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Robert Gill

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Robert Gill is currently reading

By Vivianne Crowley - Wicca: The only introduction you'll ever need (Principles of) (Thorsons Principles Series)

by Vivianne Crowley (Goodreads Author)

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— Sep 04, 2026 06:11AM

Sep 04, 2026 06:10AM

Robert Gill is currently reading

Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches, #2)

by Terry Pratchett

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Reading for the 3rd time

read in 2022

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Robert Gill said: " Discworld... One of the major loves of my reading life. On a par, easily, for me, with Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings except, for me, this came before both. This series is where fantasy, for me, went from something which I had occasionally re Discworld... One of the major loves of my reading life. On a par, easily, for me, with Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings except, for me, this came before both. This series is where fantasy, for me, went from something which I had occasionally read as a child to being my favourite genre. And this is the book that started my life-long love affair with it.

You can tell, can't you, that it's going to be almost impossible for me to be unbiased about this book. So, rather than fight it, I shall give in to it, and throw unbiasedness out of the window for this review.

Essentially, this story is a re-telling of Macbeth from the point of view of the three witches. It probably helped that, at the time I first read this novel, I was studying Macbeth in an English Lit class at school. Although Macbeth is easily my favourite of the Shakespeare plays, fans of The Bard will probably shudder when I say that I preferred this story over Macbeth, hands-down, and I remember that I wished I could write my essay about this one instead. My English teacher had other ideas about that suggestion... Spoilsport.

The three witches in question are Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick. They watch over the mountain kingdom of Lancre and protect its inhabitants against supernatural and other threats. Occasionally, in other novels, they extend that protection to other parts of the Disc, whether the other places want them to or not.

They make for a fascinating trio. Magrat is pretty much a parody of New Age witchcraft. She should not work alongside the other two. Yet she does. She is, in the words of Granny Weatherwax, "A wet hen," but in reality has almost her own kind of magic which works for her in a way that it just would not for Granny.

Then we have Nanny Ogg, the rudest, livliest, most fun-loving grandmother you will probably ever come across (except, possibly, Disney's Mama Odie). With her beers, dancing on tables, gregarious nature and her propensity for singing a certain song about a hedgehog that certain activities can never be undertaken with at the top of her lungs (if you don't know, you really should find out), she is truly a laugh-out-loud riot of a person. However, she does have a serious side and should never be underestimated in her own witchy abilities. She makes a brilliant counterpoint to her oldest friend, Granny Weatherwax. Indeed, she is probably the only witch on the Disc who could stand a chance of saying the things that she does to Granny and have Granny listen. Until Tiffany Aching, anyway, but I digress. She is also the proud owner of the world's most nasty cat (whom Granny once referred to as "An evil, foul-smelling multiple-rapist with fur"), and believes that he's a cute little kitten. The whole kingdom disagrees.

And then, there's Granny Weatherwax. I could go on at length about the most senior member of the Lancre Coven, but we don't have time or space for that here. She's a complex character. Outwardly, she's the steriotypical wicked witch. She's foul-tempered, abrasive, inspires awe and a certain amount of fear in those she encounters and, if she were your neighbour, you would probably move to the next continent. In fact, her name in dwarven means "Go around the other side of the mountain" and in troll, she is known as "She who must be avoided.". Indeed, she should have been a wicked witch, and its much to her annoyance that she actually posesses not one wart, nor a single wrinkle, and a fundamental and powerful sense of doing right by people. She's contrary, she's argumentative, she's powerful, she would be a complete nightmare to have in your life... but she's one of the strongest witches I have ever read and the central one which I ever took to my reading heart. I am glad that I came across her, and love her just as much now as I ever did when I first read about her. She is a gem of a creation. Or, to put it another way, if you ever need to save a kingdom, forget asking Gandalf and Dumbledore; call Granny Weatherwax - she'll get the job done in less than half the page count, though you may come out of it wishing you'd never asked her.

Anyway, enough gushing. The plot.

The plot is great. It takes Shakespeare and makes it entertaining (I can already hear the boos and hisses). It's great to see the opposite side of the story, see how the witches meddle in events to bring about the ending which is in the best interests of the kingdom (how they see them, anyway). It's not fast-moving, nor is it slow, but it also doesn't stray off-point unnecessarily.

The psychology of the userper is interesting to behold, as are the observations of the nature of power, rule, monarchy and magic. This is definitely a must-read book if you like fantasy or, indeed, Shakespeare, if only to see the other side of Macbeth and don't mind The Bard being parodied so deliciously. ...more "

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— Sep 03, 2026 11:40PM

Dec 27, 2022 02:32PM · see review

Robert Gill is currently reading

The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)

by Lev Grossman (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 24, 2026 11:58PM

Robert’s Quotes

“To die will be an awfully big adventure.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

tags: adventure, love

17488 likes

“Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...well I have others.”
― Groucho Marx

tags: humor

1393 likes

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”
― John Anster, The First Part Of Goethe's Faust

tags: inspirational, misattributed-goethe

2353 likes

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

tags: attributed-no-source, human-nature, humor, infinity, philosophy, science, stupidity, universe

149180 likes

“She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

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