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    A Hat Full of Sky
    A Hat Full of Sky
    A Hat Full of Sky
    Audiobook7 hours

    A Hat Full of Sky

    Written by Terry Pratchett

    Narrated by Stephen Briggs

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The second in Terry Pratchett's beloved Discworld novels starring the young witch Tiffany Aching.

    Tiffany Aching is ready to begin her apprenticeship in magic. She expects spells and magic—not chores and ill-tempered nanny goats! Surely there must be more to witchcraft than this.

    What Tiffany doesn't know is that an insidious, disembodied creature is pursuing her. This time, neither Mistress Weatherwax (the greatest witch in the world) nor the fierce, six-inch-high Wee Free Men can protect her. In the end, it will take all of Tiffany's inner strength to save herself . . . if it can be done at all.

    'A Hat Full of Sky continues Terry Pratchett’s brilliant look into the world of a young witch: this time, with more angst.' (Fantasy Book Review)

    Winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adolescent Literature 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateDec 14, 2004
    ISBN9780060824662
    Author

    Terry Pratchett

    Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

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    Reviews for A Hat Full of Sky

    4.5/5

    2,416 ratings87 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Terry Pratchett in general and Tiffany Aching, in particular, have been part of my (NOT) growing up and this audiobook with the incomparable Stephen Briggs as the narrator is one of my all-time favorites. I will revisit this again and again.
    • 5/5
      Great story, full of fun
    • 4/5
      As a young and upcoming witch, Tiffany Aching must defeat a monster with the help of a tribe of six-inch tall blue men.
    • 5/5
      The narrator makes this book come alive and fun to listen to.
    • 4/5
      Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky is the second Tiffany Aching book and follows her adventures as she begins her formal training as a witch. It isn't enough to tackle the Queen of Fairyland armed only with a frying pan; one must learn the other aspects of witching. Apparently there's more to it. And so the "hag of the hills," as the Nac Mac Feegle call Tiffany, must leave the Chalk.And who are the Nac Mac Feegle? They're a stroke of pure comic genius, that's what. I thought they were hilarious when I read Wintersmith, but hearing their dialogue on audiobook — performed brilliantly by the reader, Stephen Briggs — brings a whole new dimension of absurdity to the characters. Pratchett had me laughing aloud in several places (especially the part where the Feegles dress up in human-sized clothing and unwittingly terrorize a crowded tavern). And Rob Anybody's reading is hilarious. And — well, maybe you ought to make the acquaintance of the Feegles yourself.One thing I decidedly dislike about the book is how Pratchett uses it as a mouthpiece for his atheistic and evolutionary beliefs. Of course authors have the right to include their personal beliefs in their work, but as atheism and evolution are belief systems in direct contradiction to my own, I will naturally resent their intrusion into a tale I was otherwise loving. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the story, though.Reading something like this gives me insight into the reactions of people who hate the Chronicles of Narnia because of the Christian themes. When you firmly believe something, you will naturally dislike it when the opposite belief is promoted. This dislike is intensified when the opposite belief is promoted skillfully within an excellent fictional work. I think when people swear hatred for Narnia on the basis of its Christian themes, they're really paying tribute to the series's overall quality. We don't care if someone's arguing against our beliefs inarticulately. It's when they do it well that we get annoyed!Besides the parts in which Pratchett elaborates on his beliefs, I thoroughly enjoyed A Hat Full of Sky and look forward to the next in the series. Good storytelling, great humor, and all-around good fun!
    • 5/5
      Stay true to yourself. That's the message this little tale tells. Well, it's quite a big tale. It has life, it has death and an invisible juggler. This story is a delight for kids and big kids alike and will have ye talkin' like a feegle. Ach crivens. Don't be a scunner and read this here tale of the witch of the chalk. Or listen to it if you don't have the knowing of them letters.
    • 5/5
      Ongelofelijk prachtig bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla …
    • 5/5
      Delightful
    • 5/5
      After her adventure in Fairyland, Tiffany has come to the attention of the witching world. Now she has been apprenticed to an older witch and must leave home for her training. But there is something else that has noticed Tiffany's potential - something strange and powerful that wants to take her over. Of course, her Feegle friends are right behind her to warn her and protect her from this monster from beyond the worlds.This book is where the series really hits its stride for me. I love the lessons that it teaches and the messages it offers for young girls.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book with such great characters that had grown and evolve from the previous book. Tiffany is a sensible girl in a really crazy world and I love the way she deals with it.
    • 5/5
      Wow! So thrilled to have the pleasure of listening to this superb book!
    • 5/5
      Another amazing Terry Pratchett book! I’m sure I looked like a complete lunatic grinning to myself as I listened to this on my daily commute!
    • 5/5
      Such a magical, real, fantastical and witty telling of a Scottish witch and her world. I absolutely loved it!
    • 5/5
      Very good and not exactly typical discworld. I’ve listened twice now to make sure I get the most out of the book.
    • 5/5
      Tiffany Aching is an apprentice witch! And she's not good at the magic. At least, not the simple magic they are trying to teach her. She can do a weird thing where she steps out of her body. And she can make cheese. Tiffany Aching is good at cheese. But there's a hiver on the loose, possessing people, and Tiffany is on its radar. The feegles have left the Chalk to come protect Tiffany, and she has the experienced witches and new apprentice friends, but this is going to be a hard task.

