The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett's books kept me occupied for hours on end when I was a kid and returning to the brilliant Discworld with The Wee Free Men was genuinely a pleasure. I've had the book for a while now. It was meant to be a present for my younger brother, but i never got around to sending it to him, so I decided to read it instead. I know… I make you sick. Blah blah.

The Wee Free Men revolves around nine-year-old butter churner, Tiffany Aching's introduction to witch-hood as another world threatens the chalk-lined fabric of her own. When her brother goes missing, and monsters start to turn up, she has to turn to her new found witchiness and the little blue pseudo-Scottish friends, the Nac Mac Feegle (The Wee Free Men of the title), to save the day.

The storyline is a great mix of fairytale and fantasy, with funny dialogue and characters and a big ending. There's also a couple of cameos from old school Terry Pratchett characters to look forward to, so whether you're knew to the discworld, or you go way back, you struggle not to like The Wee Free Men (unless you're just not into that sort of thing).

For everyone that is, or for anyone that just wants a light reed in between Dostoevki and Bulgakov, you can do a lot worse than The Wee Free Men. Worst case scenario, you get to feel like a ten year old kid again. Unless you are a ten year old kid, in which case you probably either fancy Tiffany or wouldn't mind being a witch when you grow up. The fourth Tiffany Aching book, I Shall Wear Midnight, has just come out too, so expect to be embroiled in a prolonged series if you end up liking The Wee Free Men.

3.9/5