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    Equal Rites
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    Equal Rites
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    Equal Rites
    Ebook263 pages4 hours

    Equal Rites

    By Terry Pratchett

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "Unadulterated fun. . . witty, frequently hilarious." —San Francisco Chronicle

    The third novel in New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a fantasy universe where anything can happen—and usually does.

    A dying wizard tries to pass his staff on to the eighth son of an eighth son. When it is revealed that the he is a girl named Esk, the news of the female wizard sends the citizens of Discworld into a tail-spin.

    With their biting satire and limitless imagination, it is easy to understand why 80 million Discworld books have been sold worldwide. Equal Rites possesses rich characterizations, a journey of awareness, and even a hint of romance from master storyteller Terry Pratchett.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061804830
    Unavailable
    Equal Rites
    Author

    Terry Pratchett

    Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

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    Reviews for Equal Rites

    4.5/5

    188 ratings69 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 3/5
      Book is good, Scribd's ebook format skipped from p 60 to p 125, though.
    • 5/5
      Sharp witted and extremely entertaining. Girls can have magic too.
    • 5/5
      3 Discworld stories down and I'm still in love with Terry. This book would make a GREAT movie!
    • 5/5
      Terry Pratchett is an international treasure. Definitely read this. It's hilarious and thought provoking and just plain fun.
    • 3/5
      Funny stuff! Wizards and witches and feminism and silliness. I like this so much more than The Color of Magic. It's not as great as his Tiffany Aching books, though. Says me.
    • 4/5
      Devouring these. Very comforting read-- like a bed time story.
    • 4/5
      Read from January 12 to 15, 2011Backstory - While my first Terry Pratchett was Good Omens - a joint venture with Neil Gaiman, I've heard great things about Discworld and wanted to take a peak inside. There are dozens of books in the series and there's no need to read the books in order. In fact, there are several sites that offer recommendations for reading order - chronological by publication or based on storyline. While the Watch novels are considered "the best" by some on the Interwebz, I decided to read the Witches novels (you see...none of my local libraries had a copy of the first Watch novel - Guards! Guards!). You can find the reading guide and such on my blog...it's a little too image-y for a review here).Equal Rites - Cute and humorous story about the asinine reasons people give for girls not being able to do things that boys can do. You know, "just because", "that's just not the way things work", "the lore says", "it goes against nature". I hope Esk and Granny are in more Discworld books (I'm sure there's a Discworld wiki somewhere that'll let me know).
    • 4/5
      Uh-oh. I might be losin' that Discworld Feeling. *opening strains of The Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling start to play*

      Kat:
      There's Granny Weatherwax to remind me of wizard Rincewind.
      And little Eskarine could be a kin of Two Flowers.
      I'm trying hard not to show it, Terry.
      But Terry, Terry, I know it...

      Toga-Wearing-Chorus:
      Has Kat lost that Discworld feeling?
      Whoa, that Discworld feeling.
      Has Kat lost that Discworld feeling?
      Could it be gone...gone...gone?...Oh-oh-oh-No.

      Kat:
      Now there's a Staff of wood to replace the missing Luggage.
      And now the jokes do seem very few and far between.
      It makes me just feel like crying, Terry.
      'Cause Terry, something in me is dying.

      Toga-Wearing-Chorus:
      Bring back that Discworld feeling!
      Whoa, that Discworld feeling
      Kat wants that Discworld feeling!
      Is it gone...gone...gone?...Oh-oh-oh-No.

      Net score: 3 stars for the story 1 bonus star for Granny Weatherwax (Look forward to seeing more of her) = 4 stars
    • 3/5
      Cute! Not going to change my life or anything, but a good read for a day at home with a cold.
      Still, I always feel a little bit like Terry Pratchett is trying too hard.
    • 3/5
      I keep wavering between 3 and 4 stars. The story was interesting and the puns amusing, it was a good book, but I just can't bring myself to say that I "really liked it" (as if giving it three stars was not really liking it but only feigning to like it). Perhaps some of the problem was that the narrator (I listened to this on audiobook) has a lovely voice but is not terribly good at doing character voices, so I spent a lot of time picturing old men as young boys wearing too-big-robes and fake beards.

      I liked it enough to move on to the next book, which I think is the most important thing I have to say about it.
    • 4/5
       "This takes the issue of sex and looks at it from a completely different angle.



