Written by Terry Pratchett

Number 3 in Discworld Number 1 in Discworld - Witches

Publisher: Colin Smythe
Pages: 240
Genre: fantasy, humour
Published: 1987-01-15
Original Language: English

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. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the newborn baby's sex...

Read from 2024-12-09 to 2025-02-20
Read in English
Rating: 4/5
Review: “Equal Rites” is next up in my “reading Pratchett in published order” mission, and it’s a pleasing blend of humor, social commentary, and fantasy.

It starts with a Wizard accidentally passing on the role of Wizard to a newborn baby who, against convention and Lore, is a girl. Despite the best efforts of her Granny, this accidental calling can’t really be ignored—and she goes off to become a proper Wizard.

I loved the social commentary in this book. The explicit commentary on gender roles, societal expectations, and who you are dictating what you should be able to do is peppered throughout the book. It’s presented (at least to my eyes) in a way that very nicely exposes the natural absurdity behind prejudices rather than explicitly talking about them. Would a book like this change the minds of people who need to read it? Well… it might be overly optimistic to think so, but at least it would have a shot at it.

But there’s another, unexpected but also enjoyable, level of social commentary on the distinction between academic prowess and actual, useful, intelligence/cleverness. The contrast between the cleverness of Wizards, who are undoubtedly very smart, and the actual practical usefulness of the knowledge of much less educated, so much more clever, Witches, and the reliance on the skills they possess.

As far as the plot goes… it’s fun and serves well to drive the story forward, and as a way of setting up the conversations and situations that made the book so enjoyable. It’s odd to say it, but toward the end, I found that the plot became a bit chaotic and almost overpowered the wit and the characters that were part of it.

Still—a very fun read, and I look forward to delving deeper into the Pratchett universe!