2008-01-15 Truly excellent

The previous Pratchett book staring Tiffany Aching, `The Wee Free Men', was an absorbing and entertaining read but this second book in the series is simply another degree of excellence above its predecessor. In this book Tiffany is now eleven and is leaving home for the first time in order to learn what it means to be a witch. Travelling to the mountains she stays with the research witch Miss Level but a creature from the dawn of time is stalking her and will make life difficult once it catches her.

It has been a long time since I read an entire book in a single day but this one was just so absorbing and entertaining that I just could not put it down. The book is as intelligently written, bringing the characters and scenery to life as effectively if not better than any other Discworld book. The book is also as funny as anything else Terry Pratchett has produced in the last few years. The Nac Mac Feegle, while still important, have something of a reduced role in this book but they are still up to their old tricks and produce some of the most entertaining parts of the story.

If the previous book had a fault it was that it seemed to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the Discworld but thankfully that is put right here with appearances by such Discworld staples as wizards and Death, meaning that the book feels a part of the rest of the series. I cannot help but feel that Terry Pratchett was on top form once again for this book and I feel the final confrontation at the Witch Trials is one of the best sequences that he has ever put to paper. `A Hat Full of Sky' is a brilliant book and is not only my favourite Discworld book but has also stormed strait to the top of my list of all-time favourite books, I just worry that after this the next book in the series `Wintersmith' will not be able to live up to the same standards.