Horror Book Reviews
|
Title: Maskerade |
|
Review of Maskerade
The Ghost in the bone-white mask who haunts the Ankh-Morpork Opera House was always considered a benign presence -- some would even say lucky -- until he started killing people. The sudden rash of bizarre backstage deaths now threatens to mar the operatic debut of country girl Perdita X. (nee Agnes) Nitt, she of the ample body and ampler voice.
Perdita's expected to hide in the chorus and sing arias out loud while a more petitely presentable soprano mouths the notes. But at least it's an escape from scheming Nanny Ogg and old Granny Weatherwax back home, who want her to join their witchy ranks.
Once Granny sets her mind on something, however, it's difficult -- and often hazardous -- to dissuade her. And no opera-prowling phantom fiend is going to keep a pair of determined hags down on the farm after they've seen Ankh-Morpork.
Product Description
- There are strange goings-on at the Opera House in Ankh-Morpork. A ghost in a white mask is murdering, well, quite a lot of people, and two witches (it really isn't wise to call them "meddling, interfering old baggages"), or perhaps three, take a hand in unraveling the mystery. Fans of the popular Discworld will be happy to see some old friends again in Maskerade, the 18th novel in the series. --Blaise Selby
Amazon.com Review
[ Back to Homepage | Back to Horror Movie Reviews Index ]
HellHorror.com not responsible for reviews/comments and they may be removed at any time.
Submit Comment
Login / Join/Register for a free account
Comments for Maskerade
- Posted on 2008-03-01
Who knew opera could be such fun?
Terry Prachett is a master storyteller- one of the best in any genre, I kid you not. Maskerade is yet another triumph from the Discworld series. For those who may not know, Discworld is a planet inhabited by witches, dwarfs, trolls, vampires... the usual fantasy suspects, but here, everyone has personality and they're not afraid to show it.
In Maskerade, country girl Agnes Nitt escapes small town life for a chance at fame and fortune in the Ankh-Morpork Opera House. If only it were that easy. Everyone agrees that Agnes has the voice and an obvious presence on the stage, but management finds her presence a little "too obvious" and respectfully requests she hide in the chorus while their chosen star lip-syncs a la Singing in the Rain. Now if this isn't bad enough, it seems that the ghost of the opera house has been getting a bit uppity lately and started killing people. Agnes deals with the drama as best she can, but when witches Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax come to town to recruit her into their coven, it's every player for themselves. Funny, funny stuff.
As with all Discworld novels, Maskerade is satire at its finest. Not a fan of opera myself, Terry Prachett's comic take on human (for lack of a better word) nature still kept me turning page after page and wanting more. It is full of intelligent wit and just enough cultural digging to make you go hmmm..., but in a good way. There isn't any filler: every page has pearls, the energy is high and the pace is consistent throughout. Another plus about this series is that each book stands alone. Getting to know the characters and their back stories is part of the fun, but not wholly necessary. Read this book! Read them all!
Remember everyone; if it comes from Discworld, it's got to be good.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2007-11-26
Made of apples. Well, mainly apples.
Magrat Garlick has left witching to become Queen of Lancre, leaving only Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, which they both know won't work; two witches is an argument, while three (Maiden, Mother, and Crone) allows one of them to make peace between the other two. The best candidate for the No. 3 position is Agnes Nitt, whose considerable bulk has limited her love life in any case -- but Agnes has gone off to Ankh-Morpork to try to make it with her extraordinary singing voice. (She can sing harmony with herself in thirds.) It happens that Nanny Ogg, well known libertine, has also written a book called THE JOY OF SNACKS, which is a bestseller, but not being good with money, or numbers generally, she doesn't realize the publishers owe her a bundle. Well, Granny and Nanny will just have to head for the Big City themselves to do a bit of stealth recruiting, and to hit on the publishers for royalties. Agnes -- or Perdita, as she prefers to call herself -- has been hired for the chorus at the Opera House, which has recently been taken over by a retired cheese magnate, and which just happens to be afflicted with a letter-writing, mask-wearing ghost. Pratchett has a lot of fun working up a plot that rivals the convoluted, often nonsensical plots of operas themselves. But his is actually a pretty good murder mystery. And he hasn't lost his touch with the language, either. When Nanny admits she send in her book manuscript under a pseudonym, Granny replies, "Why dint you put your own name on it, eh? Books've got to have a name on `em so's everyone knows who's guilty." Later, when Nanny protests that the money isn't that important to her, Granny tells her firmly, "You've been exploited." "No I ain't." "Yes you have. You're a downtrodden mass." And in describing a witch's innate ability to jump to conclusions on thin evidence, the author notes, "sometimes there wasn't time to do anything else but take a flying leap. Sometimes you had to rust to experience and intuition and general awareness and take a running jump. Nanny herself could clear a quite tall conclusion from a standing start." Great stuff.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-10-17
Great Author
Does not disappoint with inside jokes, shades of innuendo, and an absolutly original set of characters.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-08-02
Maskerading as...
