The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1)
Terry Pratchett
Librarian's Note: For an alternate cover edition of the same ISBN, click here. "Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back." "Why?" said Tiffany. "There's no one to stop them." There was silence for a moment. Then Tiffany said, "There's me." Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk's local Nac Mac Feegle - aka the Wee Free Men - a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds - black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors - before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone... In a riveting narrative that is equal parts suspense and humor, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett returns to his internationally popular Discworld with a breathtaking tale certain to leave fans, new and old, enthralled.
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0 0"“Yes! I'm me! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don't understand! When I hear people use the wrong words, I get edgy! I am good with cheese. I read books fast! I think! And I always have a piece of string! That's the kind of person I am!”
The Wee Free Men is the first book in the Tiffany Aching sub-series of Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe and follows a young woman in the Chalk Country who has to retrieve her brother from the fairy queen who stole him. Teaming up with the Wee Free Men, tiny men covered in blue tattoos with a love of fighting and drinking and stealing, Tiffany must confront all of the horrors of fairyland, not least of which will be the Queen herself. For a nine year old girl, it'll be quite the task. Then again, Tiffany isn't the type to back down from a challenge, particularly when it's her duty as an Aching.
The last time I picked up The Wee Free Men, I remember very much enjoying the story. This was about six years ago and while I'd read other Discworld books, I hadn't read any of the Witches stories. While that's absolutely not essential, I am very glad that I re-read this after having read the stories with Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg because it made this story so much more fun. And while Granny can be rude or difficult to sympathize with, Tiffany is immediately so relatable for me that I can't help but love her. She's exactly the sort of logical, practical heroine I wanted so desperately as a teenager and so rarely found in fantasy stories. And the scrappy Wee Free Men are, as always, a delight.
Speaking of delights, Stephen Briggs' narration of this story was spot on perfection. He was great in Thud! but he's even better here, voicing the various Wee Free Men with so much energy that you could almost see them. Cannot recommend the audiobook highly enough!
The Wee Free Men is exactly the kind of fun, amusing adventure that I would have loved as a teen and still love as an adult. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have such a smart, capable young heroine at the wheel. Looking forward to the rest of her adventures!
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