      A wizard who is about to die can pass his staff to a sucessor, typically the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for this wizard, the eighth son turns out to be a girl and all sorts of trouble follows. So why can't a woman be a wizard (apart from the issue of plumbing, of course)? It is written in the lore and there is a perfectly self evident answer that no-one can recall right now.



      Another very funny take on real life in an unreal world.
    • 4/5
      I read the Color of Magic and thought that it was fun, but Rincewind was not my favorite, so I didn't pick up the next for a while until it was suggested by a friend who loves the series that I try some of the witches books. I really enjoyed Equal Rites. I love the witches and the wizards and Eskarina in between. It seems like this series will always be something good to pick up when I am down. Quick and silly and lovable.
    • 4/5
      My partner recommended this book to me because he loves this author, so I finally decided to give it a read. While this book didn't have a lot of shocking moments in it it was one of those great books that kept me interested in it the entire time. This was a wonderful book.

      It was interesting to see these characters develop from the first moment to the end of the book in ways that I hadn't expected. I had never read Terry Pratchett before this, but if this is what he does I am very interested in reading more of the Discworld series. His humor is very much on par with what I want to read as well. He took all the things that I expected to happen in a fantasy book and said nope that isn't going to happen but THIS IS and as a result I fell in love with this book.
    • 5/5
      I just met another of Pratchett's characters, Granny Weatherwax.Terry Pratchett seems to be able to give his characters memorable personas and can paint with words so that the image stays in your memory long after you have read the book.This was the third discworld book and now I am quite addicted to this realm of reality.
    • 4/5
      Discworld starts to find it's niche. Of course, the witches have always been my favorites.
    • 3/5
      Esk is a girl with a problem. A dying wizard assumed that she was a boy, and so bequethed her his staff and a gift for wizardry. The only real problem is that girls can't be wizards, as everyone knows. Witches, though, that's another story. Granny Weatherwax takes the young girl in and gives her some witchy training trying to deny the wizardry Esk has been gifted. The only problem is that the wizardry just won't go away. So in order to get her trained so she doesn't end up killing someone, Esk needs to go to the Unseen University and get taught. The wizards there won't want to hear anything about a female wizard, so they just dust the two women under the rug. Until only the women can save the Unseen University and its new star pupil.Will wizardry ever be the same again?While this book was entertaining, I've read several other Discworld novels and found this one to be less entertaining that most of the others. Take that for what it's worth.
    • 4/5
      Equal rites tells the tale of a young girl that accidentally inherits a wizard's staff and powers. Follow Esk on her witch training and on her quest into the exclusive male world that is wizardry. A real page turner this one and although it is part of the discworld series, this book can be fully enjoyed without having read any other discworld book
    • 3/5
      As a wizard, Drum Billet knows when he will die, so he has sought out an eight son who is about to have an eight child so that he can pass his staff and his magic to another generation. There
    • 4/5
      I think I'm finally getting into the swing of Discworld with the third volume, Equal Rites. I needed a bit of fun reading, and this was just the ticket. Absurd, punny, and a good quick palette cleanser.
    • 5/5
      This was the first appearance of Granny and what an appearance! I just loved how she acted, especially in the motherly guidance to help Eskarina. Oh i love the sibling rivalry and what esk does, but i wont spoil it for you, you will understand as soon as you read it. Hope you enjoy as i did
    • 4/5
      Discworld is a very large series. It can be overwhelming to know where to start. There are numerous charts available on the internet that list what books in the series tie together. I decided that my first Discworld novel would be the first book in the series of books centered around the witches of the Discworld.The main characters here are two very strong women. One old and very wise woman (and if she doesn't know something - she's going to pretend she does so that you don't suspect otherwise!) and one young girl who thinks herself very wise. This is a story about Granny Weatherwax and Eskarina Smith. Granny is a witch. She is present for the birth of Eskarina (Esk) and when a wizard comes calling to give her his powers. It is said that all wizards are the eighth son of an eighth son. Only... surprise! Esk is a female. This leads to Esk becoming the first female wizard. Only everyone tells her such a thing is not possible. Females simply cannot be wizards or attend Unseen University. Esk and Granny plan to change that.The thing I really enjoyed about this story were the characters. Granny is very funny and doesn't care a thing for what anyone thinks she should do. Esk is very much like Granny in this way. She is determined to go after the things she wants and not to let anyone tell her that it's impossible.Terry Pratchett has created a funny little world filled with humor and interesting characters. I'm excited to meet more of them as I continue reading this series.
