The Color of Magic
by Terry Pratchett
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Book Reviews of The Color of Magic
Book Review: A modern classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I always feel a little upset when an author that I thought of as my own personal discovery suddenly makes it big and becomes a best-seller. Often (eg Patricia Cornwell) it is a prelude to disaster for the books and characters you have come to love. Thankfully, Pratchett has only gotten better since he rocketed to stardom. As a British paper's headline read in 1999 about (I think) the Booker Prize, "just give Pratchett the award and be done with it".Terry Pratchett is an amazing man. He is phenomenally funny. In person (if you can ever see him give a speech, go -- he had the Oxford Union in stitches); via computer (he used to lurk on alt.fan.pratchett and write hilarious comments under his own name, gracefully accept adulation, answer questions (cf Robert Jordan!!), engage in discussions and accept input(!)); and, most importantly, on paper.
Simply put, the Discworld is one of the best humurous series ever written. It's not because of the milieu (fantasy) or the slapstick/satire in the books. It's because Pratchett has such a great insight into human nature: his humour comes from putting believable people with familiar traits in outrageous situations, and watching their reaction. His puns, wordplay and accurate satire of society are only icing on the cake.
The Colour of Magic sets this in motion with perhaps the most beloved wizard in fiction apart from Harry Potter - Rincewind, an inept, bungling, proudly cowardly almost-failed wizard who bumbles his way into and out of all sorts of danger. Although Pratchett's style is slightly rawer in his first couple of books (in my opinion, reaching full maturity around "Small Gods") he is still outrageously funny and already possesses his scythingly accurate view of people and society.
If you read this book you will be in grave danger of getting hooked on the most addictively and uproariously funny series ever. Don't worry, it's well worth the ride.
Book Review: A Good Start to Discworld
Summary: 4 Stars
In "The Color of Magic" Terry Pratchett weaves a tale of light fantasy and some humor to make a good read. Being the first in a series of over 25 books, I'm sure that this is probably not one of the best.For one thing, his humor wasn't the greatest. He threw in some dumb punchlines but the really good humor wasn't as easy to find. Things such as his "Big Bang" theory were pretty good compared to some other dry stuff. Despite this Pratchett still did a good job in presenting a comical fantasy adventure.
The plot of this novel is pretty simple. Rincewind the Wizard (who graduated from Unseen University knowing no spells because one of the 8 Great spells trapped itself inside of him) meets the tourist Twoflower in a tavern. Twoflower hires Rincewind as his tourguide so he could see Discworld. After Twoflower sets the city of Ankh-Morpork on fire, he and Rincewind make a run for Quirm. Read on to find out the rest.
Pratchett's characters are the actual very funny part about the book. Rincewind is just...Rincewind; Twoflower has to see everything even if it means his existence on Discworld will be no more; the talking sword, Kring; Hrun the Barbarian who fights and has basically a dumb mind; and many other characters that we meet throughout thisnovel are just funny.
What is interesting about this book is that Terry Pratchett takes issues that have arised on Earth and puts them onto Discworld. These things make the world of Discworld seem even more like the one you and I are on right this very second.
In conclusion, "The Color of Magic" is a great read that a fantasy fan or somebody looking for a good book to enjoy. This novel is relatively short and can be read quickly. After reading this I am looking forward to reading more books about Terry Pratchett's Discworld. This is probably the best way to start out this series. Read this, you won't be disappointed.
Happy Reading!
