Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: Terry Pratchett

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Wednesday, November 06, 2024

Pyramids (Discworld #7) 4Stars

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Title: Pyramids
Series: Discworld #7
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 253
Words: 88K

This is the first “standalone” Discworld novel. By that I mean that none of the characters in this book ever return as main characters nor do we ever go back to the country the main character is from. This is simply a “Discworld” novel. While having read the previous six books will give you a slightly better overall view of Ankh-Morpork, not very much of the story actually takes place there and a better knowledge of that city will not actually affect your enjoyment of this book. But just like I stated in the previous book, Discworld “should” be read in the order that Pratchett published them. It “can” be read in almost any order, but it is just better the other way.

I was hoping that more of the story would take place in Ankh-Morpork, mainly because I wanted to see more of the Assassins Guild. That didn’t happen. So I pinned my hopes that when Teppic went back to be king that I’d get assassin guild hijinks then. Still didn’t happen. Teppic sneaks around a bit, but that’s the extent of we see of his years of training. I was disappointed. Pratchett seemed more focused on taking his bile out on religion in general in this novel than in telling a fun and engaging story. It was still a fun story, but if he’d written more like some of the earlier books (the Death books in particular, where he tackles a controversial subject, but without coming across like an angry jackass), this could have been so much better. I suspect the acolytes of Scyenze would like this more, as that is/was Pratchett’s pet godling.

Now that I’ve vented MY bile, do I have anything left? That’s a good question. It colors every word in this review. Huh, just like the novel! Amazing, hahahahahaa.

I would not recommend this as a starting place for Discworld even though it is a standalone. The writing isn’t as on point, the humor isn’t as funny and this gives you a glimpse of the author Pratchett would fully turn into near the end of the series. Spare yourself. At the same time, it’s still fun, it’s still entertaining and I don’t feel bad about re-reading this. I do know I would never choose to read this for a third time on it’s own again though.

★★★★☆

From Wikipedia.org

Synopsis – click to open

The main character of Pyramids is Teppic (short for Pteppicymon), the crown prince of the tiny kingdom of Djelibeybi (a pun on the candy Jelly Baby, meaning “Child of the Djel”), the Discworld counterpart to Ancient Egypt. The kingdom, founded seven-thousand years ago and formerly a great empire which dominated the continent of Klatch, has been in debt and recession for generations due to the construction of pyramids for the burial of its pharaohs (primarily on prime agricultural land) and now occupies an area two miles wide along the 150-mile-long River Djel.

Young Teppic has been in training at the Assassins Guild in Ankh-Morpork for the past seven years, having been sent to bring in revenue for the kingdom. The day after passing his final exam by chance, he mystically senses that his father, Pteppicymon XXVII, has died and that he must return home. Being the first Djelibeybian king raised outside the kingdom leads to some interesting problems, as Dios, the high priest, is a stickler for tradition, and does not actually allow the pharaohs to rule the country.

When plans are being laid out for the old pharaoh’s tomb, Teppic (now Pteppicymon XXVIII) mentions that his father did not wish to be buried in a pyramid; in reaction to Dios’s rejection of this idea, Teppic ends up ordering the construction of a pyramid twice the size of the largest one previously built in Djelibeybi. Whilst the pyramid-building Ptaclusp dynasty work out how to build the pyramid within budget and on time (eventually taking advantage of the unfinished pyramid’s premature temporal distortions), the late Pteppicymon XXVII spends his time observing the embalming of his mortal remains and taking an interest in the lives of his embalmers, Dil and Gurn.

After numerous adventures and misunderstandings, Teppic is forced to escape from the palace with a handmaiden named Ptraci, who was condemned to death for not wishing to die and serve the late pharaoh in the afterlife (effectively on Dios’ orders since Teppic wished to pardon her). However, during the attempt, Dios discovers them and decrees that Teppic has killed the King (as the King is only recognised whilst wearing the Mask of the Sun and Dios reasons that Teppic’s actions to save Ptraci would not be those of the King) and should be put to death. Meanwhile, the massive pyramid warps space-time so much that it “rotates” Djelibeybi out of alignment with the space/time of the rest of the Disc by ninety degrees.

After Teppic and Ptraci manage to escape Djelibeybi, they travel to Ephebe to consult with the philosophers there as to how to get back. Meanwhile, pandemonium takes hold in Djelibeybi, as the kingdom’s multifarious gods (many of whom occupy the same roles, such as Supreme God, God of the Sun, or God of the Djel) descend upon the populace, and all of Djelibeybi’s dead rulers come back to life. Also, the nations of Ephebe and Tsort prepare for war with one another, as Djelibeybi can no longer act as a buffer zone between the two.

