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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
I thought this book was really good. It's basically a return to everything that I think makes Rincewind books so fun. I also think its very fun how self aware Rincewind is getting of the constant spiral his life is.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3,5. Le subo media estrella por los chistes sobre profesores.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not a huge fan of Rincewind generally, but he grew on me some through this book. Loved the barbarians.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the worst curses you can fling at a Discworld character is “May you live in interesting times,” hence the title of the book.
But aside from it’s promising title, the 17th Discworld book was a bit of a letdown after the fitting soulful musings of Soul Music, but it almost made up for it in sheer volume of jokes and witticisms alone. I wanted to quote something practically every other page. The perfect Discworld book is funny, biting, and deep-hitting. This one was mostly just amusing, although it did have some in-world continuity to fall back on that gave it a little extra oomph.
Although it can be read on its own, Interesting Times is a Rincewind book, and in many ways it’s actually a direct sequel to the very first Discworld books, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. We first met Rincewind and the flat disc of a world he lives on (carried around space by four giant elephants perched on the back of an even more giant turtle) when he is shanghaied into playing guide to a hapless tourist named Twoflower from the faraway Counterweight Continent. The two of them have many ridiculous adventures together, which mostly consist of Twoflower being delighted by everything, including and most especially when his life is in danger, and Rincewind being inept and terrified by it all, but somehow stumbling through and saving the day anyway. Interesting Times turns the tables and finds Rincewind an unexpected tourist on the Counterweight Continent, only it seems he’s been called there because Revolution is brewing, and Twoflower’s tales of his adventures in Ankh-Morpork and beyond (which he wrote up and titled “What I Did on My Summer Holidays”) have lent him the moniker The Great Wizard. The people want him to help them overthrow their cruel Empire, a task for which he is monumentally unfit.
There’s also some stuff with The Luggage and a group of old, old men (like, SERIOUSLY old) led by Cohen the Barbarian who are also in the country to do nefarious things to the Empire. The joke with them is mostly that they’re so old you’d think they’d be incompetent but they are still the most deadly people in the room, even the one in the wheel chair, and there’s this whole thing about them trying to learn to be “civilized.” It mostly all works.
The ending felt a little too coincidental for me, and again, it was mostly all surface level humor (although still very funny), so it’s definitely not one of my favorites in this series, but still a good read. What this book lacks in plotting and such it makes up for in enthusiasm and jokes about really old mangy men.
[3.5 stars]
But aside from it’s promising title, the 17th Discworld book was a bit of a letdown after the fitting soulful musings of Soul Music, but it almost made up for it in sheer volume of jokes and witticisms alone. I wanted to quote something practically every other page. The perfect Discworld book is funny, biting, and deep-hitting. This one was mostly just amusing, although it did have some in-world continuity to fall back on that gave it a little extra oomph.
Although it can be read on its own, Interesting Times is a Rincewind book, and in many ways it’s actually a direct sequel to the very first Discworld books, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. We first met Rincewind and the flat disc of a world he lives on (carried around space by four giant elephants perched on the back of an even more giant turtle) when he is shanghaied into playing guide to a hapless tourist named Twoflower from the faraway Counterweight Continent. The two of them have many ridiculous adventures together, which mostly consist of Twoflower being delighted by everything, including and most especially when his life is in danger, and Rincewind being inept and terrified by it all, but somehow stumbling through and saving the day anyway. Interesting Times turns the tables and finds Rincewind an unexpected tourist on the Counterweight Continent, only it seems he’s been called there because Revolution is brewing, and Twoflower’s tales of his adventures in Ankh-Morpork and beyond (which he wrote up and titled “What I Did on My Summer Holidays”) have lent him the moniker The Great Wizard. The people want him to help them overthrow their cruel Empire, a task for which he is monumentally unfit.
There’s also some stuff with The Luggage and a group of old, old men (like, SERIOUSLY old) led by Cohen the Barbarian who are also in the country to do nefarious things to the Empire. The joke with them is mostly that they’re so old you’d think they’d be incompetent but they are still the most deadly people in the room, even the one in the wheel chair, and there’s this whole thing about them trying to learn to be “civilized.” It mostly all works.
The ending felt a little too coincidental for me, and again, it was mostly all surface level humor (although still very funny), so it’s definitely not one of my favorites in this series, but still a good read. What this book lacks in plotting and such it makes up for in enthusiasm and jokes about really old mangy men.
[3.5 stars]
Ya know Rincewind is still not my favorite series at all, but I have to say they keep getting better. I really enjoyed Eric before this one, and Interesting Times was hilarious. I was slightly saddened by the minimal Luggage content, but The Silver Horde more than made up for it. Hysterical.
This one took me a lot longer to get into than previous Discworld books have, and I couldn’t put my finger on why that was for a while. I like Rincewind, probably more than a lot of Discworld fans, but I agree he works better when he has a foil to play off of. I had thought Prettybutterfly was going to be that foil, until Twoflower showed back up and his daughters got pushed aside.
That’s when it hit me - we’ve done these jokes already in the Light Fantastic. We’ve seen Rincewind run away, while Cohen continues to be barbaric in his old age, and Twoflower is delightfully naive. Don’t get me wrong, Light Fantastic was fun, certainly an improvement over Colour of Magic, but after 15 more Discworld books, I would’ve hoped to see more improvement. And while the Agatean Empire is “interesting,” an interesting setting alone does not make a story.
That being said, I feel alright giving this a neutral 3/5 rating.
That’s when it hit me - we’ve done these jokes already in the Light Fantastic. We’ve seen Rincewind run away, while Cohen continues to be barbaric in his old age, and Twoflower is delightfully naive. Don’t get me wrong, Light Fantastic was fun, certainly an improvement over Colour of Magic, but after 15 more Discworld books, I would’ve hoped to see more improvement. And while the Agatean Empire is “interesting,” an interesting setting alone does not make a story.
That being said, I feel alright giving this a neutral 3/5 rating.