Maskerade - (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

About the Book

The phantom in the bone-white mask who has haunted the Ankh-Morpork Opera House for years, is thought to be a benign presence until he starts killing performers backstage. Country girl Perdita X. hides in a chorus and has someone mime her aria solos so she may dodge the killing craze. She also uses this tactic to hide from her witchy relatives Nanny Ogg and old Granny Weatherwax who would rather she join their ranks. It all makes for a crazy and humorous show!

Book Synopsis

"A master storyteller." -- A. S. Byatt

The nineteenth installment in Sir Terry Pratchett's beloved Discworld series -- which has sold more than 23 million copies worldwide.

There's a kind of magic in masks. Masks conceal one face, but they reveal another. The one that only comes out in darkness . . .

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.

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Maskerade is the fifth book in the Witches series.

From the Back Cover

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.

Review Quotes

- "Pratchett is as funny as Wodehouse and as witty as Waugh." --"Independent"

- "The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious genius for strong parody... who deals with death with startling originality. Who writes amazing sentences." --"New York Times"

About the Author

SIR TERRY PRATCHETT is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. His first Discworld novel for children, "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents," was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal." Maskerade "is the eighteenth novel in his phenomenally successful Discworld.