Book 5 in the #Discworld series, book 48 for the year. We know that the 8th son of an 8th son is destined to become a wizard – so what about the 8th son of an 8th son of an 8th son? Sourcerers haven’t been around on the Disc for ages, but when the wizard Ipslore’s 8th son Coin is born a wizard squared (that’s math, really), things are destined to go pear-shaped. Or bananas? Either way, it’s not good – especially when Death shows up and Ipslore inconveniently installs his ghost in Coin’s wizard staff.

As always, there is some top-notch parody in this book – the perfect Pratchettian balance of serious and seriously funny. Whilst the main Wizarding world story is fab, my favourite character in this one is her own kind of magic. Conina is the daughter of the legendary Cohen the Barbarian, and whilst she always wanted to be a hairdresser, her family legacy got in the way – no one wants a hairdresser whose instincts kick in when she holds something sharp! She’s fabulous, and a book featuring both her and my favourite fictional librarian (ooook?) is an absolute winner. I listened to the audiobook of this one, and because it was a reread for me and I was working, I’m pretty sure some of the detail got lost, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.