Book Review: Great
Summary: 5 Stars
Adventure. Fantasy. Humor. Those are the key words that come to mind when thinking of _The Color of Magic_ by Terry Pratchett. This book starts off with the meeting of Rincewind and Twoflower. Rincewind is a failed wizard who lives in the big city of Ankh-Morpork, he is scruffy, skinny, and pessimistic. Twoflower is a tourist, the Discworld's first and only. He has glasses, is rich,an insurance salesman, and incredibly naive. He also has a camera and magical luggage, which are extremely rare in this fantasy world. They meet up and through a series blunders they end up burning most of Ankh-Morpork down, but that happens a lot. Through their travels they ecounter such characters as Hrun the Barbarian and his talking sword. They find dragons, that only exist if you believe in them, they are held hostage in a mountain palace, they fight tree people, they fight ancient beasts in ancient temples, they go to the edge of the Disc (and fall off), encounter some seriously crackpot scientists, and more. All of this is seriously intriguing adventure, mixed with an equal amount of humor. Think Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but funnier and with more action. This is the first book of about two dozen set in Discworld. Discworld is a Disc of land, hundreds of miles across, that rides on the backs of four giant elephants which stand atop a giant space turtle that's bigger than the Disc, Great A'tuin (sex unkown, that stumpls Disc philosophers everywhere). They also don't know where the Turtle is leading. The second book in the series is _The Light Fantastic_, which continues where TCOM left off. Here we are back with Rincewind and Twoflower and the Luggage, and back at hilarious adventures. The Light Fantastic is funnier than TCOM because you've already been introduced to the characters and to Discworld, so there's more focus on adventure and humor. These books are cheap and joyfully read, enjoy!Book Review: History of Humour
Summary: 4 Stars
This poor book has been badly insulted by a number of latter-day Terry Pratchett fans such as myself, people who must shamefacedly admit that we began the Discworld series in the middle with "Small Gods" because of the shiny turtle on its cover. But "Color of Magic," the first book in the series, does not deserve such disdain.For the yet untutored fan, "Color" is a great starting point to learn about the Discworld. The book is short, using most of its plot to describe the geography of the Disc and to introduce the earliest hero of the series, a cowardly and untalented wizard named Rincewhind. He's a thaumaturgical flop, but a comedic king.
Most of the Discworld novels are complex satires of our own world. "Color" begins, though, as a straight spoof of the fantasy genre. It isn't even a complete tale without the following novel, "The Light Fantastic." But it's the first bright grain of sand in the vast, murkey Nothing. Pratchett's own imagination was already birthing such wildly beautiful concepts as intelligent luggage and working classed pixies. Slightly philosophical police already skulk through the fans' beloved city of Ankh-Morpork and try not to be noticed by any criminals.
This book stands well enough on its own merit. It is a fun, Saturday afternoon romp that lets folks laugh at the "in" jokes of the fantasy genre. Non-Discphiles can file it next to "Bimbos of the Death Sun" by Sharyn McCrumb or "Bored Of the Rings" by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney. Pratchett fans can tell themselves that the author has done better. Sure he has. The next book was better, and the one after that was jaw-dropping, and the next was eye-popping ... so don't knock "Color of Magic" until you've grokked it. If you really must be dazzled, go find the book with the shiny turtle on it.
Book Review: The Wizard, The Tourist and The Luggage
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading lots of young adult books, I decided to try out the big kid's version of "The Edge Chronicles". To tell the truth, this book has been sitting on the shelf for over six months, because of all the frightening reports - why go willingly into a situation that is widely known to be addictive?
I was hesitant to get involved, but a chorus of voices kept haranguing me to make the first step, and weakened by a lack of excuses, I succumbed.
This is actually a very complicated book, due to the various levels of humor, from slapstick to dry one-liners, expertly delivered in an incredible fantasy setting. After you get a basic understanding of the geography of the Discworld, and work out the meaning of "hubward", "rimward", "turnwise" and "widdershins", and that there are eight seasons, you can enjoy the relatively simple story that unfolds in the last two thirds of the book. Beware though of the many familiar references to our own world, which are thrown in randomly to retard your progress while you stop to consider them.
A bungling wizard (with a charmed life and one good spell in his arsenal) gets saddled as a tour guide to a naive visitor from another continent. Unfortunately, the tourist has a lot of gold to throw around, and this leads to all kinds of unwanted attention from the dregs of society. Luckily for the tourist, he has a very useful piece of luggage that doubles as a body guard, and is self-transporting with a built in homing device - a dream suitcase if there ever was one.
Here there be trolls, barbarians, bandits, beauties, dragons, magic, deities, and even Death, who gets quite stressed on the job, and really needs a holiday.
Now that I'm corrupted, I need volunteers to feed my habit. Buddy, can you spare a rhinu?
Amanda Richards, February 28, 2005