Equal Rites

288 pages

English language

Published Nov. 16, 1989

ISBN:
978-0-552-13105-6
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4 stars (2 reviews)

The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the new-born baby's sex.

Subseries: Witches #1

17 editions

Quite sweet.

4 stars

I always adore stories of this nature, particularly because I love to see the kinds of journeys that take place among the characters and how that develops them.

While I know Esk was meant to be the primary main character, Granny Weatherwax really takes on a whole chunk of the story. She's someone with whom I very much find myself identifying, and it's because of the constant "Well, it's got to happen one way or the other, so we may as well do it" personality she exudes. She's very stubborn but incredibly caring for the people around her, even if it seems otherwise.

Also, she has a thing for old fabric.

Review of 'Equal Rites' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This perfectly ridicules the arbitrariness of gender stereotypes. Everybody knows that only men can be wizards, everybody knows it’s part of the lore, but nobody actually knows where it is written or why it should be the case. And Esk just ignoring both her role as a wizard and a witch and rescuing Simon and herself by not using magic is about the best possible ending.