Eventually, Teppic re-enters the Kingdom and attempts to destroy the Great Pyramid, with the help of all of his newly resurrected ancestors. They are confronted by Dios, who, it turns out, is as old as the kingdom itself, and has advised every pharaoh throughout its history. Dios hates change and thinks Djelibeybi should stay the same. Teppic succeeds in destroying the Pyramid, returning Djelibeybi to the real world and sending Dios back through time (where he meets the original founder of the Kingdom, thereby restarting the cycle). Teppic then abdicates, allowing Ptraci (who turns out to be his half-sister) to rule. Ptraci immediately institutes much-needed changes, Teppic decides to travel the Disc, Death comes to ferry the former rulers of Djelibeybi to the afterlife, and Djelibeybi’s former embalmers and pyramid-builders adjust to life without the pyramids.

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Wyrd Sisters (Discworld #6) 4Stars

Title: Wyrd Sisters
Series: Discworld #6
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 210
Words: 85K

I really enjoyed this. I do wonder though if in another decade the references that Pratchett makes to such people as the Marx Brothers, Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin will be as meaningless as references to Britney Spears. A grasp of Shakespeare, while not essential, will make the read much fuller.

The humor, while not laugh out loud, felt genuine and actually funny, unlike in Sourcery. The humor of the witches is earthy and natural and springs from human nature itself. Which is why I think it feels so genuine each time and not forced like with Rincewind. That’s important for a series of book built on humor, even if elements of the sardonic are involved.

The inclusion of Nanny Og and Magrat help offset Granny Weatherwax as an irascible old woman. Nanny Og is an old nympho and Magrat is the sad sack meant to generate sympathy. Each has her strengths and weaknesses and they fit very well together as a unit. It provides a much wider variety of situations for Pratchett to work with and I think his writing will be the better for that.

People always ask where to start with Discworld. I used to give my favorite books as a starting place but this deliberate series re-read has made me realize that people need to start at the beginning and just work their way through the series as Pratchett wrote them. Sure, you will get some books you don’t enjoy as much, but you’ll also get the full Discworld experience and THAT is more important than your enjoyment of an individual book. Think of Discworld like Communism and Pratchett as Chairman Mao and you’ll get the idea 😉

Hail Comrades, may the New Order Enlighten you!

★★★★☆

From Wikipedia.org

Synopsis – click to open

Wyrd Sisters features three witches: Granny Weatherwax; Nanny Ogg, matriarch of a large tribe of Oggs and owner of the most evil cat in the world; and Magrat Garlick, the junior witch, who firmly believes in occult jewelry, covens, and bubbling cauldrons, much to the annoyance of the other two.

King Verence I of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, Duke Felmet, after his ambitious wife persuades him to do so. The King’s crown and child are given by an escaping servant to the three witches. The witches hand the child to a troupe of travelling actors, and hide the crown in the props-box. They acknowledge that destiny will eventually take its course and that the child, Tomjon, will grow up to defeat Duke Felmet and take his rightful place as king.

However, the kingdom is angry about the way the new King is mistreating the land and his subjects. The witches realise that it will be at least 15 years until Tomjon is able to return and save the kingdom, but by then irreparable damage will have been done. Granny Weatherwax, with help from the other two witches, manages to cast a spell over the entire kingdom to send it forward in time by 15 years. Meanwhile, the duke has decided to have a play written and performed that portrays him in a favourable light and the witches in a negative light. He thinks this will cause the witches to lose their power, and the people will like him. He sends the court Fool to Ankh-Morpork to recruit the same acting company that Tomjon was given to, which now resides in the Dysk Theatre on the river Ankh.

The company make their way to Lancre, and perform the play for the King as asked. However, Hwel, the playwright, maintains that there is something wrong with the plot of the play, something that just doesn’t feel right. The witches cast a spell in the middle of the play that causes the actors to portray the killing of the king truthfully, and the audience sees that the Duke and Duchess are guilty of killing Verence I. Felmet finally succumbs to insanity and stabs several people with a retracting stage dagger, before tripping and falling to his death in the Lancre Gorge. The Duchess is imprisoned but manages to escape, only to be killed by a collection of various forest animals who want revenge for the poor treatment of the land.

