It's really fun going back to some of the earliest discworld books and seeing the characters in their undeveloped form. A proto-Granny Weatherwax, a proto-Greebo, and even a proto-Jason Ogg the Smith. No sign of a proto-Nanny Ogg, if such a person were possible.

The seventh son of a seventh son is a wizard (this is what the idea for Sourcery developed from) and so a wizard travels to the tiny Ramtop country of Lancre, to the little village of Bad Ass (aka Disobedient Donkey) where the seventh son of a seventh son has been born. The wizard passes on his staff before he dies, and only subsequently finds out that the seventh son of this seventh son is actually a daughter. Ooops.

Girls just don't become wizards. Er, they're, um, it's just, er... girls just don't. They become witches, or laundresses, or seamstresses, or cleaning maids. Or wives. But not wizards.

Well, this particular girl is determined. She'll go to Ankh-Morpork, enter Unseen University, and graduate as a wizard. She already has the staff, and the magic just happens by itself. It's all Granny Weatherwax can do to protect her from all the dangers and consequences that follow her around. Let alone, yup, creatures from the dungeon dimensions. Again.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book again. Seeing Granny Weatherwax in her earliest form was really fun, although there is no Greebo, the mad, bad and grinning tom of later books (let alone a Nanny Ogg in all her horrendous glory). Death puts in an appearance, although he doesn't have much personality yet.

I wish we could see more of the Zoons, a nation so honest that they have to train "Liars" to deal with the outside world. They really do deserve a book to themselves, and maybe if they were to meet Cut-me-own-throat Dibbler, it would possibly be the most horrifying event in the history of their entire nation....