Back Cover:
"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FEMALE WIZARD!"

But on Discworld, a flat realm carried by four elephants riding on the back of a giant turtle, there's also no such thing as impossible. And so, a wizard on the brink of death tries to pass on his staff and powers to an eighth son of an eighth son who is just at that moment being born in the little town of Bad Ass. The fact that the son is actually a daughter is discovered just a little too late.

Granny Weatherwax, the town witch, insists on turning Eskarina into a perfectly normal witch, thus mending the magical damage of the wizard's mistake. But the wizard's staff has a whole different future in mind for Esk-a future which requires the young female wizard/witch to penetrate the inner sanctum of the Unseen University. Having accomplished this, she can then attempt to save the world with one well-placed kick in some enchanted shins...

List of Characters:
Esmerelda "Granny" Weatherwax - witch who refuses to admit ignorance. Believes women should be witches and men should be wizards. Rides a broomstick that needs jumpstarting

Eskarina "Esk" Smith - nine year old girl who wants to become a wizard. Has a magical staff that can use wizard magic. Makes people do what she wants by squinting at them.

Simon - young wizard in training who summons demons when he thinks too hard; stutters a lot.

Hilta Goatfounder - another witch who sounds like an orchestra falling off a cliff when she moves

Archchancellor Cutangle - head wizard of Unseen University; fat man who smokes a lot; thinks that women should be witches and men should be wizards until the end; likes Granny Weatherwax

Vice-Archchancellor Treatle - another leading wizard who firmly believes that women should be witches and men should be wizards

Death - no Discworld novel would be complete without this anthropomorphic personification.

A whole slew of Things and goats

Favorite Character:
Of course my favorite has to be Death because he always is, but other than him, my favorite character has to be good old Granny Weatherwax because people are afraid of her because, like Esk, she squints at them a lot, and they find themselves quite uncomfortable. The subtle humor in the straightforward things she says had me laughing out loud several times.

Least Favorite Character:
Blech….Esk most certainly. She is almost humorous at times, but toward the end of the book she gets all goody-goody and decides that she doesn't even want to be a wizard anymore and you feel cheated that you read all this because she changes her mind. There's a woman for you. * grin *

Favorite Quote:
"Women can't be wizards!! It's in the lore!" --any wizard anytime someone says something related to women being wizards.

Favorite Part of the Book:
When Granny is trying to teach Esk to become a witch and trying to convince her not to become a wizard. Hilarious things pass subtly in the dialogue. Headology is a good concept.

Comments:
This book was not as funny as are some of Pratchett's books, but it was good nonetheless. It has the standard Pratchett ending: fast and confusing, which didn't disappoint me, and the two ending paragraphs are just plain funny. Not as much Death as I would have liked. * grin * Definitely read this book before reading any of the other books with Granny Weatherwax in them. A good read all around.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

ISBN: 0552131059
Edition: Paperback