Mark Reads ‘Maskerade’: Part 12

In the twelfth part of Maskerade, Nanny and Granny get closer to Box Eight while Agnes figures out who the Ghost is. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Discworld. 

OH MY GOD IT ALL MAKES SENSE.

Box Eight

I’ll talk about the Ghost later, or otherwise this review will just start with me shouting over and over again. So! Chocolate Delight with Special Secret sauce. I kept wondering if there was a reason for what Nanny Ogg did, as if she meant to distract these men or get them out of the way. By the time I got to the end of the scene and realized that there was no possible explanation to support this, it came to me: Nanny Ogg is just mischievous. The end. THE END. She knew she could make this dessert and watch the chaos and that’s it.

Of course, she’s still shocked by the end result. Granny might have been warmed by the Special Secret Sauce, but she can now tolerate it. And Mr. Henry Slugg! Bless his heart, it’s like nothing to him.

He appeared to notice the depleted table for the first time. He shrugged, and smiled hopefully at Granny. “Is there a cheese board, do you think?” he said.

Not all heroes wear capes, my friends.

Let me also make note of this so I can screech later:

Her expression became a little defiant. “Say what you like, young Walter’s all right by me if Greebo likes him.”

I STILL REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT. Both of them suspected Walter was the Ghost, but nooooooo, Mark, you still held out for someone else. LORD. I still can’t figure this out, so let me move on for the moment. I am incredibly eager to see the Granny/Greebo date night scene because you know it’s going to be a disaster. How the hell is Granny supposed to survive the soirée, let alone the opera itself? She can’t do small talk even if her life depended on it! And what about Greebo? Will he be there during that scene or have Nanny and Granny decided that it’ll be safer to make him show up at the last minute?

I’m not sure yet, but I did want to take a moment to call attention to another fantastic scene in this book. I’ll save the guessing for later. I just really love that Pratchett takes a moment to have Granny appreciate Nanny’s magic. It’s a unique thing that she does because even if Nanny has an ulterior motive in these situations, she still gets what she wants by being kind and interested. Her way of wedging open a crack in a person’s defenses involves her showing that she cares about their life. Their friends. Their profession. She uses BEING NICE as magic, and most of the time, it’s actually sweet as hell! The world could use a little more kindness, too.

Agnes

Y’all, the only person to appear beneath the Opera House was Walter Plinge and I still didn’t believe it was him. I think I was too saddened by Agnes’s realization that she wouldn’t get the fantasy that she craved. Plus, it was hard to think about that adorable kid being a murderer. But all the pieces are here, including this:

“So… when did you last see the Ghost?”

“I last saw the Ghost in the big room in the ballet school!”

“Really? What did he do?”

Walter paused for a moment, and then the words came out all together. “He ran off!”

At the time, given that Walter doesn’t lie, I thought this was his exoneration. It had to be, right? He couldn’t have seen the Ghost and been the Ghost at the same time, right???

She pushed open the door and stepped into the school.

Reflections of reflections of reflections…

There were mirrors on every wall.

MEANING THAT WALTER WASN’T LYING. THE LAST THING HE SAW THE GHOST DO WAS RUN AWAY BECAUSE HE IS THE GHOST.

Y’all, I am also so glad that the first thing Agnes does is TELL SOMEONE ELSE. No hoarding of a secret so that it can build up tension and be awkward, and Pratchett doesn’t keep it from us, either. Unfortunately, Agnes is the one to be the arbiter of information, and that means that – once again – she is ignored. Oh, André listens to her, which is good enough, I suppose. But he immediately tells her not to share her theory with anyone else, and then he walks away from the conversation without even saying goodbye, and it’s the same treatment she always gets. If she doesn’t have anything to offer someone, they don’t care, and I imagine that’s the same for André. He has better things to do.

AHHHHHHHHH WALTER IS THE GHOST AHHHHHHHHH.

Diane Duane is still offering a massive discount on the first 9 books in the Young Wizards series just to this community, so please take advantage of this deal while you still can:

http://bit.ly/markreadsYW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuyhh0PrEUs

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
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– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be Death Note and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
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