Granny Weatherwax explains that Tomjon is the rightful king, and he is due to be crowned. However, Tomjon does not want to be king; he is an extremely talented actor and wishes to continue his career with his adopted father, Vitoller. Instead Granny Weatherwax tells the town that the Fool is in fact the king’s son from another mother, and Tomjon’s half-brother, and he is crowned King Verence II of Lancre. Later on, Granny and Nanny reveal to Magrat that the previous fool is actually Tomjon’s and Verence II’s father. The status of Magrat and Verence II, who have been awkwardly courting throughout the story, is not fully explained at the conclusion.

Sunday, August 04, 2024

Sourcery (Discworld #5) 3Stars

Title: Sourcery
Series: Discworld #5
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 197
Words: 79K

Unfortunately, this is what most people think of in terms of humor when they think of Rincewind the Wizzard. This was slightly amusing but not really funny and almost kind of sad. I didn’t dislike this story, but I really didn’t enjoy myself like I have with some of the previous Discworld books. It was like Pratchett had an off week and churned this clunker out during that time.

If I was just a teeny bit lazier, I’d end this review and not hide the synopis and call it a day. But I’m not quite that lazy, yet. I’m getting there though.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a food comparison for a book, but I think I have the perfect example for this book.

The Setting:

The Wilds of the Freest State in the United States of America

The Characters:

Two manly men who have worked hard all day doing Big Important Survey Things that you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it to you.

The Story:

After a hard day’s work where thousands of calories were burned doing Very Important Survey Things, McStudley and MacManly were driving back to the office. They were starving. In fact, if they had been soccer players, chances are one of them would have doused the other in bbq sauce and devoured him on the spot. Thankfully, for our story, they drove by a Wendy’s fast food restaurant. MacManly decided to get a Biggie Bag, because it had the word “Big” in it and his hunger sure was big that day. It was advertised as a double cheeseburger with bacon, fries, chicken nuggets and a drink. The chicken nuggets weren’t crispy at all. The fries were lukewarm at best. The icemachine wasn’t working so his diet vanilla coke was room temperature. The bacon was limp, the burgers overcooked, the lettuce was wilted and the bun looked like a sad clown. All in all it was a pathetic excuse for a “meal”. But MacManly still devoured it because he was starving.

The Lesson:

The ingredients can all be there but if they are not prepared right, it doesn’t matter because I was starving and I would have read a cereal box. Ok, so I mixed up my metaphors there, sue me. But you get the idea.

★★★☆☆

From Wikipedia.org

Synopsis – click to open

Death comes to collect the soul of Ipslore the Red, a wizard who was banished from Unseen University for marrying and having children. Bitter over his exile and the death of his wife, Ipslore vows revenge upon the wizards through his eighth son, Coin. As the eighth son of a wizard who himself is an eighth son, Coin is born a sourcerer, a wizard who generates new magic rather than drawing it from the world, effectively making him the most powerful wizard on the Disc. At the moment of his death, Ipslore transfers his spirit into his wizard’s staff, which is passed to Coin, preventing Death from collecting Ipslore’s soul (since damaging the staff to do so would kill Coin) and allowing Ipslore to influence his son.

Eight years later, Virrid Wayzygoose, the Archchancellor-designate of Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork, is murdered before his induction by Coin, who then forces his way into the university’s Great Hall. After Coin bests one of the top wizards in the University, he is welcomed by the majority of the wizards. Rincewind, The Luggage and the Librarian miss Coin’s arrival, having fled the University shortly beforehand after the foreboding departure of all of its magically-influenced pest populations. While they are at the Mended Drum, Conina, a professional thief and a daughter of Discworld legend Cohen the Barbarian, arrives holding a box containing the Archchancellor’s hat, which she has procured from the room of Wayzygoose, and which possesses a kind of sentience as a result of being worn by hundreds of Archchancellors. Under the direction of the hat, which sees Coin as a threat to wizardry and the very world, Conina forces Rincewind to come with her and take a boat to the city of Al Khali, where the hat claims there is someone fit to wear it.

In Ankh-Morpork, the wizards are made more powerful due to Coin’s presence drawing more magic into the Discworld. Under Coin’s direction, the wizards take over Ankh-Morpork—transforming it into a pristine city and turning the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, into a newt—and make plans to take over the world. Elsewhere, Rincewind, Conina and the Luggage end up in the company of Creosote, the seriph of Al Khali, and Abrim, his treacherous vizier. The trio are eventually separated; Rincewind is thrown into the snake pit, where he meets Nijel the Destroyer, a barbarian hero in training. Conina is taken to Creosote’s harem, where the Seriph has his concubines tell him stories. The Luggage, having been scorned by Conina, runs away and gets drunk, before killing and eating several creatures in the desert.

