{"id":4854,"date":"2019-01-07T05:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4854"},"modified":"2019-01-06T09:15:45","modified_gmt":"2019-01-06T17:15:45","slug":"mark-reads-wintersmith-chapter-2-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2019\/01\/mark-reads-wintersmith-chapter-2-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;Wintersmith&#8217;: Chapter 2, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the second half of the second chapter of <i>Wintersmith<\/i>, Miss Treason takes Tiffany dancing. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <i>Discworld<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>HEY, WHAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HAPPENING, I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, seriously, I have one <i>huge<\/i> question that I need answered: <b>Why did Miss Treason take Tiffany to this dance?<\/b> Actually, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not even sure why the dance needed to happen at all, so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <i>that<\/i>, too. The Morris dance\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich I swear is based on a real Roundworld custom???\u00e2\u20ac\u201dusually happens to invite in summer. (I assume the Summer Lady?) So why was this dance happening so <i>early<\/i>? Why is Miss Treason so determined to witness it? Because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m now realizing that <i>she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t partake in the dance at all<\/i>. And if this is a dance traditionally for seven people, why wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she the seventh person?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Initially, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there was going to be something so creepy at the end of this trip into the forest. Pratchett invokes a <i>very<\/i> common trope you see both in fantasy <i>and<\/i> in Roundworld discussions of witchcraft: witches dancing naked in the forest. (Indeed, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the film <i>The VVitch<\/i>, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very, very literal interpretation of this trope\/stereotype.) So, I expected a complete subversion of this, that the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dance\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that Miss Treason was going to witness was probably innocent or at least toyed with what folks perceived of witches. But then Miss Treason gave these orders, and I started wondering what the <i>hell<\/i> she was doing here:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And listen carefully. There are rules. One, you will not talk; two, you will look only at the dancers; three, <i>you will not move until the dance is finished.<\/i> I will not tell you twice!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That seemed really, <i>really<\/i> serious. So why bring her? Why expose her to this mysterious dance with virtually no preparation? Was Miss Treason worried about leaving Tiffany behind at her home, or did she need Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s help to get there?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very cold up here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And will get colder.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Okay, so Miss Treason <i>knew<\/i> that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be invoking the Wintersmith with this dance, right??? I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sense here that this dance <i>needed<\/i> to happen, that unless Miss Treason and the others did this, something bad would happen. Yet when the dance started, Pratchett did this THING where he made everything just feel awful and foreboding and creepy and I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LIKE IT. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a masterful thing, too, and reading back on it, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so impressive how you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re able to get this feeling that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all <i>wrong<\/i>, that Tiffany was tempted by something truly terrible here. Of course, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help that the seventh dancer is called the Fool, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m certain at some point this name will come up again. Was Tiffany a fool for joining in this dance when told not to? Maybe, and perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point. She messed with something she should not have. But was Miss Treason so intent on watching the dancers that she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even notice Tiffany joining in? Why didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she do anything to stop her?<\/p>\n<p>See, the book cuts from the Wintersmith speaking\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand asking, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who Are You?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dto Miss Tick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153drowning\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by the people of Dogbend. Which is a GREAT sequence, by the way, and darkly, darkly funny. Seriously, what a way to avoid being killed for being a witch! And I loved this chance to get a bit into Miss Tick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head, as well as her job as a witch finder. She risks her life to find young girls who need the guidance of a witch:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Witch finding was always dangerous. You had to do it, though. A witch growing up all alone was a sad and dangerous child\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Okay, I would definitely read a book about the eight-year-old witch trapped in Dogbend. Seriously, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much potential in just a few paragraphs about this young girl! But the other reason why we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given this scene is so that we can properly appreciate how dire this situation is. Miles and miles from Tiffany, Miss Tick senses that something is <i>wrong<\/i>. Her shamble doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just explode; it goes completely haywire. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S A BAD SIGN.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And then the chapter cuts back to Tiffany and Miss Treason, though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s from Miss Treason\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s POV while Tiffany sleeps. What <i>exactly<\/i> happened at the dance after everyone collided into one another? Has Tiffany been asleep since then? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know! Oh, gods, I know Pratchett loves withholding information from ME SPECIFICALLY, so I should be used to this. I have a feeling that the end of this chapter is the sign that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m about to get a lot of information. I was amused by Miss Treason surprising the Feegles and then basically intimidating them out of information, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all on the same page here. They want to protect Tiffany, and both parties are VERY aware that something is wrong. And I was glad that Miss Treason is now privy to Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship to the Feegles due to her being kelda for a short while in <i>The Wee Free Men<\/i>. BUT WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our kelda is havin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 dreams. Dreams o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 the future. Dreams o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 the hills all froze an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 everyone deid an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 the big wee hag wearin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 a crown o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ice!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My goodness!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Aye, an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 there wuz more!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Billy, throwing out his arms. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She saw a green tree growin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in a land o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ice! She saw a ring o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 iron! She saw a man with a nail in his heart! She saw a plague o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 chickens an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 a cheese that walks like a man!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Well\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 okay, <i>what<\/i>? Sure, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good occult symbolism,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but what does this all mean? I assume the Wintersmith wants to take over the Chalk somehow? Or perhaps they do something vengeful? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know! And Tiffany is really good at making cheese so maybe\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 happens? A cheese man?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Goddamn it, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. But Tiffany wakes up at the end of this chapter, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not one to go into situations unquestioning, so I HOPE I LEARN MORE THINGS SOON.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/chjXv0Y-Mzs<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markoshiro.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/19\/the-anger-is-a-gift-paperback-edition-is-out-may-7-2019\">The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><strong>If you&#8217;d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/ey636\">sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the second half of the second chapter of Wintersmith, Miss Treason takes Tiffany dancing. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.\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":[463,248,556],"class_list":["post-4854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-wintersmith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4854","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=4854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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