Though humorously approached, the gender issues seemed too simply presented to me at first. Her lack of control over her immense amount of power, thanks to the staff, makes it plain that she must seek instruction from the wizards at the Unseen University. Granny and Esk’s father try to cover it up after her birth, and when her magical interests become too prominent later on Granny tries teaching her to be a witch. Esk is at first held back by tradition and unchallenged belief that it cannot be. Even Granny at first refuses to entertain the idea. There has never been a female wizard before. She is accompanied by Granny Weatherwax, an old witch who serves their community and takes it upon herself to guide Esk into the magical arts.įor much of the novel the crux of Esk’s situation is more philosophical, physical impediments becoming a factor later on. The story follows Eskarina Smith, a young girl who inherited a wizard’s staff at birth and has an unbridled knack for magic. While I enjoyed the perilous escapades of Rincewind and Twoflower, I have been looking forward to reading about characters who aren’t quite so hapless.

Let the battle of the sexes begin…Įqual Rites by Terry Pratchett is the third novel in the fantasy comedy Discworld series, this time focused on a new cast of characters. But now it’s gone and happened, there’s nothing much anyone can do about it. Everybody knows that there’s no such thing as a female wizard. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check that the baby in question was a son.

The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son.

Equal rites review