Maskerade by Terry PratchettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The unofficial Lancre coven is missing a member now Magrat is Queen and while Nanny and Granny are firm friends there really has to be some sort of bufferzone or lubricant between them. Agnes Nitt is perhaps the most promising of the young women in the ramtops but she doesn't want to be a witch and does something about it by journeying to Ankh-Morpork to be a singer at the Opera. Agnes has an incredible voice and impresses the powers that be at the Opera House but alas her "look" is now out of fashion, just as in Moving Pictures your appearance is everything, skill and talents can be learnt (eventually) but there is the chorus for Agnes and it includes room and board so she makes herself at home. This being Discworld the Opera House has a resident Ghost who has turned rather more aggressive recently after the sale of the Opera House and its new owners desire to make money. Granny and Nanny fear for Agnus and take a trip to the city and also to collect some royalties for Nanny's book "The Joye of Snacks" which is fortuitous as having a lot of cash comes in handy when they become patrons of the Opera. As the bodies pile up the Watch become involved, the Librarian takes a shine to the Operas organ, the Ghost's secrets are revealed and Senior Basilica (a man with a secret) eats everything put in front of him while Greebo once again in his "human" guise gets to play. Maskerade was a fun novel with huge nods to modern opera and musical theatre as you would expect and having Nanny and Granny thrust into this world was very funny. Agnes however is hit and miss both as herself and as Perdita X Dream but it is an interesting notion that her inherent power is enhanced by what amounts to two personalities and is expressed through music and song more of which is to come in Carpe Jugulum. Overall a strong novel but not the best of the "Witch" subset.
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