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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"When shall we thr...er, two meet again?", June 1, 2005
This review is from: Maskerade (Hardcover)
Nowadays I don't get all that many opportunities to open a new Terry Pratchett book. Countless years of reading him has left me patiently waiting for his next effort. So the discovery of one that I've missed is a moment to be treasured. So now, ten years after I should have read it, I've had the delight of reading Maskerade for the first time. Even better, it's a Lancre witches tale, starring the indomitable Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg, the original Benny Hill.
"Wait," you exclaim, "Where's Magrat?" Off to be queen, of course, leaving Nanny and Granny to party alone before the marshmallow toasting fire. Nanny decides the Agnes Nitt, a large girl with a very large voice would make the perfect replacement. Unfortunately Agnes has had another idea entirely. Tired of being the girl with the 'great personality' and 'beautiful hair' she has left Lancre for Ankh-Moorpark were she is trying to make her living as an opera extra.
In Ankh-Moorpork, it should come as no surprise, the opera house comes complete with a whacko ghost with a white mask, a huge chandelier, and, of course, a beautiful blond named Christine. Agnes (now Perdita) can sing, but Christine cannot, so in no time we have a voice hoax, an angry ghost, and Nanny, Granny, and Greeb, the cat with the original bad attitude.
Pratchett is merciless, as he lampoons witching, opera, publishing, cookbooks, show music, leaving home to make it in the big city, psychology, and growing up the hard way. Trust Esme Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg to find the loophole in everything the encounter, outmaneuver the villains, and bedazzle the crowds. Trust pratchett to leave no opportunity for wry humor unturned.
Agnes/Perdita is a great character on her own. Too fat to be anything else but a 'nice' girl she also has a mind almost as sharp as Granny Weatherwax. Agnes doesn't want to be a witch because that is almost the only career opportunity Lancre has for someone with brains and generous proportions. But neither does she want to be a bump on a log. She has a knack for seizing those opportunities that appear, and enough sense to make it through her own identity crisis.
While this isn't one of Pratchett's tour-de-farces, it is an excellent effort, one that you will relish for some time to come. The Lancre stories are consistently the most humane and personal of his efforts, while the Ankh-Moorpork tales tend to hand grander scopes and characterizations. Maskerade sits smack dab in the middle on an elephant all it's own. Have fun!
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phantom of the Disc, September 13, 2002
Maskerade, the eighteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, is a very funny parody of opera, and the Broadway show Phantom of the Opera more specifically. You can certainly tell that Pratchett doesn't like opera, as he skewers it to within an inch of its life. The parody of Phantom is right on as well, as Pratchett takes the story and turns it on its head in a most entertaining manner. I'm not an opera fan, so I really appreciated how much Maskerade made fun of the whole genre. I laughed out loud when the characters would make comments about how the story doesn't need to make sense as long as it's sung well, and I especially enjoyed how the villain kept "coming back to life" to make another statement after he's been killed, much like how a person who's killed in an opera often has time to sing a death chorus before succumbing. This book is just hilarious all the way through. I'm really becoming a fan of the Witches with the last two books (Lords & Ladies and this one). Perhaps it's because I enjoy the personality clashes between Granny and Nanny. They are so well written and so three dimensional that it's a joy to read about them. They argue a lot, but there's an underlying affection beneath all of that which makes the arguments superficial. It's Granny who instigates the trip to Ankh-Morpork after realizing what an unscrupulous publisher has done to her friend. She doesn't like to see a friend get cheated. There's also a compassion in both of them that is very touching. It's even more surprising from Granny because she has such a gruff exterior. Both of their interactions with Walter Plinge, the rather slow odd-jobs man who everybody at the Opera House ignores, are just brimming with this compassion. It's not just the compassion, though, that makes them great characters. They are very funny as well. Especially good is the stagecoach ride where, by implied witchery, they end up having the coach to themselves while everybody else sits on top. The other characters, while not as fully developed, still do their job very well. Most of the opera players fill their assigned roles to a T. There's Christine, who the Ghost takes a liking to. Christine is excessively vain and dumb as a post, but everybody's fallen in love with her. Meanwhile, Agnes is the talented singer, but she's on the large side, and thus can't get anybody to recognize that. She's used to sing Christine's part for her, while Christine just looks good. The new owner of the Opera House wants it to start making money, which can't happen with all of the strangeness going on. There are many others as well. None of them are terribly well-developed, but it's certainly good enough for this book. I know that this book has received lukewarm reviews, but I found it incredibly funny. The goings-on backstage at the Opera House were great fun, with intrigue and humour being mixed in liberally. The ending of the book is extremely fitting, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I know I was surprised by it. The rest of the plot is quite smooth, with no glaring plot holes to be found. I have found that the plots in the Witches books are a lot more straightforward then some of Pratchett's other books. There are always weird and zany things going on, but they don't have the outlandish twists that populate some of the other ones. You will find yourself laughing a lot throughout the book, especially if you are familiar with the genre. If you live and breathe opera and can't stand to see it criticized, you may want to avoid this book. If you have a sense of humour about it, or if you can't stand it, then this is the book for you. And keep an eye out for the chandelier! (Phantom fans will know what I'm talking about).
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A true masterpiece of laughter, August 24, 2001
If you've never heard of Terry Pratchett, you're clearly living on the wrong planet. So join the rest of us in Pratchett's Discworld and enjoy the antics of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, the Disc's best-known witches. Visit Ankh-Morpork's Opera House with them (accompanied by their lunatic guests). You'll marvel at the amazing scenes of chaos that Pratchett can conjure up, seemingly without trying. And no matter what the topic, Pratchett is able to satirize it and make you question your former opinions - and you'll howl with laughter as you do so. I've read quite a lot of Discworld books and there are not many that have not held a chuckle a page and a full belly laugh a chapter. Maskerade lives up to its author's reputation in full, satirizing opera, theatre production, the lot - and all with a smile on his face. If, after reading Maskerade, you are in any doubt that Terry Prachett is not the most creative and funniest contemporary author around, you've obviously got a funny bone missing somewhere. Although it is not his best work, Maskerade is still hilarious and well worthy of five stars.
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