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A review by vanadiumbean
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I love Discworld and I love the Witches series. This has the humor vital to any Discworld book, and Nanny and Granny are up to their usual hijinks. The mystery is also compelling; I was trying my best to work it out right up to when things got revealed. I also really enjoyed the character of Agnes, as best I could around some of the kind of nasty fatphobia surrounding her in this book. That, in addition to the ableism around another character and the use of the g slur made it hard for me to enjoy this book to its fullest potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Blood, and Classism
The racial slur is specifically the G slur against Romani people. It is not used against individuals, instead in one of the operas they put on multiple characters are dressed up and playing characters that are meant to be "g*****".
The ableism is regarding a character named Walter who is described as slow/confused and his movement and speech are described in detail as being strange and it's kind of dehumanizing. In addition to THAT (major spoiler for the climax of the book/the mystery) Walter's unnamed disability is essentially healed/removed with magic
In comparison to that, the fatphobia is a bit less dramatic. It's weird because, for example, Nanny Ogg is also a fat character, but she doesn't get treated by other characters quite like Agnes, Agnes being fat and undesirable because of it is a plot point. In addition Ogg is allowed to express sexuality and the joke, at least to me, feels more like it's funny because she's so frank about it and not that it's funny because she's fat or old. Meanwhile Agnes is stated to be undesirable Because she's fat and the ongoing joke of people stating positive things about her in the wake of her being fat (the "nice hair and good personality" joke) is honeslty kinda mean.