When last seen, the singularly inept wizard Rincewind had fallen off the edge of the …
Rincewind returns!
4 stars
You always know you're in for a good adventure when Rincewind is around. Along with his trusty many-legged companion, The Luggage.
This was a fun read. Wizards, 'Sourcery', lots of fireballs and fun times.
Really not much to complain about here - much less of the satire and social commentary Sir Terry is known for in his later style, but a fun, quick-paced adventure in a quirky fantasy world.
Death takes on an apprentice who's an individual thinker.
Enjoyable and poignant
4 stars
Enjoyable read. Not my favourite of the first five, but had plenty of good moments.
Story revolves around Death taking on a (human) apprentice.
Of course, humans feel compassion and love and so on - so are not especially well-suited to the job of Death. Which is where the drama for the story comes.
But Sir Terry does a good job of 'humanising' Death - yes, he does not really experience life, and he seems to be trying to learn by copying what he sees - but he comes across as a very lonely creature indeed who cares greatly for those entrusted into his care, and it is quite poignant to read this after he took Sir Terry in the end.
The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place …
Fantastic - Sir Terry really finding his style. Finally we meet Granny Weatherwax!
5 stars
Fantastic. Loved this one.
I think it's the third one in the Discworld series, chronologically, but it's the first one where I feel Sir Terry's true style became apparent.
In this novel, we meet for the first time Granny Weatherwax - probably my favourite Discworld character. Yes, there are many fantastic characters, but Granny Weatherwax always occupies a soft spot for me.
We learn about Borrowing, and how Granny can't Borrow bees; we encounter Headology - how people will believe certain things and words can prod them in the right direction.
The story itself is great - about a young girl, supposed to have been the eighth son of an eighth son - and therefore a wizard - she was in fact born a girl. So she inherits wizard magic in her genes, yet her genes do not match her physical appearance nor the way society treats her as a …
Fantastic. Loved this one.
I think it's the third one in the Discworld series, chronologically, but it's the first one where I feel Sir Terry's true style became apparent.
In this novel, we meet for the first time Granny Weatherwax - probably my favourite Discworld character. Yes, there are many fantastic characters, but Granny Weatherwax always occupies a soft spot for me.
We learn about Borrowing, and how Granny can't Borrow bees; we encounter Headology - how people will believe certain things and words can prod them in the right direction.
The story itself is great - about a young girl, supposed to have been the eighth son of an eighth son - and therefore a wizard - she was in fact born a girl. So she inherits wizard magic in her genes, yet her genes do not match her physical appearance nor the way society treats her as a female. There's a strong element of equal rights between the genders (obviously, given the title), but I found it fascinating how Sir Terry seemed to touch on something deeper - that the bits we are born with between our legs do not define who are or what we are capable of.
I blasted through this in (for me) a very short space of time, every day I looked forward to reading it.
The Light Fantastic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the …
Fantastic!
5 stars
I love this opening quote:
The sun rose slowly, as if it wasn’t sure it was worth all the effort.
This was a brilliant read. Really enjoyed it.
Where I felt the first one to be perhaps a little disjointed - lots of fun little scenes but maybe a bit less in the way of compelling overall narrative - this one is so much better.
I'm aware that Sir Terry recommended people ignore the first two books in the reading order, and whilst I can see why he may have said that about the first one, this one is very much worth reading.
It's funny, heartwarming, interesting; the main story is compelling and well-paced; there's plenty of sharp observations on humanity. His talent only develops upwards from here, of course, but the improvement between the first and second books is remarkable.
The sun rose slowly, as if it wasn’t sure it was worth all the effort.
This was a brilliant read. Really enjoyed it.
Where I felt the first one to be perhaps a little disjointed - lots of fun little scenes but maybe a bit less in the way of compelling overall narrative - this one is so much better.
I'm aware that Sir Terry recommended people ignore the first two books in the reading order, and whilst I can see why he may have said that about the first one, this one is very much worth reading.
It's funny, heartwarming, interesting; the main story is compelling and well-paced; there's plenty of sharp observations on humanity. His talent only develops upwards from here, of course, but the improvement between the first and second books is remarkable.
Reaper Man was the first Discworld novel I ever read, and one of the ones I have read the most often, but I haven't read it since either my mother or Sir Pterry died.
It was good to read it again, after having known the grief of losing mom. Comforting. Such insight into death, and Death, and what it means to know that life has to come to an end. This remains one of my favorite Discworld Novels, and it is unquestionably one of the most profound.
But Terry always delivered even the hard lessons with a nice dose of laughter.
