Maskerade by: Terry Pratchett

In these trying times I’ve found that looking for humorous reads has become a point of solace, and Terry Pratchett is an author whom I’ve always found able to blend comedy and drama seriously.  Maskerade is the eighteenth in his Discworld book and either the fourth or fifth in the Witches Sequence, depending on who you ask, and is largely a parody of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, with less romance and more witches.  It’s also the first Discworld novel post-Interesting Times where Pratchett decided to actually reflect on what he is saying and make more statements in his books than just parodies.  Maskerade is odd in that there really isn’t all that much of a serious commentary on the issues of the world outside of parodying the world and absurdities of theater.  While much is made of the Webber musical version of The Phantom of the Opera, Maskerade actually feels more like an adaptation of the original novel by Gaston Leroux, as it presents itself as a murder mystery.  There is an Opera Ghost in the Ankh-Morpork Opera House who leaves plenty of notes making demands of the new owners, killing people, and giving an ingenue singing lessons, but where it truly reflects Leroux’s novel is that there is the murder mystery aspect of the book.  The identity of the Opera Ghost is not revealed until near the end of the book and although it is 25 years old by this point, I will not be spoiling that twist.



Sure, Discworld is a fantasy setting, but this is a book where the supernatural elements aren’t really a part of the plot as per both Leroux’s novel and Webber’s musical, at least when it comes to explaining things.  Pratchett’s witches prefer to use reverse psychology and the fantasy creatures are more in service to mundane life than anything else.  This isn’t epic fantasy, it’s a character study.  Agnes Nitt was a supporting character in previous Witch books who goes against what she sees as the old-fashioned nature of Lancre and sets out to Ankh-Morpork because she’s looking to find her own way.  She has a good singing voice, but is stuck in the chorus due to an unflattering figure.  One large portion of the book is that she takes up the Christine role while Christine, the actual character, is shown to be more of the Carlotta.  Though this Carlotta is much more of a talkative prima donna who has no actual talent in what she does.  She’s not evil, she’s just a diva and whiny and the butt of several jokes.  The Ghost even thinks that he’s giving lessons to Christine, because Agnes and Christine switch rooms once he shows up because ghosts are scary.



Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg’s story, especially before they get to Ankh-Morpork, is where the book shines perhaps the most.  Granny and Nanny have lost Magrat to her queening duties and both characters are subtly undergoing their own arcs of grief.  It’s not done on the surface but there are little moments that Pratchett includes to show that they need to have a third person in their trio to reign them in (and to boss around).  Yes, Granny can kind of reign in Nanny Ogg, and vice versa, but there is an element to the relationship that’s just missing without a third.  It’s like a hole in one’s family and Nanny Ogg being taken advantage of which starts their plot is emblematic of this.  Nanny has written a cookbook called The Joy of Snacks (and yes it is full of innuendo and special sauces typical of Nanny) and basically wasn’t paid for her work, so they go to Ankh-Morpork to confront the publisher.  Like Witches Abroad, their road trip has the funniest portions of the book as they interact with one another and the world around them.  A close second is Granny Weatherwax as a patron of the arts.  They also have to learn to accept Agnes as a person, who appeared previously and attempted several times to get away from Granny and Nanny, and for Agnes to accept them.  The acceptance is a large part of the novel.  Overall, Maskerade is a book really about masks and how people’s inner emotions can greatly effect their actions and the lengths they go to for achieving their goals, healthy and unhealthy.  It’s also Pratchett on top form with laughs a minute from start to finish with plenty of diversions and jokes to keep interested until the end.  9/10.