Equal Rites is the third installment in the
Discworld series by
Terry Pratchett. It introduces the character of
Granny Weatherwax, who becomes the core of the later
witches books later in the series.
The story begins when a wizard, nearing death, bestows his wizardly powers on the son of a blacksmith. Unfortunately, the son turns out to be a
daughter, but by then it's too late, and
discworld has it's first female
wizard.
Time goes by, and the local
witch and
midwife,
Granny Weatherwax, attempts to bring the girl up as a witch, but to no avail, she just has the wrong type of magic, so off to the
Unseen University it is, and the wizarding world won't ever be quite the same.
Personally, Not one of my
favorite books. Of all the
running characters, The
witches are my least favorite, and
Granny Weatherwax is especially
unformed in Rites. That's not to say there aren’t moments. Rites certainly earns a place in the series, but it will never personally come even close to the
Death or
Guards books,
IMHO.
Published by HarperTorch
Copyright 1987, Terry Pratchett
ISBN: 0-06-102069-9