Reviews for Maskerade

The average rating for Maskerade based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-03-07 00:00:00 Shawn Gravelle The Witches know how to get the opera started so that all take off their masks. Pratchett´s satires of classics and their stereotypical tropes are always a bit weaker than his original works playing in the pure Discworld without outer inspirations. Possibly it´s because he can construct whole plots in his own universe and feels much more comfortable with the manifold options, maybe the originals aren´t just that good, who by the way reads that stuff, maybe he didn´t want to invest so much time in these ones than in the original series, who knows. Although, in this case, operas are already inherently ridiculous, so there isn´t so much left to make fun of the fat lady´s singing style. The Phantom of the Opera fans, if they exist or dare to out themselves, might certainly find their pleasure with the new adaption of their favorite piece of, is it really?, art, but most readers might be more interested in what the witches are doing. What is missing is another plotline in the background, the meta topic area Pratchett is famous for including to spice it all up, with Vetinari, timeless topics, politics of power, economics, etc. That´s what makes this varieties of his books lacking the extra joy, because there is far less to discover and enjoy than in the far more complex, other Discworld novels. Especially the witches, who are used to deal with far more complex, feministic, social criticism topics, being compared and contrasted with the outperformed Wizzards, fighting against entities and evil mighty fractions, are more dealing with personal topics, a crime thriller plot, and aren´t just in the right environment to live up to their full potential. To not be unfair, the question should be asked if it would have even been possible to add these extra plotlines to the parodies and I would say, yes. He used his established characters or could have used them or more of them, so there would have been no problem to add the extra icing on the cake too, especially because most of the classics are already dealing with potent stuff. Why Pratchett didn´t do it is unclear, I will add some more speculations to the already opened mix: Respect for the original authors so that he didn´t want to modify it too much? Not writing too long novels because he used to reach a certain length? Publishers asking him to do one more parody of a well established name to boost the sales although he didn´t have a real interest in it? Being used to produce such a piece from time to time without engaging as much as in his original series? The problem with these novels is that whoever reads them first doesn´t get the real Pratchett, just as the ones who read the first or last of his books, which limits the true, über Pratchett to 20 to 25 works. It could lead to people not continuing this amazing journey because they think that all of it might be quite nice, but not really as special as everybody says. Some other elements: How creative work of artists can be exploited by dodgy rightsholders, how the witches deal with the tooth of time and how their social dynamic changes, why beauty can beat talent, ghosts, murders, and stuff. Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique: This one is added to all Pratchettian reviews: The idea of the dissected motifs rocks, highlighting the main real world inspirational elements of fiction and satire is something usually done with so called higher literature, but a much more interesting field in readable literature, as it offers the joy of reading, subtle criticism, and feeling smart all together.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-06-29 00:00:00 Jose Lucero So the fat lady sang and all was (almost) right with the world. More tomorrow 😬🎶 Every time I read a Discworld novel, I think "oh these characters have got to be my favourite" ( at this point you can insert DEATH, Rincewind, The City Watch, The Wizards, The Witches), the annoying thing is that at the time of reading they are/were my favourite, until I read the next novel. This novel, focussing on the witches, is based mainly in the opera house of Ankh-Morpork, although there is a wonderful chapter dealing with Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg's journey from the mountains of Lancre which had me sniggering for a good 15 minutes much to my wife's amusement. Agnet Nitt a potential trainee witch from Lancre has decided to run away to the opera in Ankh-Morpork and with Magrat occupied as Queen, Granny and Nanny decide to head off to Ankh-Morpork to persuade Anges to return and be the third witch. Already hired as a singer Agnes, now Perdita, has decided the opera is the life for her despite not getting the true recognition her singing deserves. Cue Esme and Gythia, add in a pseudo foreign male opera singer, but really Henry Slugg, add a dollop of Greebo and of course an operatic ghost, and mayhem ensues, orchestrated as ever by Granny Weatherwax, probably the smartest and most magical of witches ever, according to herself. This book had me sniggering and even laughing out loud every 20 pages or so, it truly was an excellent novel, and for the time being, my favourite characters ? Well it has to be the Witches.