** spoiler alert ** 
 This was hard. Spoilers to follow. 
 Within pages twenty to thirty, we're treated to the foreseen natural death of a beloved Discworld character, and I cried my eyes out. I formed my ethical core around her as a teenager; my daughter's middle name is hers. 
 After this, it's Tiffany Aching, teenage witch, to the rescue as the nasty elves from Lords and Ladies return. Along the way, we get our final chance to wave good-bye at longtime friends and favorites. 
 So, how is the last Discworld book? 
 It's not what Pratchett wanted. When he died, he was intending to go over it a few times more. It's not like the writing is amateurish; it merely seems like the plot needs more polish and the joke count is down. I mean, I laughed out loud at least once, but still. 
 The most frustrating and tragic bit, though, is the afterward, wherein we get the synopses of about a half-dozen books Terry planned to write one day. This is it, though. This is Discworld. It doesn't close all loose threads, but I don't Pratchett would've wanted it. Still, if I have to wave good-bye to our beloved space turtle as he swims away into the cosmic dark, I'm not sad that these are the pages I had to come through.