Terry Pratchett's satirical eye doesn't spare anybody or anything, and in his nineteenth Discworld book "Maskerade," it's opera's turn to suffer. In his typically barbed prose, he gleefully spoofs the "Phantom of the Opera," lampoons opera in general, and takes the opportunity to take everyone's favorite witches out to Ankh-Morpork.
Magrat Garlick is newly married and crowned. As a result, Granny Weatherwax is moody and bored, while Nanny pens an erotic cookbook -- and when it turns out that she's being cheated of royalties, Granny decides to go to Ankh-Morpork and confront her publisher. Meanwhile, the primary witch-maiden candidate, Agnes Nitt, has also gone to Ankh-Morpork to become an opera singer.
But the opera isn't all it's cracked up to be -- Agnes finds herself providing the voice for pretty, airheaded Christine, and the opera ghost is causing some major disasters. Granny and Nanny immerse themselves in the backstage -- and onstage -- drama of the opera, trying to figure out who the Phantom is... and why he's a friend one minute and a foe the next.
It's obvious that the opera holds no awe for Pratchett. Sure, the novel is a spoof of Gaston Leroux's novel, but Pratchett's real intention here is to constantly make fun of the opera, both as entertainment and art form. The entire climax of the book is devoted to making fun of opera's illogic, lack of acting, and such time-honored traditions as a dying person flawlessly singing for about fifteen minutes before expiring.
But it's not all opera spoofery. Despite some grisly deaths and the psycho Phantom (who sends notes filled with maniacal laughter), getting the witches out of Lancre gives the whole story a light, fun feel. It has some darker scenes, such as Granny playing cards with Death for a baby's life, but most of it is dedicated to the witches doing the sort of weird things they'd never do at home (impersonating duchesses, for one).
Pratchett sprinkles the storyline with hilarious dialogue, wacky situations (Nanny Ogg moonlights as the world's fattest ballerina), and some swashbuckling. And he includes a small message as well, about being the sort of person we actually want to be -- and how "masks" on the outside can change us.
Agnes Nitt has a lot of pagetime, but she seems rather fussy and pallid next to Granny and Nanny -- we get to see just how strong their friendship really is, despite their bickering. Granny shines especially, courtesy of a shopping spree, some coach rides and some dodgy darkish magic. And we have a wide array of timid janitors, annoying managers and airheaded sopranos to round out the cast.
"Maskerade" is a gleeful, glorious spoof of opera in general, and a fun outing for the Lancre witches. Definitely a solid entry for Pratchett.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-04-29
Paper Faces On Parade
The DISCWORLD novels of Terry Pratchett are perhaps at their best when they are parodies of stories and events from real life. While Pratchett has a definite knack for humor and his fantasy stories are always funny, the original stories seem to get too bogged down in absurdity. Pratchett is much more clever and precise when he is skewing a classic tale with his own unique take on things, and such is the case with "Maskerade", a laugh-out-loud funny parody of "Phantom of the Opera".
Discworld's favorite witches, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax, find themselves alone, in dire need of a third witch (if only to form a coven and prevent further arguments). The perfect candidate, Agnes Nitt, has just run off to Ankh-Morpork to join the opera; she is of impressive build, with a voice that can sing harmony with itself, but has entered the field at a time when it isn't the fat lady people want to see singing. Agnes, in a desperate attempt to outrun her destiny, tries to disguise herself and her wonderful personality with the name Perdita, only to find herself as the singing voice to an untalented wisp of a girl, who just happens to have 'star power'. It isn't long before Agnes learns of the ghost who haunts the opera house, and soon dead bodies start appearing that causes the new owner to want to shut the whole thing down. But the show must go on; it is opera, after all.
"Maskerade" is a spot-on parody of the beloved story/musical "Phantom of the Opera". Pratchett's interpretations of the song lyrics is priceless, as is the ridiculous nature of superstitions that accompany the opera world. And even though I am a fan of "Phantom", I found myself laughing along at Prachett's twisting of the tale, and other famous shows along the way.
Score: 5
