In the eighteenth and final part of\u00c2\u00a0Maskerade<\/i>, the witches head home. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
I really loved this book, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.\u00c2\u00a0Maskerade<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0has such a pleasant ending, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that Agnes\u00c2\u00a0does<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0factor into it. Pratchett swiftly deals with Salzella\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last moments, and I was not the least bit surprised that he was still an entitled asshole right up to the end. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the biggest jerks in the\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0books, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! And like I said on video, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m actually curious if his true identity is obvious in the text if you read it again. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fascinating character in one sense because he lived a dual life full of spite and hatred, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also not fascinating because HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S THE WORST.<\/p>\n
Whatever, Death showed up in the most fabulous, operatic outfit possible. WHO CARES ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE.<\/p>\n
The remainder of the end of this book is all about the journey home. As ridiculous and absurd as this book has been (and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not complaining about that at all!), Pratchett dials down the action in the end. The muted humor and narration is a treat, though! Granny and Nanny did a wonderful thing in Ankh-Morpork. They help expose a murderer, and they gave Walter Plinge a new life. Thus, the journey home is about them settling back into the life of two witches in Lancre.<\/p>\n
Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something hanging over this entire trip: What happens to Agnes Nitt? Does she remain in the opera, or does she take up Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offer? The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the witches pass up Agnes in their coach as she walks back to Lancre. And now I realize that the first figure is GREEBO. DUH. Who else could fit under the seats? But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comment about being independent that pushed me in the right direction.<\/p>\n
Granny can be cruel and a bit spiteful, but she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also got a good sense for Right and Wrong. This book certainly proved that. Part of that includes the reveal here in the end that her sword grip during the climax actually hurt her. She just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have\u00c2\u00a0time<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0then to feel pain. I actually found the scene where she dealt with the wound to be one of the coolest things we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever gotten in terms of Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization. How many times has she gone home or found somewhere private to deal with cause and effect? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to imagine that she is so powerful that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s invincible, but in that one scene, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shown that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not at all.<\/p>\n
I also think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to see her as manipulative because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of her whole deal. She gets what she wants through headlogy and intimidation. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit of it here in the conclusion of\u00c2\u00a0Maskerade<\/i>, but at the same time, her scene with Agnes was a lot sweeter than I expected. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s literally digging a hole for her privy during this sequence. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s filthy, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sweating, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no illusion. Thus, she feels more real. She seems genuinely interested in what Agnes is going to do next. Yes, she does\u00c2\u00a0casually<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0mention that Magrat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old cottage is empty, but then she does something I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect at all: she admits that she once went by a self-given name. Endemonidia.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the first time she tries to empathize with Agnes. And it matters. I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what helps Agnes feel more willing to take up Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offer. SO I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!!! Will all of the Witches books in the future contain THREE witches? Is Agnes now a permanent fixture? BECAUSE YES, I WANT THIS SO BADLY. Ah, I guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just have to keep reading and hope I find out soon. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait! This book was a real treasure to read, and honestly, I feel like it washed away the bad taste of\u00c2\u00a0Interesting Times<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0Feet of Clay<\/i>, here I come!<\/p>\n
Diane Duane is still offering a massive discount on the first 9 books in the\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0series just to this community, so please take advantage of this deal while you still can:<\/b><\/p>\n
http:\/\/bit.ly\/markreadsYW<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=juLV4JaI5aM<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b> In the eighteenth and final part of\u00c2\u00a0Maskerade, the witches head home. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[463,514,248],"class_list":["post-3856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-maskerade","tag-terry-pratchett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"