There are strange goings-on at the Opera House in Ankh-Morpork. A ghost in a white mask is murdering, well, quite a lot of people, and two witches (it really isn't wise to call them "meddling, interfering old baggages"), or perhaps three, take a hand in unraveling the mystery. Fans of the popular Discworld will be happy to see some old friends again in Maskerade, the 18th novel in the series. --Blaise Selby



"Pratchett is fast, funny, and going places. Try him!"



"Consistently, inventively mad . . . wild and wonderful!"



"The hottest writer in fantasy today."



"The funniest parodist working in the field today, period."



"Simply the best humorous writer of the twentieth century."


Book Description

The Ghost in the bone-white mask who haunts the Ankh-Morpork Opera House was always considered a benign presence -- some would even say lucky -- until he started killing people. The sudden rash of bizarre backstage deaths now threatens to mar the operatic debut of country girl Perdita X. (nee Agnes) Nitt, she of the ample body and ampler voice. Perdita's expected to hide in the chorus and sing arias out loud while a more petitely presentable soprano mouths the notes. But at least it's an escape from scheming Nanny Ogg and old Granny Weatherwax back home, who want her to join their witchy ranks.

Once Granny sets her mind on something, however, it's difficult -- and often hazardous -- to dissuade her. And no opera-prowling phantom fiend is going to keep a pair of determined hags down on the farm after they've seen Ankh-Morpork.


About the Author
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular living authors in the world. His first story was published when he was thirteen, and his first full-length book when he was twenty. He worked as a journalist to support the writing habit, but gave up the day job when the success of his books meant that it was costing him money to go to work. Prachett's acclaimed novels are bestsellers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom and have sold more than twenty-one million copies worldwide. He lives in England, where he writes all the time. (It's his hobby as well.)

FROM OUR EDITORS

I often wonder what Terry Pratchett's version of a bad book is; it's one of those pleasant, futile imaginative exercises as I don't actually think he can write one. In Maskerade, he's in fine form as Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax attempt to add a third witch to their coven. Well, actually, they do a lot more than that, being witches, and they do it in inimitable style (which is probably a good thing). Unfortunately, they're not quite in their element; they're at the Opera House. The haunted Opera House. Anyone who's familiar with The Phantom of the Opera and who retains a sense of humour about it will get a certain added amusement out of the bit players: a vapid young blond named Christine who faints at convenient times, a put-upon theatre owner who isn't informed of the history of the building itself, and, well, a Ghost. Murder, mayhem, and more improbable plot twists than any rational person could possible believe: Grand Opera.
—Michelle West

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's true, there's a ghost in the Opera House of Ankh Morpork. Sardonic, flamboyant and, well, ghostly, it wears a bone-white Mask and terrorizes the entire company, including the immortal Enrico Basilica, who eats continuously even when he's singing. Mostly spaghetti with tomato sauce. What better way to flush out a ghost than with a witch? Or even two! And Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg happen to be in Discworld's capital city trying to recruit a third (since three witches make a coven, and two make only an argument). Enter the Opera's newest diva, the alarmingly fetching Perdita X. Nitt, who has such an astonishing range that she can sing harmony with herself, and is so agreeably large that she hangs out with the elephants in the cellar. They say that inside every fat woman there's a thin woman struggling to get out (or at least dying for chocolate). In Perdita's case, the thin woman is more ambitious, since she would also dearly love to be a witch. Beginning to get the picture? One would hope so. For this isn't cheese, it's opera, which runs on a Catastrophe Curve. And to further complicate matters, there is a backstage cat named Greebo who occasionally becomes a person just because it's so easy. Not to mention Granny Weatherwax's old friend, Death, whose scythe arm is sore from so much use. And who has been known to don a Mask ...

SYNOPSIS

Terry Pratchett does it again with Maskerade, another truly out-of-this-world blend of humor and fantasy in his always enchanting Discworld series. Maskerade, which on more than one occasion is laugh-out-loud funny, is the tantalizing story of an opera house in Discworld's capital city. This is no ordinary opera house, however; this one's haunted, and not by one of those passive hang-out-and-observe types of ghosts, either. No, this ghost is devious and dreadful and terrorizes the entire company with his pranks. Can the witch Perdita X. Nitt help save the day, and get the role she's always dreamed of landing in the process? Terry Pratchett is one of the best-selling authors in the United Kingdom; after reading Maskerade, one can surely understand why.

FROM THE CRITICS

Piers Anthony

Pratchett is fast, funny, and going places. Try him!

Oxford Times

Simply the best humorous writer of the twentieth century.

New York Review of Science Fiction

The funniest parodist working in the field today, period.

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine

Consistently, inventively mad . . . wild and wonderful!

White Dwarf