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adventurous
funny
medium-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
*This review contains some mild spoilers for the previous novel in the series (The Colour of Magic)*
The second part of a duology, The Light Fantastic brings closure to the adventures of Rincewind the (failed) wizard and Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist. Despite one being the direct sequel of the other, the books have strong differences, which are probably due in part to the almost three years separating their publication.
Structure-wise, the Light Fantastic has more of an overarching story than The Colour of Magic. Rincewind and Twoflower falling off the edge at the end of the first volume haq triggered a dangerous series of events at the Unseen University. They will still spend most of the book escaping from one danger to the next, but the plot feels slightly less gratuitous this time. The book ends in the kind of epic showdown one expects from a fantasy adventure. Mind you, it's not an especially satisfying one: Pratchett doesn't inject the necessary tension and the confrontation is somewhat hard to follow. Moreover, its biggest sin is that it doesn't really arise organically from the preceding developments. But compared to the aimlessness of the Colour of Magic, the structure is nevertheless an improvement. And I loved the sweetly moving short epilogue.
What disappointed me the most was the weak supporting characters. The Colour of Magic had many memorable ones: Bravd and the Weasel, Hrun, Liessa, Tethis, the emperor of Krull, the Patrician and of course DEATH. In the Light Fantastic, aside from DEATH's comeback, no supporting character was particularly interesting. Cohen and Bethan, the two main ones, are especially dull.
When it comes to the humour, there are notable differences as well. Here, Pratchett puts less emphasis on the parody of other fantasy series and begins to satirise our own society, a trend that will continue in his later novels. Pratchett managed to further improve his witty one-liners between the publication of the books. I laughed more often while reading this volume than the previous one. On the other hand, I found the situational humour much weaker.
Overall, despite improvement in some aspects, The Light Fantastic is a rather weak sequel. It's still very funny and absolutely worth reading if you liked the Colour of Magic, but by itself, it is unlikely to turn any reader into a huge Discworld fan.
The second part of a duology, The Light Fantastic brings closure to the adventures of Rincewind the (failed) wizard and Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist. Despite one being the direct sequel of the other, the books have strong differences, which are probably due in part to the almost three years separating their publication.
Structure-wise, the Light Fantastic has more of an overarching story than The Colour of Magic. Rincewind and Twoflower falling off the edge at the end of the first volume haq triggered a dangerous series of events at the Unseen University. They will still spend most of the book escaping from one danger to the next, but the plot feels slightly less gratuitous this time. The book ends in the kind of epic showdown one expects from a fantasy adventure. Mind you, it's not an especially satisfying one: Pratchett doesn't inject the necessary tension and the confrontation is somewhat hard to follow. Moreover, its biggest sin is that it doesn't really arise organically from the preceding developments. But compared to the aimlessness of the Colour of Magic, the structure is nevertheless an improvement. And I loved the sweetly moving short epilogue.
What disappointed me the most was the weak supporting characters. The Colour of Magic had many memorable ones: Bravd and the Weasel, Hrun, Liessa, Tethis, the emperor of Krull, the Patrician and of course DEATH. In the Light Fantastic, aside from DEATH's comeback, no supporting character was particularly interesting. Cohen and Bethan, the two main ones, are especially dull.
When it comes to the humour, there are notable differences as well. Here, Pratchett puts less emphasis on the parody of other fantasy series and begins to satirise our own society, a trend that will continue in his later novels. Pratchett managed to further improve his witty one-liners between the publication of the books. I laughed more often while reading this volume than the previous one. On the other hand, I found the situational humour much weaker.
Overall, despite improvement in some aspects, The Light Fantastic is a rather weak sequel. It's still very funny and absolutely worth reading if you liked the Colour of Magic, but by itself, it is unlikely to turn any reader into a huge Discworld fan.
Content Warnings
Minor: Religious bigotry
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
There are offhanded and casual lore drops that are so funny and I wish they would get more than a mention for the world building.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry
Minor: Drug use, Slavery
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brilliant expansion of the Discworld universe and satisfying growth of Rincewind and Twoflower as characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one for me much more engaging and funnier than the first one. Not without its problems and some things didn't land - notably, I'm not a fun of Bethan and Cohen thing. I recognize that it's a jab I just don't think it's a good one.
Worldbuilding continues to be the most interesting part for me. Still just as rich, but in this one, it felt more seamless than previous one.
Another surprising thing for me was Rincewind and his not grand, but still very present character arc. Made him not just funny protagonist but funny and genuinely very interesting for me to follow. Twoflower was also funny and much more balanced in his sincerity and romantic ideals, and being a jab at tourist and tourism.
Overall, a good block of fascinating worldbuilding for the series with a funny and more or less interesting to follow story with solid characters. .5 for being genuinely engaging.
Worldbuilding continues to be the most interesting part for me. Still just as rich, but in this one, it felt more seamless than previous one.
Another surprising thing for me was Rincewind and his not grand, but still very present character arc. Made him not just funny protagonist but funny and genuinely very interesting for me to follow. Twoflower was also funny and much more balanced in his sincerity and romantic ideals, and being a jab at tourist and tourism.
Overall, a good block of fascinating worldbuilding for the series with a funny and more or less interesting to follow story with solid characters. .5 for being genuinely engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry
Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
One thing I'd forgotten since the first time I read this book is how cutting Pratchett is on the subject of tourists and tourism. Sure, Twoflower is hilarious, but he's also a menace wherever he goes, and I really love that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry
Ageism