this is the third time I’m reading a Terry Pratchett Discworld novel – I borrowed one from the library last year called Eric, read the first one last year and have now (I have to admit it) started to collect them chronologically.
The Discworld series are (as far as I know, I’ve only read three of the forty novels) about a very panicky wizard who lives on a very peculiar planet. It’s actually not really a planet, you see; it’s a disc balanced by four giant elephants standing on an enormous turtle called the great A’Tuin. The wizard gets into the most absurd situations, actually meeting Death a couple of times (but he's actually a chill guy), and is always followed by a very expressive chest with hundreds of legs that is pretty agitated. It’s quite a job to follow a wizard if he’s continuously being teleported to the most dangerous places, you see.
Although the first book wasn’t really as good as Eric (I guess he got some practice) the novels are still overall very good. The writing style reminds me of Monty Python, and the story parodies all fantasy in one of the best ways possible. Fighting women are usually scarcely dressed in scraps of leather, legendary heroes have the age to match their reputation and the gods are usually angry at the ice giants because they forgot to return their lawnmower.
It’s kinda hard to describe this novel.
Rincewind is the main character, and is magically saved from where we left him in the first book – catapulted over the edge of the world. Something terrible seems to be doomed to happen when a star gets closer and closer to the discworld, and strangely enough Rincewind is the only one (for once) who is not panicking. People suspect he knows more about this impending doom and try to kill him for it, which means there’s plenty of pages of running, pursuing, fighting, virgins, heroes, half-naked swords women and people who learn to leave the chest alone the hard way.
Is this something you should read? I think so, even if it’s just to see what all my fuss is about. They’re short; hardcore readers will breathe through the 150-odd pages in a day, and they do not require your full attention. Snorting and /or laughing out loud disclaimer.
Until next time,
Bejoes
No comments:
Post a Comment