Book Review: The Shepherd's Crown

I had mixed feelings going into this book.  Knowing it was Terry Pratchett's last glimpse into Discworld made it very bittersweet, but I could not ignore the call of Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men. I listened to the audiobook version, which was excellently narrated.

Granny Weatherwax wanders away with Death, leaving the witches without an unofficial leader among them.  Tiffany Aching is nominated to take her place.  The elf world is in revolt.  Queen Nightshade has been cast out into the human world while her people plot an invasion. The Wee Free Men find the fairy queen badly beaten and bring her to Tiffany.  An unlikely friendship begins to form between the young witch and the former queen as Tiffany teaches Nightshade what it means to be human.

As Tiffany struggles to fill Granny's shoes as well as maintain her work on the Chalk, she must also train a new apprentice and babysit the fairy queen.  If that wasn't enough, she must also come up with a plan to thwart the elvish invasion before the wreak too much havoc on the human world.

As always, Pratchett's characters are lively and loveable (or hateable). There's a perfect blend of humor and action as well as sadness, both due to events that unravel as the story is told, and the touching afterword regarding Pratchett's passing and his passion for his work.  It's a wonderful story, and one I know I will revisit, once I think I'll be able to make it through without crying.