There is a particular danger in inviting elves into your kingdom. They are very attractive, they have excellent cheekbones, they tend to sing beautifully and they have been known to have rather good hair. What they are not, necessarily, is nice.

Lords and Ladies takes that idea and runs with it, while also doing something rather clever with one of fantasy’s most persistent creatures. Pratchett takes the traditional Tolkienesque image of elves as beautiful, noble, wise and generally rather perfect beings and starts dismantling it. Then he goes further, dragging the elves back towards their older Celtic roots, where they are considerably less interested in being your noble friends and considerably more interested in ruining your evening.

It is an excellent fit for Discworld.

The story returns us to Lancre and, more importantly, to Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick. The witches are dealing with the consequences of events from Witches Abroad, while Magrat is attempting to reconcile her new position with the fact that she is still, well, Magrat. There is also a wedding, because nothing says “everything is going to be fine” quite like inviting an entire collection of witches, wizards and supernatural beings to the same party.

Unfortunately, something is stirring beyond the boundaries of reality.

The elves are coming.

One of the things I particularly enjoy about Lords and Ladies is the way Pratchett plays with our expectations. Fantasy has spent decades telling us that elves are wonderful. They are beautiful, graceful, long-lived and usually considerably better at archery than everyone else. Tolkien established much of the modern image, and countless fantasy writers followed.

Pratchett looks at this and essentially asks, “Yes, but what if they were actually elves?”

His answer is considerably more alarming.

These elves are closer to the dangerous creatures of Celtic folklore, where the supernatural is not automatically benevolent simply because it looks pretty. They are capricious, vain and cruel, and their beauty becomes part of the threat. They do not need to be ugly monsters because they can persuade you to let them into your home yourself.

It is a wonderfully effective deconstruction, but it also gives the book a serious theme around appearances and assumptions. We are repeatedly reminded that what looks beautiful or desirable is not necessarily good, while things that initially appear frightening may not be the real danger at all.

There is also a lot going on around ageing, experience and responsibility. Granny Weatherwax is forced to confront aspects of her own past, while Magrat finds herself having to grow into a role she never really expected to occupy. The contrast between youth and experience is handled with both humour and genuine affection.

Then there is the question of memory. The past is not something that simply disappears because you would rather not think about it. Lords and Ladies is interested in what happens when old mistakes, old relationships and old choices come back demanding attention.

The social commentary is typically Pratchettian. He takes aim at romantic fantasy, gender expectations, class and the tendency to idealise things simply because tradition tells us they are supposed to be ideal. There is also plenty of fun to be had with the idea of people constructing elaborate fantasies about how their lives should work, only to discover that reality has other plans.

This is one of the great pleasures of Discworld. Pratchett can spend several pages making fun of a fantasy convention before quietly revealing that he is actually talking about something rather more recognisable.

The witches remain the heart of the story. Granny is still Granny, which means that if she tells you something is going to happen, you should probably listen even if you have absolutely no idea what she is talking about. Nanny Ogg continues to demonstrate that there are very few situations that cannot be improved with alcohol, inappropriate jokes or both. Magrat, meanwhile, continues her journey towards becoming a more confident person, even if she would probably prefer everyone stopped noticing.

I am continuing to really enjoy these new Audible editions. Indira Varma is exceptionally well suited to the Witches books, and her narration brings the characters to life and makes it all feel real. She handles the different personalities beautifully, particularly the contrast between Granny’s formidable presence, Nanny’s earthy humour and Magrat’s uncertainty.

Bill Nighy once again deserves a special mention as the voice of the footnotes. His laid back delivery is absolutely perfect for those wonderfully unnecessary but somehow essential explanations. He sounds as though he has wandered into the middle of Discworld, noticed that everything has gone completely mad and decided there is no point getting excited about it.

And then there is Peter Serafinowicz as Death. His sepulchral delivery remains perfect, giving Death exactly the right mixture of grandeur, inevitability and dry comedy.

Lords and Ladies is another strong entry in the Witches sequence. It is funny, clever and packed with ideas, while also giving its central characters plenty of room to develop. The deconstruction of elves is particularly satisfying, not simply because it is funny, but because Pratchett understands why the original fantasy image works before gleefully showing us why it might be a terrible idea.

Beautiful elves are all very well.

But give me the sort of elves who might eat your soul while smiling politely any day.

Discworld is becoming increasingly confident in what it wants to be, and Lords and Ladies is a great example of that evolution. It takes familiar fantasy, turns it upside down and then checks underneath to see if there is anything interesting hiding there.

Usually, there is.

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