I read this book, knowing it would be the last I would hear of the Discworld. I felt sad, as if I was saying goodbye to a dear friend who is to move so far away you will never be able to meet again. And yet it was a worthy end where you can believe Great A'Tuin just to glide on eternally, only without you hearing about it... On reading, the book felt different from all the other Discworld novels, and I really can't say whether it was my melancholy seeping into the pages, or the other way around. It felt more serious, though it hardly lacked the typical Pratchett humour and irony, and it centered itself around the topics of death, and change. We meet Granny Weatherwax for the last time, and we follow Tiffany Aching who has to grow up completely all of a sudden and face challenges which are almost too much for her. And we are left with so many threads you feel Pratchett might have tied into new strings, if he'd only had the time. But on the other hand it is exactly this which gives you the hope that Great A'Tuin is out there still, somewhere. (Though I hope that the Discworld will be left at peace, just as Sir Terry Pratchett left it to his readers.)

Terry Pratchett was not able to fully complete this novel before his death. This is sad but also brings us so much closer to him: In the afterword we can read how he wrote his novels, that he had several scenes on his mind and then constructed the story as he went along. Most of The Shepherd's Crown is finished but there are also some scenes which don't seem to be much connected with the rest of the stoy. That doesn't matter, however. The book is still a fun and quick read. But at the same time it's a sad read, not only because it's the final Discwolrd novel but also because of Granny Weatherwax's death. She was such a great character and Discworld is just not the same without her. We will miss you, Terry Pratchett! (I received a free digital copy via Netgalley/the publisher. Thanks for the opportunity!)