I will confess to feeling a quiet thrum of joy when I heard, after Terry Pratchett’s passing, that there would be a final Discworld book, and it would be about Tiffany Aching. (It is now no secret to Droids’ readership that she’s kind of my fave.)
While I Shall Wear Midnight serves as a nice way to end things for Tiffany – she faces her greatest challenge yet, takes on her own steading at the Chalk, and the Feegles remain as boisterous as ever – it did end a little on the open side. Tiffany remains a Witch of the Chalk, but a witch’s work is never done. There will always be more challenges, more adventures, more people in need of help that others cannot provide. So news of another Tiffany Aching book didn’t feel forced.
I love Tiffany Aching. She’s brave, but not boastful. She’s considerate, but never a doormat. She has defeated fairies with a frying pan, she has kissed the Winter, and she commands a brash, violent gang of pixies known as the Nac Mac Feegles. She does the work that others will not do. She is the witch for the region of Discworld known as The Chalk, and she is my favorite character of the late Terry Pratchett. Lastly, she is the subject of the final Discworld book, The Shepherd’s Crown, released earlier this month on September 1.
Courtney McGrath 