, it is a pretty self-contained book. Like in the previous two books Pratchett uses his creating to make fun of an awful lot of things in our society. Unlike the previous two books he also takes on the more weighty issue of gender equality. All in proper Discworld style of course.

The story opens on a dark stormy night when the wizard Drum Billet shows up at the remote village of Bad Ass. Billet feels his end is near and is looking for a successor. The smith of Bad Ass has just become father or an eight son. Being an eight son himself this is something of great significance among Discworld’s wizards. Billet hands over the symbol of his power before Death takes him. Unfortunately nobody has bothered to check the sex of the child before the ceremony. The unthinkable has just happened, the staff of a wizard has passed on to a girl. Granny Weatherwax, the village witch, has observed the whole affair and decides not to put up with it, if the child is to use magic she will be made into a proper which.

Year pass and at the age of eight the child, Eskarina or Esk for short, starts showing the first signs of magical ability. Granny starts her work to make Esk into a proper witch. Unfortunately for Esk, who wants nothing more than to wield magic, Granny’s teaching involve a lot of things but rarely does she directly use magic. Instead Granny relies on what she calls Headology to get the job done. Esk is not to be persuaded to follow the path appropriate for her gender though, and when all else fails Granny and Esk set off on a journey to see Esk installed at the Unseen University to become a wizard’s apprentice.

I think Pratchett is getting the hang of it in this book. I liked it better than the previous two, but I suppose it could also be a bit of a disappointment to those who expected something more in the vein of the previous two books. Pratchett focusses a bit more on the story and a bit less on absurd humour in Equal Rites (which is still thoroughly absurd in most places of course). I liked Granny’s character a lot. She’s a somewhat cynical old crone. Granny is clever, practical but also prejudiced, stubborn, conservative and unwilling to admit ignorance on any given subject. It puts her in several hilarious situations including a duel with the head of the unseen university that would make Harry Potter hide under his bed. All in all she is a rather unlikely champion of equal rites.. er.. rights.

Equal Rites doesn’t lean quite as heavily on Pratchett’s dry humour as his previous two books. I thought the story to be more compelling. It does go at the expense of the pace of the book though, which sags decidedly during Granny and Esk’s journey to the Unseen University. Still, the book is only 280 pages long, the slowing of the pace in the middle of the book is hardly enough to discourage the reader. Besides, it is followed by an explosive finale. Although I wouldn’t say it is a brilliant book it is the best of the three Discworld novels I have read so far. I’m looking forward to the fourth book, Mort, which as the title suggests, features Death.

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Topics: Corgi Books, Discworld, Equal Rites, Josh Kriby, Terry Pratchett