Mushishi, ep. 04-09

For once my icon is inappropriate!

( Spoilers for all eps. )

Pratchett, Terry - Maskerade

And we continue to be All Pratchett, All the Time!

Let us not talk about my sleeping habits or what I am not doing in lieu of gobbling down Discworld.

I really loved this one. Not as much as Lords and Ladies because I didn't like this one's ending as much, but this had me giggling like a maniac on the train. I think right now the Witches books are my favorites, but that may also be because I've read the most of them. Also, it helps that they're mostly female and that there's the young-woman-coming-into-power plot in several of them, which apparently is a button of mine and explains why I am so addicted to YA.

Plus, awesome older women!

Anyway. Agnes Nitt has gone to the Ankh-Morpork opera to Be Someone; namely, Perdita X Nitt, opera star and all-around glamorous person. Sadly, it's just not quite happened yet. Instead, there's an Opera Ghost wandering around, people getting murdered, and she's stuck with a ditzy soprano named Christine who can't sing as well as Agnes but can fit in the costumes much better.

Back in Lancre, Nanny Ogg finds that a two-person coven just doesn't work. Nanny and Granny go off to A-M and probably terrify half of Discworld in the process.

rilina's mentioned how much of Pratchett enjoyment lies in familiarity and love of the subject. I loved some of the prior Witches books because they dealt with Faerie and fairy tales, but this one is even more awesome because it's Phantom of the Opera! In Discworld!

(I fell into Phantom in sixth grade and have since never quite recovered, despite not liking it much now.)

I loved all the theater mentions and Christine and the mirror and people with their hands by their heads and the chandelier. All of it! I love the loving mockery of opera, I love how Pratchett takes a minor plot point in Phantom and makes it a major one (the voice subbing), the Discworld versions of the managers from Phantom, Andre vs. Raoul, everything.

Also, I absolutely adore Agnes, which was why I didn't like the ending as much. On the other hand, I loved how opera the ending was, down to Death's appearance, and it felt like all the meta anime out there ever making fun of anime tropes and conventions. Oh cracktasticness, I love you so much.

( Spoilers )

Anyway, if you couldn't tell, I enjoyed this a ton. I think it's the Discworld book I've laughed the most with so far.