The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
In my general pack-rat type way, I picked up The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I really needed something lighter that the collection of novellas I'd been reading before and this looked like it would fit the part quite nicely.
Centering around Tiffany, a member of a sheep herding family whose grandmother was the village wise woman (read: witch), she runs across the Nac Mac Feegle also known as pictsies or the wee free men. They're blue, six inches tall, almost indestructible and can knock out horses with their face. They like Tiffany and volunteer to help when the Queen of Fairyland steals Tiffany's baby brother Wentworth off into a land where dreams are real.
I really liked this book. Tiffany starts out a little bland but eventually stops making excuses and does what has to be done. She has some swings back and forth between slightly annoying and whiny to remarkably competent before eventually coming out on the side of competent and willing to speak up for those who cannot. I found it interesting how she thought of her baby brother as something of a parasite, but went to save him anyway and commenced to puzzle over "Why would I do this if I didn't love him on some level?" I appreciated the nod that love is not nearly so simple as it is sometimes made out to be, particularly in books geared towards younger readers. I also found myself enjoying the way she thought of her grandmother and what she did for the village and how Tiffany slowly came to realize the particulars of her Granny Aching's job. Tiffany's flashbacks were also rather interesting to read in that they managed to make the mundane seem a little mysterious and magical in a way that the rest of the book didn't do so much. I thought it a good contrast between Tiffany's country girl practicality and her dreaming world.
The Nac Mac Feegle are overall a shot of much needed humor. They manage to function as a running gag, an exposition device and teacher all at once. As soon as they show up, the plot gets interesting and someone will have something silly to say and break up a gloomy mood. since they have utterly no concept of size or fear, they end up being the voice of optimism throughout the story. After all, if someone who is six inches tall and as blue as a robin's egg isn't afraid, why should someone who's bigger think that there isn't a solution somewhere? I also thought that they way their society was arranged kind of neat.
I also have to say that I appreciated the attention to why the Queen kept stealing children. I love it when someone takes the time to set up and explain the antagonist's motives! I also liked the mention of "dad jokes." My dad makes those too.
The only grumbles I can think of is that some might not like the pacing towards the beginning. It does take a while to get really moving, but I thought it more of a nice walking pace to get to know the characters and the setting a bit. The other thing that was a little irksome was Miss Tick. I simply found her manner slightly annoying. Also, It would have been nice to see more of The Aching's family life. I also didn't like how tiffany regarded the farmhouse cat, but that's probably because I like cats.
Overall, I thought it an excellent read.
Centering around Tiffany, a member of a sheep herding family whose grandmother was the village wise woman (read: witch), she runs across the Nac Mac Feegle also known as pictsies or the wee free men. They're blue, six inches tall, almost indestructible and can knock out horses with their face. They like Tiffany and volunteer to help when the Queen of Fairyland steals Tiffany's baby brother Wentworth off into a land where dreams are real.
I really liked this book. Tiffany starts out a little bland but eventually stops making excuses and does what has to be done. She has some swings back and forth between slightly annoying and whiny to remarkably competent before eventually coming out on the side of competent and willing to speak up for those who cannot. I found it interesting how she thought of her baby brother as something of a parasite, but went to save him anyway and commenced to puzzle over "Why would I do this if I didn't love him on some level?" I appreciated the nod that love is not nearly so simple as it is sometimes made out to be, particularly in books geared towards younger readers. I also found myself enjoying the way she thought of her grandmother and what she did for the village and how Tiffany slowly came to realize the particulars of her Granny Aching's job. Tiffany's flashbacks were also rather interesting to read in that they managed to make the mundane seem a little mysterious and magical in a way that the rest of the book didn't do so much. I thought it a good contrast between Tiffany's country girl practicality and her dreaming world.
The Nac Mac Feegle are overall a shot of much needed humor. They manage to function as a running gag, an exposition device and teacher all at once. As soon as they show up, the plot gets interesting and someone will have something silly to say and break up a gloomy mood. since they have utterly no concept of size or fear, they end up being the voice of optimism throughout the story. After all, if someone who is six inches tall and as blue as a robin's egg isn't afraid, why should someone who's bigger think that there isn't a solution somewhere? I also thought that they way their society was arranged kind of neat.
I also have to say that I appreciated the attention to why the Queen kept stealing children. I love it when someone takes the time to set up and explain the antagonist's motives! I also liked the mention of "dad jokes." My dad makes those too.
The only grumbles I can think of is that some might not like the pacing towards the beginning. It does take a while to get really moving, but I thought it more of a nice walking pace to get to know the characters and the setting a bit. The other thing that was a little irksome was Miss Tick. I simply found her manner slightly annoying. Also, It would have been nice to see more of The Aching's family life. I also didn't like how tiffany regarded the farmhouse cat, but that's probably because I like cats.
Overall, I thought it an excellent read.