Colm and Steve discuss the penultimate book in the Tiffany Aching sub-series. They talk about the pros and cons of narrative messiness, modernity encroaching into the Chalk, and characters navigating the tricky balance between public responsibilities and private desires.
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Steve and Colm tackle Tiffany’s third adventure, taking in Twilight, Titanic and teenage angst. They discuss the significance of the character-driven nature of the Tiffany books, themes of responsibility and community, and the struggle for a witch to hold onto herself.
Colm & Steve tackle Tiffany Aching’s second outing. Their discussion takes in everything from identity to homesickness to narrative structure, and, for some reason, a fair amount of superhero references.
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Supernatural foes are trying to take over the kingdom and Granny Weatherwax is starting to doubt herself! Sound familiar? Colm and Steve take in the last hurrah of the Lancre Witches, discussing its similarities and differences to the mighty Lords and Ladies, and how it follows on from Small Gods with the decidedly, deliberately un-mighty Mightily Oats.
Steve and Colm join the Lancre Witches as they journey to Ankh-Morpork to explore the curious and contrary world of opera. They (the hosts, not the Witches) discuss how Pratchett handled the tricky business of returning to Granny and Nanny after the climatic brilliance of Lords & Ladies, how body image and confidence are explored through Agnes/Perdita, and the tantalising tease of a Witches/Watch crossover!
Colm and Steve join Granny, Nanny and Magrat as they return to Lancre to deal with folk memory fear mongers, the Elves. Their discussion takes in how this book follows on magnificently from what’s been established in the previous Lancre witches books, how Lancre itself feels realer and more lived in here, and comparing Elves to the Internet, celebrities, aliens and much more besides.
Steve and Colm leap back into the Discworld and accompany the Lancre Witches as they on holiday to the New-Orleans-meets-Disneyland city of Genua. Their discussion includes fawning over the wonderful chemistry between the three central characters, the restrained and ambiguous way Pratchett depicts magic, and the strange treatment of the good-bad binary.
Colm chats to Rose about her visit to the 2015 Irish Discworld Con before they dive headlong into an analysis of Wyrd Sisters. Their rambling discussion takes in the fluctuating size of Lancre, Pratchett’s use of ‘mad’ villains and the top 5 Discworld computer games they’d love to see made.
Click here for Mervyn Peake, Marx Bros & Macbeth references!
Rose and Colm tackle Equal Rites, the book that takes a big step towards a Discworld that would be more familiar to most readers than the madcap fantasy theme park of the first two novels. They also explore the parts of the book that seem might incongruous in retrospect: a Nanny Ogg-esque Granny Weatherwax and a proto-Ridcully era Unseen University. Also, there’s the top 10 One Book Wonder Characters!
Click here to hear Colm & Rose stake their claim to be Pratchett Consultants
‘Why Gandalf Never Married’ – A 1985 Talk by Pterry on Magic and Gender
Radio Morpork 