The Color of Magic
by Terry Pratchett
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Book Reviews of The Color of Magic
Book Review: What a GREAT read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Terry Pratchett is a phenomenal writer! I'll tell you that any of his books, especially the Disc World series are well worth picking up! In my youth I loved the Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien (and yes, I'm talking pre-movie adolescence, thank you). I read any fantasy/adventure novels I could get my hands on. Eventually I ran out of books worth reading.... In my late teens I even resorted to Harry Potter, which I thought was amusing (but with a very low reading level) until I stumbled upon Terry Pratchett. Oh what a day! It was as if I had been waiting for his writing since the first time I picked up a book! The worlds he has created within the Disc world series are so interesting and entertaining. On each page he has spelled out endless wit, comedy, and enchantment. The characters hook you from the start and in each book you learn more about them and how they intertwine with one another. The imagery Pratchett depicts with his stories is absolutely amazing! And one of the things that I think is the best about this series is you don't necessarily have to read them in a particular order. There are a few here or there within the series that do fit better together read in a certain order but besides those you can just go with the next one that strikes your fancy. Every time I finish one I CANNOT wait for the next! Soon I'll be done with the series and this is sad... But reading them all was well worth it! See for yourself!Book Review: Solid but Sloppy
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a great fan of humor, fantasy, sci-fi and many other kinds of literature, and so for some time have wanted to begin the journey into Discworld. I finally figured out that this was the first book in the series (though I understand that one does not need to read them in any particular order--I just wanted to start with the first book first).
The book does have some wry humor, though not as obvious as, say Douglas Adams (nor as funny in this reader's opinion). Humor goes only so far, though, in any story. The solid-ness of the book is its interesting and engaging story and characters, which is what any good book needs.
I found the book difficult to get into at first, but persevered; I'm glad I did. I still found myself reading some passages over and over again, just to figure out what the author was saying or describing. Some action sequences totally confused me and so I read them several times to figure out what was going on. This happened many times with simple descriptions, too. It is a simple lack of clarity in the writing.
So the book was fun and interesting, but sloppily written. I found some passages to be very funny, but didn't find the book to be as humorous as I had expected. But then again, maybe I'm just getting grouchy in my old age.
I will probably read other books in the Discworld collection, but I'm not, at the time of this writing, planning on doing so soon.
Book Review: what a fun read this is
Summary: 4 Stars
I am so glad that I finally picked up Pratchett and started to read this long series. I don't know why I never felt an urge to read Pratchett before. If you read a lot you might hit a point where you are bemoaning the fact that you have read all of the good authors out there. And then you will pick up a book and unexpectedly set forth on a whole new landscape. Now when I look back at moments where I was finding difficulty in discovering new authors to plunder, I only wish that someone had pointed me in Pratchett's direction.
This series is very much like the much more widely read `Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'... only better. I was laughing out loud time and again as I flipped through these pages. And in the boundaries of this genre (humorous fantasy), I can't think of an author being able to top what lies before you if you have yet to read these books.
The reason I did not give this book five stars lies in the fact that I don't think that `The Color of Magic' manages to pass muster against other authors whom leave more of a wake in their passage. George RR Martin is an author who has just completed the fourth in a series of fantasy novels that will just blow your mind away. They are not humorous. The heft of Martin's series emotionally and plot wise makes a small book like `Color of Magic' pale slightly in comparison. But that aside, this is a book that I would heartily recommend. Enjoy.
Book Review: Well it is the first of the series...
Summary: 4 Stars
Terry Pratchett is like P.G. Wodehouse. You have a very good idea as to what you're going to get, but you love it every time. His Disc World series is one of the funniest fantasy series around and many times I've found myself laughing out loud at it. The great fun of the series is the fact that you can pick up any book no matter what order and enjoy it without too much discomfort from having just met these characters.
So while this is the first book in the series, it's probably the 7th I've read so far (rough estimate) and I must say that it's just a trifle disappointing. However, the only reason for my disappointment is the fact that I've read the other books in the series and I'm missing the witches, the relatives of Death (I still have a few pages in this one but I doubt that the Death of Rats will make an appearance) or even the librarian. I don't recall Rincewind from the other books in the series as as a protagonist he's a bit of a wash. Sure, it's great fun to read a book where the hero is a coward (Walter Mosely did that with his Fearless Jones series) but he's a little too whiny.
So what I would recommend is that you read this book early in your love affair with Pratchett's writing. If you've read one of his books (especially if its Good Omens which has nothing to do with Discworld) this book will be great. If you've read many of them, expect to be mildly disappointed in this one.
Book Review: Introduction to Discworld
Summary: 5 Stars
"The color of magic" is Terry Pratchett's first novel in his acclaimed Discworld series. The series have so far more than thirty books, with different "main characters" strings. This first book features the wizard Rincewind as its main character, serving as a kind of host to Twoflower, a rich and somewhat naive tourist in Discworld's main continent.
This book is full of Pratchett's acid british humour. The story is fun to read, at an easy pace, as the author describe his incredible settings, a world in the shape of a long-play (rotating in its axe, of course) set on the backs of four elephants that for their turn stand on the shell of a more-than-giant gallactic turtle (the Great A'Tuin) swimming through the void.
Rincewind is a complete failure as a magician, yet he hides inside himself a power not even he can understand. Along with Twoflower, they go over many of the amazing places of the Discworld, like the Edge or the upside-down giant moutain (Wyrm) that serves as lair for hundreds of dragons, always facing near-death situations and meeting recurrent characters in the series, like Mort.
"The color of magic" starts slow, but quickly improves and is sure to hook readers that enjoy well-written fantasy books, with the kind of humour that is similar to Pratchett's fellow countrymen Douglas Adams and the Monty Python gang.
Grade 8.8/10