Clara’s Verdict
Terry Pratchett at his best is one of the few writers in any language who managed to be simultaneously genuinely funny and genuinely wise – jokes with load-bearing philosophical structures inside them. Equal Rites, the third Discworld novel and the first to feature the formidable Granny Weatherwax, is Pratchett doing what only Pratchett could: writing a fantasy novel about sexism so precisely observed and so entertaining that it functions equally as comedy and as social commentary, sometimes in the same sentence. The academic establishment of the Unseen University, faced with a girl who is clearly a wizard by any sensible definition, responds with all the creative incoherence of any institution confronted with evidence that contradicts its founding assumptions. It is very funny, and rather brilliantly true. This Penguin Audio production is magnificent: Indira Varma narrates, Bill Nighy reads the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz voices Death. The result is among the finest Discworld audiobook productions I have encountered.
About the Audiobook
When the wizard Drum Billet – dying and somewhat flustered – accidentally passes his staff of power to an eighth daughter of an eighth son rather than the eighth son of an eighth son he intended, the magical universe of Discworld faces a problem it does not know how to think about: a girl who is a wizard. The child, Eskarina Smith (Esk, for short), is raised by the village witch Granny Weatherwax, who teaches her everything she knows about practical magic – which is quite a lot, and delivered in Granny’s inimitable style – before the two of them journey to the Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork, where Esk intends to claim her rightful place regardless of what the deeply conservative, profoundly stubborn academic establishment thinks.
Published in 1987, Equal Rites was well ahead of its moment in ways that feel entirely contemporary. Pratchett’s satire of institutional sexism – the way that entire systems can refuse to see what is directly in front of them, not through malice but through the sheer inertia of received wisdom – remains sharp and uncomfortably recognisable. But the novel is never a lecture: it is above all a comedy, with genuine suspense, a budding and genuinely touching friendship between Esk and apprentice wizard Simon, and a thoroughly satisfying climax in an unexpected dimension. Granny Weatherwax, making her first appearance in the Discworld series, is already fully formed: pragmatic, fierce, occasionally terrifying, always fundamentally right, and constitutionally incapable of being intimidated by anything. She is one of the great characters in British fiction of any genre. Equal Rites is the first book in the Witches sub-series. Running 7 hours 27 minutes, released April 2022 by Transworld Digital.
The Narration
Indira Varma is an extraordinary narrator for this material. She has the range to voice Granny’s iron certainty, Esk’s fierce and slightly bewildered curiosity, and Simon’s earnest bewilderment without losing her grip on Pratchett’s comedy, which requires very precise timing and a completely straight face. Her Granny Weatherwax is definitive: authoritative, dry, and capable of conveying enormous warmth beneath a surface temperature of approximately absolute zero. Bill Nighy reading the footnotes is a casting decision of inspired absurdity: his distinctive voice lends them a gravity that is inherently funny in context. Peter Serafinowicz as Death – who speaks always in capitals in Pratchett’s prose – is perfectly judged. The new theme tune composed by James Hannigan ties the whole production together with considerable style. This is how classic British comedy should sound in audio form.
What Readers Say
The audiobook holds a 4.6 rating from 17 UK reviews. “Terry Pratchett is unique as are his books,” wrote one listener who returned to this instalment after reading it decades before, finding it entirely “worth reading again.” Another described Equal Rites as “a fantastic and witty novel that blends humour, fantasy and social commentary in the best way possible – a sharp satire of misogyny and tradition wrapped in a genuine adventure story.” A third reviewer, returning for the second time, called it “an early book with a very different perspective on fantasy” and pointed to the gallery of extraordinary characters still to come in the Discworld series as one of the great pleasures awaiting new readers. The production itself draws universal praise, with several reviewers noting that the casting makes this a special experience regardless of whether you are encountering Pratchett for the first time.
Who Should Listen?
Anyone who has not yet read Pratchett should start immediately – and the production quality here makes the audio version a particularly compelling entry point. Those who have read the novels in print but not heard them in audio will find this version revelatory: the multicast approach gives Pratchett’s characters real dimensionality, and Varma’s Granny is worth the listening time alone. The novel works for adults and for older teenagers (from about fourteen upwards) who enjoy sharp satire, absurdist comedy and a narrative that genuinely moves. Discworld novels can be listened to in any order, though this is the natural beginning of the Witches sub-series. Listen to Equal Rites on Audible UK – Discworld book 3, and the beginning of one of the most beloved character arcs in British fantasy.
