Discworld, #18
Audiobook
English language
Published April 28, 2022 by Transworld.
There’s a kind of magic in masks. Masks conceal one face, but they reveal another. The one that only comes out in darkness....’
The Opera House in Ankh-Morpork is home to music, theatrics and a harmless masked Ghost who lurks behind the scenes. But now a set of mysterious backstage murders may just stop the show.
Agnes Nitt has left her rural home of Lancre in the hopes of launching a successful singing career in the big city. The only problem is, she doesn’t quite look the part. And there are two witches who would much rather she return home to join their coven.
Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have travelled to Ankh-Morpork to convince Agnes that life as a witch is much better than one on the stage. Only now they’re caught up in a murder mystery featuring masks and maniacal laughter.
And the show …
There’s a kind of magic in masks. Masks conceal one face, but they reveal another. The one that only comes out in darkness....’
The Opera House in Ankh-Morpork is home to music, theatrics and a harmless masked Ghost who lurks behind the scenes. But now a set of mysterious backstage murders may just stop the show.
Agnes Nitt has left her rural home of Lancre in the hopes of launching a successful singing career in the big city. The only problem is, she doesn’t quite look the part. And there are two witches who would much rather she return home to join their coven.
Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have travelled to Ankh-Morpork to convince Agnes that life as a witch is much better than one on the stage. Only now they’re caught up in a murder mystery featuring masks and maniacal laughter.
And the show MUST go on…
It has been a while since I read a Pratchett novel (I read these in ebooks, and I have been 4 years without one) and this one has been a great reintroduction to Discworld. It is witty, it is funny and it reads very, very nicely. Too nicely, as I was reading until well past midnight to finish the book.
Content warning plot/characer spoilers maybe?
I wanted to like this more than I did: witches, a Phantom-esque plotline, theater puns... but the anti-fatness really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand this is a huge factor in the motivation of Agnes/Perdita as a character. It just took the wind out of the story-sails and made the whole thing less enjoyable :(
It’s almost impossible not to spoil this one by reviewing, but I’ll say that when I was watching the Phantom of the Opera, I was hoping for non-mystical resolution.
This book is an exemplar detective story, Mrs. Plinge could have just as well be written by Dame Christie and screenplayed by Mr. Horowitz.
Maximum points for detective story and half-a-point extra for, again, keen philosophy and cinematic writing.
Enjoyed the interweaving of character personalities and roles in this one. Ahead of his time politically as usual without being a political book. A who-dunnit that keeps you guessing.
