Monday, 14 January 2013 05:12 pm
Book Review: The Colour of Magic
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deckardcanineTerry Pratchett readers disagree on whether the first Discworld novel ever published is a good introduction to it. Well, at least it didn't leave me in the dust like some later volumes reputedly do to beginners. There are a few scenes in which the focus is not on any characters or situations with immediately obvious relevance to the rest, but I wasn't puzzled for long.
I can easily see how Pratchett became known as the Douglas Adams of fantasy. Alas, that is not entirely a good thing: I started four Adams books but finished only one. Both authors have clever if highly negative styles of humor and not so much skill (or perhaps interest) in weaving a story together.
TCoM reminds me of Pratchett's juvenile Truckers in just one glaring way: Major characters are unfamiliar with some things that readers take for granted, such as the economics of "inn-sewer-ants." We have intercontinental tourist Twoflower to thank for introducing that concept. His lack of instinct for self-preservation contrasts sharply with wizard Rincewind, who flies in the face of protagonists in general by doing the right things despite open cowardice and rampant incompetence. They say cowards die many times before their deaths; Rincewind meets Death himself, among other supernatural personifications, many times without getting taken.
For a book that tries to be funny in almost every paragraph, it didn't have much success with me. Nevertheless, I'll give Pratchett credit for imagination. When it's not deliberately derivative for satirical purposes (of which there are many), the Disc presents a number of innovative fantasy premises, starting with the spatial features. OK, maybe he just took someone else's ideas and pursued the implications further, but hey, that's exploration. Kinda made me want to try my hand, but I know I'm not ready.
Someday I expect to read another Discworld novel. It won't be the immediate sequel, partly because Pratchett reportedly got better later and partly because I want to focus on other recurring characters. Rincewind just doesn't go far, except literally.
I can easily see how Pratchett became known as the Douglas Adams of fantasy. Alas, that is not entirely a good thing: I started four Adams books but finished only one. Both authors have clever if highly negative styles of humor and not so much skill (or perhaps interest) in weaving a story together.
TCoM reminds me of Pratchett's juvenile Truckers in just one glaring way: Major characters are unfamiliar with some things that readers take for granted, such as the economics of "inn-sewer-ants." We have intercontinental tourist Twoflower to thank for introducing that concept. His lack of instinct for self-preservation contrasts sharply with wizard Rincewind, who flies in the face of protagonists in general by doing the right things despite open cowardice and rampant incompetence. They say cowards die many times before their deaths; Rincewind meets Death himself, among other supernatural personifications, many times without getting taken.
For a book that tries to be funny in almost every paragraph, it didn't have much success with me. Nevertheless, I'll give Pratchett credit for imagination. When it's not deliberately derivative for satirical purposes (of which there are many), the Disc presents a number of innovative fantasy premises, starting with the spatial features. OK, maybe he just took someone else's ideas and pursued the implications further, but hey, that's exploration. Kinda made me want to try my hand, but I know I'm not ready.
Someday I expect to read another Discworld novel. It won't be the immediate sequel, partly because Pratchett reportedly got better later and partly because I want to focus on other recurring characters. Rincewind just doesn't go far, except literally.