Coin eventually declares Unseen University and the various wizarding orders obsolete and orders the Library to be burnt down, claiming that Wizardry no longer requires such things. A group of wizards then attack Al Khali, with the sheer amount of magic created by their arrival temporarily putting Rincewind into a trance and enabling him to use magic, allowing him and Nijel to escape the snake pit. They join up with Creosote and Conina, the latter immediately falling in love with Nijel, and they encounter Abrim, who had put on the Archchancellor’s hat hoping to gain power from it, only to be possessed instead. Having the experience of many previous Archchancellors, the hat proves an even match for Sourcery-empowered wizards, fighting off a group of them and enlisting others to its cause. As this takes place, Rincewind, Conina, Nijel and Creosote find a magical flying carpet in the palace’s treasury, and use it to escape the palace as it gets destroyed by the possessed Abrim building his own tower.

With the orders no longer around to keep the wizards in check, wizards across the Discworld go to war with one another, threatening to destroy the world completely. Upon hearing Creosote express anti-wizard sentiments, an angry and humiliated Rincewind abandons the group, taking the flying carpet and making his way to the University, where he learns that the Librarian has saved the library books by hiding them in the ancient Tower of Art. The Librarian convinces Rincewind to stop Coin, and he goes off to face the Sourcerer with a sock containing a half-brick. Back in Al Khali, the Luggage, blaming the Archchancellor’s hat for everything it has endured, forces its way into Abrim’s tower. Distracted by the Luggage, the possessed vizier is killed by the Ankh-Morpork wizards, with the tower and the Archchancellor’s hat getting destroyed in the process.

Despite his victory, Coin becomes concerned when he is told that wizards rule under the Discworld Gods. He traps the gods in an alternate reality, which shrinks to become a large pearl, unknowingly causing the Ice Giants, a race of beings who had been imprisoned by the gods, to escape their prison, whereupon they begin strolling across the Discworld, freezing everything in their path. Rincewind confronts Coin soon after this. The Sourcerer is amused, but unthreatened, by Rincewind attempting to fight him, prompting Ipslore to try to force Coin to kill him. Rincewind eventually convinces Coin to throw the staff away, but Ipslore’s power is channelled against that of his son. The other wizards leave the tower as Rincewind rushes forward, grabbing the child and sending both of them to the Dungeon Dimensions while Death strikes the staff and takes Ipslore’s soul. Rincewind orders Coin to return to the University and, using his other sock filled with sand, attacks the Creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions as a distraction to ensure Coin’s escape. The Gods are subsequently set free, stopping the march of the Ice Giants. As the Librarian helps Coin escape, the Luggage charges into the Dungeon Dimensions after Rincewind.

Coin returns the University and Ankh-Morpork to the way they were before he came. After Conina and Nijel travel to the University looking for Rincewind, Coin uses his magic to make them forget him and live happily ever after together. Recognising that he is too powerful to remain in the world, Coin steps into a dimension of his own making and is not seen on the Discworld again. The Librarian takes Rincewind’s battered hat, which was left behind when he went into the Dungeon Dimensions, and places it on a pedestal in the Library. The narrator states, “A wizard…will always come back for his hat”.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Mort (Discworld #4) 4Stars

Title: Mort
Series: Discworld #4
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 265
Words: 73K

This was my 3^rd time reading this. And I once again bumped it up half a star. So another 8 years and I suspect I’ll be bumping it up again, hahahahaa 🙂

In this, we are introduced to yet another sub-series (or set of characters) in the Discworld. This time it is Death. Death takes on an apprentice who royally messes things up and in the end Death fixes it all.

Death is a jolly good fellow. Definitely shows what Pratchett’s thoughts on THAT matter were (if his suicide wasn’t enough to convince you). It works for a light and fluffy fantasy series. Which is all this is. Except it isn’t. Does that make sense? Pratchett is not trying to have his cake and eat it too with the Discworld series, he IS having his eat and eating it. He gets to tell funny stories AND he gets to spout off his own personal philosophies. It doesn’t get much better than that for an author.

Thankfully, as a reader, I too can pick and choose whether I want to read this lightly or seriously. If I had been in grumpy mood I would have read this seriously and taken Pratchett’s points about death apart one by one, showing that his ideas were nothing but an illogical mishmash of every other religions’ ideas on death and how he contradicted himself at every turn. But I was in a good mood so I just ignored all that and enjoyed Mort making a complete hash out of being Death’s apprentice.

