Wintersmith (Discworld #35; Tiffany Aching #3) by Terry Pratchett

Format: Audio (Audible)
Read: March 2026

At a certain point, it gets difficult to review books in a series because the things I do and don’t like about it are pretty set, and I end up repeating myself! I think I am at that point with Tiffany, so just know she continues to be a fantastic protagonist (now 13 in this one), and I love her. This one also had even more Granny Weatherwax in it, and even a bit of Nanny Ogg from The Witches series!

Child. That was a terrible thing to say to anyone who was almost thirteen.

This instalment sees Tiffany in a new position as a trainee witch with 113-year-old witch Miss Treason (so old she calls Granny ‘the girl Weatherwax’). I thought Miss Treason was fantastic. She really leans into the scary old witch trope, even going so far as painting the inside of her cottage black and covering it with cobwebs. Tiffany is able to learn a lot from her, not least the importance of stories as a way that people make sense of their world.

“Living this long’s not as wonderful as people think. I mean, you get the same amount of youth as everyone else, but a great big extra helping of being very old and deaf and creaky.” (Miss Treason)

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the previous two because I struggled to make sense of the Wintersmith plot. On reflection, that is partly because I had expectations about how the story was going to play out, and actually, Pratchett is doing something more interesting and teaching us a more realistic lesson about consequences and responsibility. This isn’t Tiffany having a grand adventure to defeat a villain; this is Tiffany continuing to learn about the realities of life as a witch and what her own place within the community may look like (you’d think be book 3, my expectations would be with the programme!).

A witch didn’t do things because they seemed a good idea at the time! That was practically cackling. You had to deal every day with people who were foolish and lazy and untruthful and downright unpleasant, and you could certainly end up thinking that the world would be considerably improved if you gave them a slap. But you didn’t because, as Miss Tick had once explained:
a) it would make the world a better place for only a very short time;
b) it would then make the world a slightly worse place; and
c) you’re not supposed to be as stupid as they are.

Tiffany makes a mistake when she joins the dance and inadvertently attracts the attention of the Wintersmith, which throws off the balance of winter and summer. I will say I am still a bit confused about why she joined the dance. I think it is something to do with her feet, and because she is a witch of the land, but I never got totally clear on that. I also felt quite uncomfortable with the Wintersmith plot, and weirdly, I’ve not seen many other reviewers mention this. I didn’t quite understand why Pratchett added romantic overtones. Tiffany is 13, she hasn’t yet had her first kiss and is still trying to make sense of her feelings towards Roland. The Wintnersmith is an immortal elemental who starts stalking her in a really intense way and showering her with gifts; it’s creepy, and none of the other characters sees it that way. They act like it is normal, or even funny, and nobody tries to help her make sense of what feelings she may be having about it.

“Romancin’ is verrae important, ye ken. Basically it’s a way the boy can get close to the girl wi’oot her attackin’ him and scratchin’ his eyes oot.” (Rob Anybody)

I think in the universe, the explanation would be that this is a pseudo-medieval type setting, it’s normal for girls to marry very young, and the Wintersmith is not human, and as he tries to create a human form, he is quite childlike… but even so, the fact is that he is ageless and much more powerful than Tiffany. And the issues with how the story is structured do not make his relative innocence clear until far too late, so the whole time, I have a background feeling of ick whenever this comes up. For some reason, Pratchett wrote the climax of the book as the first chapter, which was confusing narratively and wrecked the pacing. I don’t think of any good reason to do this. I also remained confused about the role of the Summer Lady by the end of the book, and why the Nac Mac Feegle had to rescue her from hell.

“No. The old gods ain’t big on ‘sorry,'” said Granny, pacing up and down again. “They know it’s just a word.”

Thankfully, the Wintersmith plot is not the sole focus of the book, and it hangs in the background as she deals with more immediate community issues. I am really enjoying the evolving relationship between Tiffany and Annagramma, and how the younger witches are finding their dynamics in the community. I love that Petunia is now a renowned Pig Witch after she won the Witch Trials with her pig trick! This book really shows the differences between the young witches and the older witches – like Miss Tick, Granny and Nanny – and the conflicts between Tiffany and Granny are the best parts. The teenage Tiffany is starting to understand Granny more, so she pushes back and tests her.

“Look, just because a woman’s got no teeth doesn’t mean she’s wise. It might just mean she’s been stupid for a very long time.” (Tiffany to Annagramma)

So while this is my least favourite so far, it still has a lot to love. The best parts are when Tiffany is doing her everyday witch stuff and interacting with the community. I suspect if I reread this, I might like it more, having a better understanding of what I think Pratchett was trying to do without the structure getting in the way.

For Law of Fives, it was published in 2007, won a Locus award, it’s the 3rd in a 5 book series, and I can count Wintersmith as a fantastic creature (Elemental).