      Tiffany's grownup attitudes are starting to fit her age better. Or maybe I just got over the fact that she is too young to talk like Terry Pratchett. She's overly cocky, like any 10 year old. I like that Tiffany, even though everyone knows she's talented, still has are hard time with witchcraft. She has to figure out how to make her own way. Being the Chalk witch is a slightly different job from being a mountain witch. And Tiffany needs all of her cleverness to figure it out. Well, and the feegles help. The feegles are always great. And I can't wait til Wintersmith when I can have Stephen Briggs narrating again.
    • 5/5
      Terry Pratchett has been a favorite author of mine for many years. I love the way he mixes a bit of wisdom, fun and common sense into his stories.
    • 5/5
      tiffany aching book2
    • 5/5
      I liked this a lot more than the first one. I hadn't been planning to read it all in one day, but I read the first hundred pages on the bus yesterday, then kept reading a chapter here and there when I got home, and finally just ignored everything else to finish it. :p I loved Miss Level, and of course Granny Weatherwax.
    • 5/5
      Final Thoughts – This will contain spoilers:So here we have the second Tiffany Aching book. I’m glad to be reading this one fairly close to finishing the first book because I am not sure I will remember much of the first book in a few weeks or months.A Hat Full of Sky, on the other hand, impressed me, but it wasn’t until almost the end of the book when I finally realised what it was about the story that got to me.Maybe it was just the way I read the story, but it seemed to me that this book was about how Tiffany, 11, deals with grief and perhaps a spell of depression. Maybe others read the story differently, maybe this wasn’t at all what the story was about, but I thought it was brilliant how the hivers invading Tiffany’s thoughts are basically overwhelmed by an onslaught of reality and hit out at anything around them as a defence mechanism.Of course, I loved the Feegles. They were even more brilliant than in the first book. And of course, I loved Granny.She delicately drank her tea out of the saucer, then nodded at the old hat on the table.‘Your grandmother,’ she said, ‘did she wear a hat?’‘What? Oh . . . not usually,’ said Tiffany, still thinking about the big show. ‘She used to wear an old sack as a kind of bonnet when the weather was really bad. She said hats only blow away up on the hill.’‘She made the sky her hat, then,’ said Granny Weatherwax. ‘And did she wear a coat?’‘Hah, all the shepherds used to say that if you saw Granny Aching in a coat it’d mean it was blowing rocks!’ said Tiffany proudly.‘Then she made the wind her coat, too,’ said Granny Weatherwax. ‘It’s a skill. Rain don’t fall on a witch if she doesn’t want it to, although personally I prefer to get wet and be thankful.’‘Thankful for what?’ said Tiffany.‘That I’ll get dry later.’ Granny Weatherwax put down the cup and saucer.So much wisdom, not just in this quote but also throughout the book.Also, has anyone else noticed some similarities in themes between the ending of the A Hat Full of Sky and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Just wondering. I’m not implying there was any cribbing, but I thought it was interesting how DEATH was brought into the story at the end.Yeah, I really liked this one.
    • 5/5
      The ultimate review comes from my 12-year-old who giggled aloud while reading the first chapter. She's now finishing the fourth Tiffany Aching book.
    • 4/5
      While this one was fun, it was mostly because of the Nac Mac Feegles. Honestly, you want a mash-up? I'll give you a mash-up. Imagine J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter changed to a female, then thrown into a weird adventure with a whole slew of less foul-mouthed Robin Williams's explaining the origin of golf and you kind of get the gist of Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men. Okay, well, less golf, and more fighting and drinking and stealing, but still...

      As I said, I mostly loved this simply because Pratchett's Wee Free Men are his best invention ever. Anything with a Scottish accent is a blast, and I'm guessing Pratchett was likely laughing his ass off as he wrote them all.

