Showing posts with label Discworld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discworld. Show all posts
Review: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
Hilarie
Rating:
Genre:  Fantasy, Satire, Discworld
Reading Challenges:   21 for 100+ in 2009, 3/37 for Discworld Reading Challenge

Equal Rites is one of my favorite Discworld novels, and it was a pleasure to rediscover it as part of my Discworld challenge.  The story concerns Eskarina Smith, or Esk, as she is more commonly known.  Esk was supposed to be the eighth son of an eighth son, but as anyone who has children knows, the sex isn't necessarily a given until the delivery is officially over.  Unfortunately, a dying wizard who wished to bequeath his knowledge to a successor didn't take the take to verify Esk's identity before making the transfer.  This of course results in all kinds of trouble as everyone knows that women aren't supposed to be wizards;  or at least that is what everyone who is a wizard knows.

Esk is a delightful character.  I keep hoping that she will make an appearance in another Discworld novel, but as of yet her story remains unfinished.  The writing in Equal Rites is more polished than it's predecessors.  It seems as though Pratchett hit his stride in this, the third Discworld novel.  If you haven't read any Discworld novels, or even if you have read some of Terry's later stuff, you can't go wrong with this one.

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The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Hilarie
Rating:
Genre:  Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Satire, Parody
Reading Challenges:  10 for 100+ in 2009, Discworld Reading Challenge

The Light Fantastic, Prachett's 2nd Discworld novel, picks up almost immediately where the first, The Color of Magic ended.  Rincewind, the Discworld's most inept wizard finds himself saved from certain death, by being magically transported to a talking forest after falling off the edge of the Disc.  It turns out that one of the eight great spells, the one trapped inside his head, has plans for him which luckily don't include his demise.  Rincewind and Twoflower the tourist soon find themselves enraging some druids, meeting up with Cohen the "aged" barbarian (seriously, imagine Conan the Barbarian if he lived to the ripe old age of 87), and trying to save the Discworld from the clutches of a power hungry wizard and the mysterious red star which appears to be on a collision course with the Disc itself.

This is a great read, and an improvement over Pratchett's first Discworld novel, which is saying something.  Pratchett's parody of barbarian heroes and sword-wielding wenches is especially hilarious.  This is a great read, and one that I recommend for those who don't take their fantasy too seriously.  Pratchett is especially fond of wordplay.  I found myself sometimes reading lines a second or third time, just to relish the joke.  This is definitely a read which rewards your full attention.  It isn't especially necessary to read The Color of Magic first, but it will make things a bit easier to understand.  
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The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Hilarie
Rating:
Genre:  Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Parody
Reading Challenges: Discworld 2009, 7 for 100+ in 2009

Here is where it all began, the birth of the Discworld series, and the introduction of perhaps the most incompetent wizzard (yes, that is wizzard with a double z) in all of literature: Rincewind.  In this book we find the first mention of the fascinating twin cities of Ankh and Morpork, and of course we are able to observe the benefits of owning luggage made from sapient pearwood.

You might be wondering, why would I possible only give this book a 3 star rating?  I first read The Color of Magic almost 10 years ago, when I stumbled upon it while browsing in the University of Utah bookstore during a break between my graduate school classes.  I was looking for something entertaining and light, something that would take my mind off the boring business text books that required so much of my time.  The book delivered.  I was immediately hooked, and over the last 1o years I've read all 36 of the Discworld novels.  So, why 3 stars? Who, or what, has outshone this Discworld classic?  The answer is easy, it's Terry Pratchett himself.

The Discworld novels have only gotten better as Pratchett keeps writing, both in complexity and execution.  After reading Thud! (number 34), my favorite Discworld novel of all time, The Color of Magic feels a little less polished, and I realize how spoiled I've become.  I'm trying to remember how I felt the first time I read this book, but I can't.  I've lost the remembrance in the haze of too many books over too many years, but it must have really blown me away.  I remember buying the next four books in the series at the same time, so it must have impressed me.  That isn't to say that this book isn't good.  It is!  It just can't compare to later Discworld novels.  So, if you haven't ever visited Discworld before, start at the beginning, so you can appreciate this book for yourself, in the way it should be.  One caveat, it does end with a bit of a cliff hanger, so have The Light Fantastic handy.
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