    • 4/5
      I loved it. Somehow Discworld and I are a good match. I kind of hope to meet Esk again in one of the other books. She's an 'almost nine-year-old' with a definite mind of her own!!
    • 4/5
      I'd read this one before but I'd forgotten large chunks of it. Really enjoyed rereading it. ^_^Found this one easier to read than the first two, really liked Esk and Granny Weatherwax.Interesting that it's an adult book that largely follows a child as its main character.It wasn't particularly long and I was surprised at how quickly I got through it. :-)
    • 5/5
      The third book in the Discworld series introduces the Witches/Wizards storyline. In this story, we are introduced to Esk, and eight child to an eight child, and for whatever mystical reason, on Discworld that means they are meant to be a wizard. Only problem is, all wizards on the Discworld are male and this happens to be a daughter. Instead of the normal path for those who will become wizards, Esk is mentored by the well renowned witch Granny Weatherwax to control her powers and become a proper witch in society.This is a really great start to this storyline and has all of the elements of the Discworld series that really make it excellent. Pratchett's normal great humor and story telling are all found here. In addition, it is a really fun story that really plays a fun satirical flip on gender roles in society in an unforced and hilarious way. This is a really great book for both seasoned Discworld fans or the newcomer looking for a solid entry point to the series.
    • 4/5
      While Pratchett does seem to be getting the hang of writing novels that encompass the traditional story format (beginning, middle, end), it is just the story of another journey, much like in the Light Fantastic. However, in this story, it is also difficult to really identify who the protagonist is supposed to be. Now, enough of the frustrations. What's good about the book? Well the journey which I mention is both wonderfully traditional in parts and in others entirely unconventional, bringing a pleasant twist to a much-loved and well-worn plot. And as for the lack of an easily discernible protagonist, at least everyone in the running for the position is rather likable and makes for a good character to tag around with. Overall, another delightful tale, but oddly without much lasting originality.
    • 3/5
      I wanted it to be more than it was: the humor was fine but I wanted the story fleshed out more, and perhaps treated a tad more seriously.
    • 3/5
      The third installment in The Discworld Series, this book mainly centers around Eskarina; the 8th child of an 8th child; who is visited by a dying Wizard on his deathbed and given a magical wizard's staff and foretold that she will become a Wizard. Unfortunately, this takes place before it is known that she is in fact FEMALE, and much trouble ensues because of that overlooked fact. This book also contains the first appearance of Granny Weatherwax, arguably one of the best-drawn Witches in Fantasy today.What started out as an interesting premise for a story with some rather hilarious episodes in the conversations and teachings of Granny and Esk, soon seemed to be rather stretched thin towards the end. I am a big fan of Discworld and Terry Pratchett himself, but this book paled in comparison with the first two in the series. I didn't find it nearly as funny as the first two, and apart from Granny, I found the characters to be only half-drawn and lacking in interest for the most part. The ending as well felt a bit anti-climactic given the amount of time and energy it took to get to that point.
    • 4/5
      When a dying wizard accidentally passes on his staff (and therefore his powers) to a baby girl called Eskarina, it rocks the status quo. Only men can be wizards, whose magic comes from the sky, while only women can be witches whose magic comes from the earth (the witches sneer at the mention of warlocks).A story about the need for traditions to change with the times rather than being set in stone eternally.
    • 3/5
      Third time's the charm. This is the Discworld book where things clicked into place, the first with Granny Weatherwax, and I believe Pratchett's first book featuring a juvenile hero(ine). I think these things are connected. Rincewind in the first two books was a buffoon who drove the story along fantasy spoofing lines. Granny and Eskarina are competent agents, at the opposite ends of the timeline. Granny is mature and respected -- at least in her village -- and Eskarina is young and under-appreciated. These are characters that both writer and reader want to see succeed because of who they are, not because comic plots demand a happy ending. And one you start writing sympathetic main characters, you have to start adding some sympathetic grace notes to the secondary characters as well. Others have noted with disappointment that Esk has not (yet) been featured in another Discworld novel. But to some extent, I think she has in the Tiffany Aching series. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      I'm new to Discworld. I enjoy its lowbrow humor most of the time. This one was fun, not too predictable (I sort of assumed Esk would end up right in school and that's where the story would be). The only part that really annoyed me was Granny Weatherwax's assertion that women's magic is from the earth and men's is from the sky. Oh come on, haven't we heard that stereotypical symbolism a million times before?