      I'm just not as much of a fan of his YA Discworld titles, but this has been the best so far.
    • 4/5
      Two years have passed and it's time for Tiffany Aching to learn how to be a real witch. Expecting spells and magic, Tiffany is surprised when her training revolves around chores and ill-tempered goats. Surely there's more to witchcraft than this! What Tiffany doesn't know is she's being hunted by an ancient, disembodied creature. It will take all of Tiffany's inner strength, with the help of some Nac Mac Feegles, to get through this tricky situation. Crivens! A Hat Full of Sky is the 32nd Discworld book and the second in Tiffany Aching's subseries. At it's heart this is a coming of age story for Tiffany as she comes to terms with who she is and who she wants to be. While not quite as deeply profound as other entries in the series series, it's still a Discworld story so there is plenty of Pratchett's trademark humor and wisdom, though on the lighter side as this book is aimed at a younger audience. Granny Weatherwax plays a slightly larger role than in Tiffany's first book, which reminds me I need to reread one of the Witches books as I've missed her. Have I mentioned how much I love the Nac Mac Feegles? They steal every scene they're in. The tavern scene and the Feegles idea of how to blend in with humans had me laughing out loud.While not strictly necessary as A Hat Full of Sky reads well on its own, I highly recommend reading The Wee Free Men first for an introduction to Tiffany and the Feegles.
    • 4/5
      Tiffany begins her apprenticeship not realizing that a trick that she has taught herself leaves her open to a hiver, a parasitic entity that takes over another's consciousness. The Nac Mac Feegle guard her, but how to protect against an enemy that cannot be seen nor kicked?
    • 5/5
      I am so glad that my friend forced The Wee Free Men on me, because this series continues to delight my entire family. In this second book, Tiffany leaves the chalk to more or less apprentice herself to another witch, where she encounters The Hiver -- a menace so dark that I sometimes worried it would overwhelm the fragile balance of this book. But Pratchett works true magic here -- juggling humor, hopelessness, empathy, usefulness, fear, love, and death, all wrapped up in a charming little adventure story.Another thing I loved about this one is that the cast of characters (other than the wee free men), is almost entirely women and girls -- none of them perfect. Sometimes some of them are vain, boring, timid, flighty, arrogant, or take themselves too seriously. But they are also powerful, kind, staggeringly confident, brave, charitable, and clever.I need to order the next one immediately.
    • 3/5
      Better than Wee Free Men, but still less pleasurable (to me, an old adult) than his non-YA stuff. An enjoyable romp, with some witty asides, but not much more than that.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this 2nd Tiffany Aching book better than the first one ("The Wee Free Men"). I still like both the Nac Mac Feegles and Tiffany but miss the social satire. However, I got the sense in this one that perhaps the satire I was missing was there but that I didn't see it because of my age... that is a sad thought but probably a true one. Perhaps one of Tiffany's 'third thoughts'.
    • 5/5
      Tiffany Aching sets off to apprentice as a witch, but something follows her and threatens to take over her mind. The Wee Free Men have sworn to protect her, though, so she'll have to deal with them while doing the saving herself, of course (with just a bit of help from Granny Weatherwax). Loved it. Tiffany and Granny are two of my favorite Discworld characters, and stories with them in it always make for great reading.
    • 5/5
      The Nac Mac Feegle are a blast. I wish they were real.
    • 4/5
      “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” I’d seen this quote attributed to Terry Pratchett in another book Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets and decided I had to read A Hat Full of Sky. I found it in the final paragraphs, which was appropriate because you need to read the whole book to really grasp what TP was philosophically alluding to. There were several droll pieces of creative writing, nuggets of wisdom and philosophical insights on how live imaginatively and well.The book was interesting, imaginative and yes, sometimes boring. I enjoyed it as much as I liked Colour of Magic and more than Equal Rites. The Nac Mac Feegles (Pictsies) got a little tedious at times, but perhaps you have to read TP just when you’re in the mood for that kind of characterization. There were certainly many laugh-out-loud moments. I recommend the book especially to those who embrace the light-hearted comic fantasy that only TP does with any panache. And grab hold of the nuggets. They’re golden.
    • 4/5
      In the second Tiffany Aching book, Tiffany is now eleven and has travelled away from home to learn more about being a witch from the mysterious Miss Level. At the same time, a new kelda, Jeannie, takes charge of the Wee Free Men and there is some conflict as they try to work out how to protect Tiffany from a mystical creature, a hiver, that is hunting her. Tiffany learns many lessons in this book about what a witch really does (teaches people to look after themselves) and about the witching community. Some witches, like Granny Weatherwax and Miss Level, are humble and focus on serving/helping people while other witches, such as Annagramma Hawkin and Mrs Earwig, want prestige and the power. Tiffany learns the hard way that losing control of yourself leads to others getting hurt and she grows up as she picks up the pieces and faces the trouble she has caused.
      As Granny Weatherwax says "Learnin' how not to do things is as hard as learning how to do them. Harder, maybe"