Equal Rites (Discworld Novel 3)

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett is the third Discworld novel — and the book in which Pratchett begins to find the full depth and richness of his world and his satirical ambitions. When the eighth son of an eighth son is born a girl, the wizard staff intended for a wizard arrives anyway — and Granny Weatherwax, the formidable Lancre witch, must accompany the girl Esk to Unseen University to claim her place in a world that insists women cannot be wizards. Pratchett uses the premise to make his characteristic observations about gender, tradition, and the absurdity of rules that exist mainly to protect the privileges of those who made them. Published by Penguin, Equal Rites is both an excellent entry point to Discworld and the novel in which Granny Weatherwax — one of Pratchett’s greatest creations — is introduced.