Hash can be good, especially with beets. That’s called Red Flannel Hash here in New England. A can of corned beef hash, a can of purple beets, a frying pan and voila, a delicious meal that is healthy because obviously the beets are vegetables and so that outweighs all the fat from the corn beef hash.

In ending, you should read this book if for no other reason than I said so and that it will be the literary equivalent of adding some beets to your corn beef hash reading diet.

★★★★☆

From Wikipedia.org

Synopsis – Click to Open

As a teenager, Mort has a personality and temperament that makes him unsuited to the family farming business. Mort’s father Lezek takes him to a local hiring fair in the hope that Mort will land an apprenticeship; not only would this provide a job for his son, but it would also make his son’s propensity for thinking someone else’s problem. Just before the last stroke of midnight, Death arrives and takes Mort on as an apprentice (though his father thinks he has been apprenticed to an undertaker). Death takes Mort to his domain, where he meets Death’s elderly manservant Albert, and his adopted daughter Ysabell. Mort later accompanies Death as he travels to collect the soul of the King of Sto Lat, who is due to be assassinated by the scheming Duke of Sto Helit. After Mort unsuccessfully tries to prevent the assassination, Death warns him that all deaths are predetermined, and that he cannot interfere with fate.

Later on, Death assigns Mort to collect the soul of Princess Keli, daughter of the murdered king, but he instead kills the assassin the Duke had sent after her. Keli lives, but shortly after the assassin’s death people begin acting as if something had happened without knowing why, namely what would be funeral preparations and acts of mourning. She soon finds that the rest of the world no longer acknowledges her existence at all unless she confronts them and even then only in a confused manner which is forgotten immediately after. She subsequently employs the wizard Igneous Cutwell, who is able to see her as he is trained to see things that are invisible to normal people (like death) to make her existence clear to the public. Mort eventually discovers that his actions have created an alternate reality in which Keli lives, but he also learns that it is being overridden by the original reality and will eventually cease to exist, killing Keli. While consulting Cutwell, Mort sees a picture of Unseen University’s founder, Alberto Malich, noting that he bears a resemblance to Albert.

Mort and Ysabell travel into the Stack, a library in Death’s domain that holds the biographies of everyone who has ever lived, in order to investigate Albert, eventually discovering that he is indeed Malich. They further learn that Malich had feared monsters waiting for him in the afterlife, and performed a reversed version of the Rite of AshkEnte in the hope of keeping Death away from him. However, the spell backfired and sent him to Death’s side, where he has remained in order to put off his demise. During this time, Death, yearning to relish what being human is like, travels to Ankh-Morpork to indulge in new experiences, including getting drunk, dancing, gambling and finding a job. Mort in turn starts to become more like Death, adopting his mannerisms and aspects of his personality, while his own is slowly overridden.

Death’s absence forces Mort to collect the next two souls, who are both located on separate parts of the Disc (in the Agatean Empire and Tsort, respectively), and due to die on the same night that the alternate reality will be destroyed. Before he and Ysabell leave to collect the souls, Mort uses the part of Death within him to force Albert to provide a spell that will slow down the alternate reality’s destruction. After Mort and Ysabell leave, Albert returns to Unseen University, under the identity of Malich. His eagerness to live on the Disc is reinvigorated during this time, and he has the wizards perform the Rite of AshkEnte in the hope of finally escaping Death’s grasp. The ritual summons both Death and the part of Death that had been taking Mort over, restoring him to normal. Unaware of Albert’s treachery, Death takes him back into his service, the Librarian preventing the wizard’s escape.

Mort and Ysabell travel to Keli’s palace, where the princess and Cutwell have organised a hasty coronation ceremony in the hope that Keli can be crowned queen before the alternate reality is destroyed. With the reality now too small for Albert’s spell, Mort and Ysabell save Keli and Cutwell from being destroyed with the alternate reality. They return to Death’s domain to find a furious Death waiting for them, the latter having learned of Mort’s actions from Albert. Death dismisses Mort and attempts to take the souls of Keli and Cutwell, but Mort challenges him to a duel for them. Though Death eventually wins the duel, he spares Mort’s life and sends him back to the Disc.

