Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This Discworld book is so far the best book written in the Rincewind storyline, with a very fun story and actual character development with Rincewind. I very much enjoyed also that the magical books kept in the Unseen University library have minds of their own and almost act like birds. There are definitely some good funny bits, and Pratchett's wordplay really shines here. I look forward to seeing more Rincewind too as I love a good sarcastic coward. These books are definitely not close to my love for Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but it is nice to have something reminiscent of it in the fantasy genre.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's kinda fun seeing the real reason behind the wizards' enforced celibacy, of which most of them have forgotten the true origin of the prohibition on sex & marrying -- because if a wizard has eight sons, the eighth will be born a sourcerer, and crack the very foundations of the world. It's an interesting plot with very high stakes, and more detailed appearances by the Librarian and the Patrician (which are two of my favourite characters!).
But also, eurgh. These early Rincewind books are seriously a struggle -- not because they're necessarily bad, but each one is simply a slightly improved variation of the previous, which leads to a sense of incredibly repetitive plots and "haven't I seen this before?". For example, the final threat in Sourcery is wizardry luring creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions to break through to this world -- just as it kinda was in TLF. This one just entails slightly higher stakes (the end of the universe!!), a larger cast, and slightly more fleshed-out characters: Poor Coin! I love Conina! Precious Nijel the Destroyer, and Creosote! And the wizards of UU are my favourite thing as always, since I'm obsessed with the lethal oddball academia of this school.
My new thought is that if you're going to start Discworld from the very beginning, I may advise just skipping The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic, and let this one be your first Rincewind novel instead, because it's a refinement on the formula of the previous two. You wouldn't get Twoflower, but honestly you wouldn't be missing out on that much, plus in this one you finally feel like Rincewind is growing as a person, as he reluctantly faces his cowardice and finds something to fight for. I looooved his ending,
HOWEVER. I think I've finally pinpointed what bothers me about Rincewind books (or at least these early ones): he does not have any significant interpersonal dynamics to speak of, which makes it hard to care. There's the Luggage (a non-talking physical object) and Twoflower (mostly gone after book two) -- but otherwise, so far there's just fleeting teamups & temporary companions. Whereas the Watch and the witches all have very, very strong connections to each other and there's the chance of #feels. Hence I think the wizard books only rly get better once you get a recurring cast of characters like Ridcully, Ponder, and the Bursar, which isn't until later.
PS: It's also interesting watching Pratchett's style evolve wrt footnotes. Compared to how they were barely used in the early books, I felt like there were too many here and they were a bit overdone in this one, so that the footnote humour started feeling a little forced. Eventually, he'll find the right balance!
PPS: On that note, I'm not going to shelve any Discworld book under my footnotes shelf, because otherwise it's going to be totally clogged with like a million DW books.
But also, eurgh. These early Rincewind books are seriously a struggle -- not because they're necessarily bad, but each one is simply a slightly improved variation of the previous, which leads to a sense of incredibly repetitive plots and "haven't I seen this before?". For example, the final threat in Sourcery is wizardry luring creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions to break through to this world -- just as it kinda was in TLF. This one just entails slightly higher stakes (the end of the universe!!), a larger cast, and slightly more fleshed-out characters: Poor Coin! I love Conina! Precious Nijel the Destroyer, and Creosote! And the wizards of UU are my favourite thing as always, since I'm obsessed with the lethal oddball academia of this school.
My new thought is that if you're going to start Discworld from the very beginning, I may advise just skipping The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic, and let this one be your first Rincewind novel instead, because it's a refinement on the formula of the previous two. You wouldn't get Twoflower, but honestly you wouldn't be missing out on that much, plus in this one you finally feel like Rincewind is growing as a person, as he reluctantly faces his cowardice and finds something to fight for. I looooved his ending,
HOWEVER. I think I've finally pinpointed what bothers me about Rincewind books (or at least these early ones): he does not have any significant interpersonal dynamics to speak of, which makes it hard to care. There's the Luggage (a non-talking physical object) and Twoflower (mostly gone after book two) -- but otherwise, so far there's just fleeting teamups & temporary companions. Whereas the Watch and the witches all have very, very strong connections to each other and there's the chance of #feels. Hence I think the wizard books only rly get better once you get a recurring cast of characters like Ridcully, Ponder, and the Bursar, which isn't until later.
PS: It's also interesting watching Pratchett's style evolve wrt footnotes. Compared to how they were barely used in the early books, I felt like there were too many here and they were a bit overdone in this one, so that the footnote humour started feeling a little forced. Eventually, he'll find the right balance!
PPS: On that note, I'm not going to shelve any Discworld book under my footnotes shelf, because otherwise it's going to be totally clogged with like a million DW books.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Still radiant with Pratchett's typical wit and humour, but it's a bit unfocused because of Rincewind's character arc. Which is fine for a character arc, but one that is particularly difficult to read as it swings back and forth at mostly random moments. I think I couldn't really parse as well the message it was trying to convey about status quos and power.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
rincewinds in it, how much more information do you need??
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes