His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. ), and Maskerade is no different, as the power of opera proves to be surprisingly durable.Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. Pratchett’s long been fascinated with the power of stories and their presentation (see, for instance, In which Terry Pratchett takes on the world of opera with typically anarchic and yet thoughtful results. Review #5 free audio Maskerade – in the audio player below There’s nothing to it if you’re Nanny Ogg’s cat. If you haven’t read “Witches Abroad,” you may be wondering how a cat can pass as a masked man.

As always, the down-trodden are the real heroes of this Discworld novel: the opera house cleaning staff and fat Agnes Nitt, who is forced into the role of voice-over for the beautiful but tuneless soprano (remember Debbie Reynolds’ role in “Singing in the Rain”?)ĭeath and the Night Watch are supernumeraries in “Maskerade,” and any book that stars Greebo, the malodorous cat, who briefly disguises himself as the Phantom, will always be one of my favorite Pratchetts, even if this author does satirize my favorite form of music. Opera, Queen of Music is easy to satirize, and Pratchett goes for all the obvious targets: chubby singers horned helmets anorexic dancers drunken musicians and old fuddy-duddies who are stuck in the ‘golden age’ of opera.

What can Granny and Nanny do but pack up Greebo, the cat and take the stage (the weather is a bit drafty for broom travel) to Ankh-Morpork? Magrat’s potential replacement, Agnes Nitt has run off to Ankh-Morpork to become an opera singer.

Their previous third witch, Magrat is now a queen and can’t make their meetings. Meanwhile back in Lancre, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg belatedly realize that a coven requires three witches in order to function properly. The Ankh-Morpork Opera House is terrorized by a masked figure who has a decided preference for a soprano named Christine, and who leaves notes for the opera manager that basically say, “Hahahaha!…PS: Ahahahaha!!!!!”

Terry pratchett maskerade audiobook