Reviews with content warning for Rape - Interesting Times

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Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett

9 reviews

ampharos906's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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essieruth's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Books that were written before their authors knew better are usually best left in the past. This one is no exception.

I love Rincewind and his co-adventurers, but this book is so full of racist stereotypes and casual misogyny that it was hard to read.
Glad to be able to look back at Pratchett’s life and know that he was humane and wise enough to learn and change, in contrast to many men like him.

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rachaelbunny's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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geekface's review against another edition

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1.0

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woweewhoa's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

4.0

Another fun Discworld book! Once you get through the beginning, it's fast sailing from there until the end! It certainly is, Interesting Times :^)

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bluejayreads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Apparently the transition of the Discworld series from “silly, sometimes ridiculous romps around a fun setting” to “humorous adventures that are both ridiculous romps and full of profound themes” starts somewhere between book nine and book seventeen. Interesting Times has much more of that combination of laugh-out-loud wittiness and resonant themes that I love from the later books.

We do have to talk about the Agatean Empire, though. It’s obviously supposed to be the Discworld’s version of China – it’s in no way subtle, from the giant wall around the empire to the emperor living in the Forbidden City to the character names. But it’s taken to such an extreme that it becomes a caricature. From the three-hour ceremony required for a cup of tea to the rebels’ slogans being things like “Mild inconvenience to the oppressors with all due respect!” it crosses the line from funny to racist in many places. I don’t think it was intentional, but it is there.

Besides that unfortunate aspect, Interesting Times is a lot of fun. There were several points where attempts to not laugh out loud at work resulted in strangled choking noises that got me funny looks from coworkers. This is the funniest Discworld book that I’ve read so far. The puns, jokes, and quips are so close together that you barely have time to appreciate just how funny they are, and if one doesn’t land it doesn’t matter because there’s another one right behind it. For as many people that die gruesomely in this book, it has no right to be as funny as it is, but it’s hilarious.

It also presents several profound themes for your consideration: The distress of considering your options (or refusing to consider doing anything different) when you’re too old to do the things you did your whole life; if it’s more important for a revolution to fight for what the people want right now or to free them from the oppressive rule first and consider what they want once they have more options; how the power of belief can be exploited by rumors and lies by both sides of a conflict. It explores these ideas, but doesn’t actually give you any answers, leaving philosophical puzzles for you to mull over on your own.

And then there’s Rincewind himself, who is still a complete and utter coward, but an entertaining and likeable coward. He just wants to live a completely boring life, and no matter how hard he avoids trying to do heroic stuff, it happens anyway. I’m just waiting for the reveal that his ability to stay alive and accidentally save the world to be revealed as some sort of magic power. He is well aware of his cowardice and much cleverer than even he gives himself credit for. The more I read about him, the more I like him.

I have thoroughly enjoyed a lot of the Discworld books, but so far Interesting Times has been the best combination of relentlessly funny and thematically deep. I already had the goal of finishing the Discworld series, but knowing that future books are going to be that mix of hilarious and profound makes me even more enthusiastic to keep going.

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samants's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I know, I know. This rating is heretical, etc. But I don't think Pratchett handles discussions of Asian culture well, even if it is meant to be a spoof/satire/whatever. I just felt a little icky for most of the book. The jokes felt pretty offensive and out of date, and I know it's 20 years old, but it aged badly. (Side note: I also felt kind of icky about some of the jokes in Good Omens. I hope Pratchett reformed his views of Asian culture over time, and learned not to conflate China and Japan quite so much :/ )

I did like Lord Hong's strategy and the Horde. Otherwise, this book fell flat to me.

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thewordshaker's review against another edition

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1.0

Didn’t finish the book because it kept making fun of raping women. Even as a social commentary (?) that does not work.

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accidentalspaceexplorer's review

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adventurous fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

After finishing this, my middle of the book judgment stands. This is definitely a low point for Pratchett - I think that he tried to criticize racism and sexism, but seriously missed the mark. It's my opinion that he tried to criticize these things by including them and attempting to depict that they were outdated ideas, but by including them at all, he lends them a weight that he doesn't manage to throw off. Plus, I as the reader still have to read the descriptions of rape jokes and racism, which made me very uncomfortable. Overall, I think you can skip this one completely.

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