Reviews

[rivkat]

Really interesting article on how playing violent video games can be good for women’s spatial skills - and thus how what looks biological may be cultural. http://www.economist.com/science/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=9762790

Comments

[shiba_inu]

WITCH WORLD was one of the first fantasy series I encountered, around 8th grade or freshman year of high school. I enjoyed Norton's writing immensely. If I remember rightly the Witches hated men because, as you say, loss of virginity (forced or otherwise) caused loss of witchpower. It wasn't shown to be untrue until the 2nd or 3rd book of the series, and even then the witch hierarchy refused to believe what they didn't want to believe. I began to lose interest when the series went into the Next Generation and began to focus on Jaelithe & Simon's children.

[accommodatingly]

That's too bad about Making Money: I liked Moist, and hence liked Going Postal. But Pratchett writes so fast that they can't all be inventive. Or could they?

[rivkat]

Moist remains likeable, but that may be part of the problem: Pratchett's not willing to risk him, the way he used to be willing to risk Vimes, or even Rincewind.

[accommodatingly]

I think Moist may have been better as a one-time character, like William deWorde. But Thud (the second-most-recent book) was awesome.

making money

[froganon]

Not as good as many of his others I agree.
spike

[realpestilence]

It depends on which side of the Witch World you're on, for the man-hating witches to make more sense. In Estcarp and its neighboring countries, there's reasons-them being ruled by a matriarchy of witches and their culture is strongly respectful to them. These women sacrifice a great deal to learn their power, so they don't surrender it lightly-that's why Jaelithe marrying Simon was such a huge scandal.

On the other side, in High Hallack, or among the Clans, there's rumors and vaguely-remembered knowledge. A tradition of yeah, witches don't lie with men, but it's not ~felt in the bones the way Estcarp does.

I only read Songsmith once, a long time ago, and it wasn't one of my favorites, so I don't remember much about it. I think too many of her recent novel are just her trying to wrap up storylines and finish them off, and they seem rushed to me.