Death convinces the gods to change the original reality so that Keli rules in place of the Duke, who was inadvertently killed during Death and Mort’s duel due to the destruction of his lifetimer. Mort and Ysabell – who have fallen in love over the course of the story – get married, and are made Duke and Duchess of Sto Helit by Keli, while Cutwell is made the Master of the Queen’s Bedchamber. Death attends Mort and Ysabell’s wedding reception, where he warns Mort that he will have to make sure that the original Duke’s destiny is fulfilled, and presents him with the alternate reality he created, now shrunk to the size of a large pearl, before the two part on amicable terms.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Equal Rites (Discworld #3) 4Stars

Title: Equal Rites
Series: Discworld #3
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 162
Words: 67K

When I first read this in 2007, I was fresh off the Rincewind books and was expecting more of the same. Equal Ritesis the first of the Witches sub-series and as such, while humorous, IS different and I wasn’t ready for that difference back then. Instead of the insane, zany and just plain ridiculous humor that typifies Rincewind, The Witches series is much more sardonic and relies on the humor inherent in opposites. All of that was just to say that I enjoyed my read this time much more than I did 16 years ago.

I also did this as a buddy-read with Dave. I’ll be linking to his review after the star rating and before the synopsis.

I enjoyed this on a completely different level from the previous two books. Granny Weatherwax (the main character despite this being about the little girl Esk) isn’t silly and stupid but she’s also not some omniscient Paragon of Everything. Pratchett is definitely poking fun at the genders (male and female) and Granny isn’t a bra burning feminazi. She’s crotchety, gets things mixed up, makes bad decisions but ultimately has the good of Esk in mind. She’s a wonderful character in fact. I loved reading about her. It is almost scary to me how 16 years of life experience can make that kind of change in me. I still like Rincewind and the complete chaos that he is, but I now appreciate Granny much more than I could have back then. That’s good. We should change as we mature and get older.

I have talked about this before (Why I Re-Read from ‘18) but that change in perspective is the EXACT reason why I am such a re-reader. What I experienced reading Equal Rites this time around I simply could not have back in ‘07. And if I had never re-read it now, I would be stuck with that ‘07 memory of it. Which isn’t bad, but it’s not as full and rich as my memories of the book now. As a serious reader, growing is important. A reader should be a tree, ever growing, not a karesansui garden (one of those japanese gravel gardens) which stays static unless an outside force acts upon it. A reader’s growth should be from within, affecting the outside, not the outside affecting the growth within. It is the difference between an oak tree and a bonsai tree. One acts upon the landscape while the other is acted upon.

So to end. I am VERY happy I re-read this. I enjoyed it more than I originally did and I am thankful I have a better memory of the book now.

★★★★☆

Dave’s Review

From Wikipedia.org

Click to Open

The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard; on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are sometimes ascribed to seven in other mythologies. Billet wants to pass his wizard’s staff on to his successor.

However, the newborn child is actually a girl, Esk (full name Eskarina Smith). Since Billet notices his mistake too late, the staff passes on to her. As Esk grows up, it becomes apparent that she has uncontrollable powers, and the local witch Granny Weatherwax decides to travel with her to Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork to help her gain the knowledge required to properly manage her powers.

But a female wizard is something completely unheard of on the Discworld. Esk is unsuccessful in her first, direct, attempt to gain entry to the University, but Granny Weatherwax finds another way in; as a servant. While there, Esk witnesses the progress of an apprentice wizard named Simon, whom she had met earlier, on her way to Ankh-Morpork. Simon is a natural talent who invents a whole new way of looking at the universe that reduces it to component numbers.

Simon’s magic causes a hole to be opened into the Dungeon Dimensions while he is in Esk’s presence. The staff, acting to protect Esk, strikes Simon on the head, closing the hole but trapping his mind in the Dungeon Dimensions. Esk throws the staff away, believing that it attacked Simon. While attempting to rescue him, Esk ends up in the Dungeon Dimensions. The extreme cold there causes the staff, now washed out to sea, to create a huge ice sheet, causing a storm that floods the university as well as the surrounding city.

Esk and Simon discover the weakness of the creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions—if you can use magic, but don’t, they become scared and weakened. With the help of Granny Weatherwax and Archchancellor Cutangle, who have retrieved the staff, they both manage to transport themselves back into the Discworld. Esk and Simon go on to develop a new kind of magic, based on the notion that the greatest power is the ability not to use all the others.

Saturday, December 16, 2023

The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) 4.5Stars

Title: The Light Fantastic
Series: Discworld #2
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 118
Words: 46K

I really enjoyed this. Considering that this and The Colour of Magic are really one book split into two parts and that I gave my re-read of CoM the coveted 5star rating, it shouldn’t surprise anyone, myself included, that I enjoyed this so much.

However, there was one thing that made me bump this down a half star. There are some really wicked weird time skips. One chapter Rincewind will be in a forest with Two Flowers and the next thing Cohen the Barbarian is rescuing them from wizards. There was nothing in between. That kind of thing happened 2 or 3 times and it was very disconcerting. I actually had to check to make sure I didn’t have a bad ebook with bits missing, it was that jarring. But nope, this was the real deal. I guess Pratchett had to make some cuts because 118 pages was pushing things back in the 80’s (oh, I’d kill for that mindset in publishers today. I’d even kill a real person for that to happen). So that’s the only reason this didn’t get 5stars from me.

If I was going to compare this duology to a food item, I think I’d have to call this a soft oatmeal raisin cookie. Yummy, sweet, delicious, with just enough texture to make your mouth stay interested in taking another bite but by no means a main course, even though you “could” gorge yourself and then suffer the consequences. So don’t be stupid, don’t gorge yourself on Discworld. Read it in appropriate amounts at the right time. You’ll thank me and so will your carpet (which you won’t be throwing up on if you listen to me)

★★★★✬

From Wikipedia.org

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The book begins shortly after the ending of The Colour of Magic, with wizard Rincewind, Twoflower and the Luggage falling from the Discworld. They are saved when the Octavo, the most powerful book of magic on the Discworld, readjusts reality to prevent the loss of one of its eight spells, which has resided in Rincewind’s head since his expulsion from Unseen University: Rincewind, Twoflower and the Luggage end up in the Forest of Skund. Meanwhile, the wizards of Ankh-Morpork use the Rite of Ashk-Ente to summon Death to find an explanation for the Octavo’s actions. Death warns them that the Discworld will soon be destroyed by a huge red star unless the eight spells of the Octavo are read.

Several orders of wizards travel to the forest of Skund to try and capture Rincewind, who is currently staying with Twoflower and the Luggage in a gingerbread house in the forest. In the subsequent chaos, Rincewind and Twoflower escape on an old witch’s broom, while the Archchancellor of Unseen University is killed when his attempt to obtain the spell accidentally summons the Luggage on top of him, crushing him to death. His apprentice, Ymper Trymon, uses the opportunity to advance his own power, intending to obtain the eight spells for himself.

Rincewind and Twoflower run into a group of druids who have assembled a “computer” formed from large standing stones, and learn of the approaching red star. As Twoflower attempts to stop the druids from sacrificing a young woman named Bethan, Cohen the Barbarian, an octogenarian parody of Conan, attacks the druids. Twoflower is poisoned in the battle, forcing Rincewind to travel to Death’s Domain to rescue him. The pair narrowly avoid being killed by Ysabell, Death’s adopted daughter, and as they escape Death’s Domain, Rincewind learns from the Octavo itself that it had arranged for its eighth spell to escape into his head, to ensure the spells would not be used before the right time.

Rincewind and Twoflower travel with Cohen and Bethan to a nearby town, where the toothless Cohen leaves to have some dentures made for him, having learned of them from Twoflower. While he is gone, Rincewind, Twoflower and Bethan are attacked by a mob of people who believe the star is coming to destroy the Discworld in response to the presence of magic. The trio escape into one of many shops that sell strange and sinister goods and inexplicably vanish the next time a customer tries to find them. The existence of these shops is explained as being a curse by a sorcerer upon the shopkeeper for not having something in stock. They are able to return to Ankh-Morpork via the shop.

As the star comes nearer and the magic on the Discworld becomes weaker, Trymon tries to put the seven spells still in the Octavo into his mind, in an attempt to save the world and gain ultimate power. However, the spells prove too strong for him and his mind becomes a door into the “Dungeon Dimensions”, home to all manner of eldritch creatures. Rincewind and Twoflower manage to kill the now-mutated Trymon, and Rincewind reads all eight of the Octavo’s spells aloud. This causes eight moons of the red star to crack open and reveal eight tiny world-turtles that follow their parent A’Tuin on a course away from the star. The Octavo then falls and is eaten by the Luggage.

Twoflower and Rincewind part company as Twoflower decides to return home, leaving the Luggage with Rincewind as a parting gift. Cohen and Bethan also leave to get married. Rincewind decides to re-enroll in the university, believing that with the spell out of his head, he will finally be able to learn magic.

All of My “Discworld” Reviews

Thursday, October 19, 2023

The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) 4Stars

Title: The Colour of Magic
Series: Discworld #1
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 270
Words: 89K

This is the 3^rd time “officially” that I’ve read this. And I still really enjoy it. The humor is right up my alley and it tickles my funny bone. Definitely not for everyone. Rincewind the Wizzard isn’t everyone else’s favorite Discworld character, but he makes me laugh my head off.

This wasn’t so much one singular story as a series of adventures by Rincewind and Two Flowers, a tourist from the Counter-Weight Continent. They burn down Ankh-Morpork and then proceed across the land landing into trouble everywhere they go. It’s insane, crazy, discombobulated and you can tell Pratchett was writing for the pure joy of being silly. I loved it!

I was apprehensive about doing this re-read of Discworld, but this wonderful start has put my mind at ease and while I know I’m not going to enjoy every single book, I do think I am going to enjoy the series as a whole.

★★★★☆

From Wikipedia.org

The story begins in Ankh-Morpork, the biggest city on the Discworld. The main character is an incompetent and cynical wizard named Rincewind, who is hired as a guide to naive Twoflower, an insurance clerk from the Agatean Empire who has come to visit Ankh-Morpork. Thanks to the abundance of gold in his homeland, Twoflower, though only a clerk, is immensely rich compared to inhabitants of Ankh-Morpork. Initially attempting to flee with his advance payment for agreeing to be Twoflower’s guide, Rincewind is captured by the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, who forces him to protect Twoflower, lest the tourist’s death provoke the Agatean Emperor into invading Ankh-Morpork. After Twoflower is kidnapped by a gang of thieves and taken to the Broken Drum tavern, Rincewind stages a rescue alongside the Luggage, an indestructible, enchanted and sentient chest belonging to Twoflower. Before this, Twoflower convinces the Broken Drum’s landlord to take out a fire insurance policy; the landlord subsequently attempts to burn down the tavern to claim the money, but ends up causing a fire that destroys the whole of Ankh-Morpork. Rincewind and Twoflower escape in the chaos.

Rincewind and Twoflower travel towards the city of Quirm, unaware that their adventures on this journey are actually the subject of a boardgame played by the Gods of the Discworld. The pair are separated when they are attacked by a mountain troll summoned by Offler the Crocodile God. The ignorant Twoflower ends up being led to the Temple of Bel-Shamharoth, a being said to be the opposite of both good and evil, while Rincewind ends up imprisoned in a dryad-inhabited tree in the woods, where he watches the events in Bel Shamharoth’s temple through a magical portal. The pair are reunited when Rincewind escapes into the temple through the portal, and they encounter Hrun the Barbarian, a parody of heroes in the Swords and Sorcery genre. The trio are attacked and nearly killed by Bel-Shamharoth, but escape when Rincewind accidentally blinds the creature with Twoflower’s magical picture box. Hrun agrees to travel with and protect Twoflower and Rincewind in exchange for heroic pictures of him from the picture box.

The trio visit the Wyrmberg, an upside-down mountain which is home to dragon-riders who summon their dragons by imagining them, and are separated when the riders attack them. Rincewind escapes capture but is forced by Kring, Hrun’s sentient magical sword, to attempt to rescue his friends. Twoflower is imprisoned within the Wyrmberg, and because of his fascination with dragons, is able to summon one greater than those of the Wyrmberg riders, who he names Ninereeds, allowing him to escape captivity and save Rincewind from being killed in a duel with one of the three heirs of the Wyrmburg. Twoflower, Rincewind and Ninereeds snatch Hrun, but as they attempt to escape into the skies, Twoflower passes out from the lack of oxygen, causing Ninereeds to disappear. Hrun is saved by Liessa, but Rincewind and Twoflower find themselves falling to their deaths. In desperation, Rincewind manages to use the Wyrmberg’s power to temporarily summon a passenger jet from the real world, before he and Twoflower fall into the ocean.

The two of them are taken to the edge of the Discworld by the ocean currents and nearly carried over, but they are caught by the Circumfence, a huge net built by the nation of Krull to catch sea life and flotsam washed in from the rest of the Discworld. They are rescued by Tethis the sea troll, a being composed of water who had fallen off the edge of his own world and onto the Discworld, where he was subsequently enslaved by the Krullians. Rincewind and Twoflower are then taken by the Krullians to their capital, where they learn that the Krullians intend to discover the sex of Great A’Tuin by launching a space capsule over the edge of the Disc, and plan to sacrifice Rincewind and Twoflower to get the god Fate to smile on the voyage, Fate insisting on their sacrifice after they caused him to lose the earlier game. Rincewind and Twoflower attempt to escape, but end up stealing the capsule, which is launched with Twoflower inside, the tourist wishing to see the other worlds of the universe. Rincewind is unable to get into the capsule in time, and falls off the Disc alongside it, the Luggage following them soon after.

The story segues into the beginning of The Light Fantastic