The Colour of Magic
by Terry Pratchett
Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese
Only having read now the very first Discworld novel, I really don't see what all the hubward hubbub is 'bout. Granted, there were many curious novelties, witticisms, fantastical and cultural references, and weak attempts at humor. I do not find In-Sewer-Ants funny, neither do I find Echo-gnomics funny. I would however had found something really nasty said about taxes to be hilarious, such as Rincewind saying "Taxes? Of course! Ownership of anything is a damned fallacy!" Let's just stick with fantasy. No horrible intrusions from real life, please. I will say that I found Pratchett's metaphysical machinations interestingly elaborate, and I do wonder where he garnered such descriptions of the magical...
I was somewhat offended at Pratchett's handling of Barbarians. I felt Hrun was a direct jab at Robert E. Howard. In the end, one fantasy is as asinine as the other, no matter how seriously it doesn't take itself. You may think that I'm too serious, and can't handle a joke. How would you feel if some jackass parodied Gandalf? And really, we have enough comical Conan emulators already.
I believe that all of the hype set me up for being let down. I'm not a huge fantasy person, and it may be a while before I return to Discworld, though one day I shall return, to find if "The Light Fantastic" is worth damning.
I will admit to feeling some weak draw here, but it seemed to fizzle out at the plunge over the Edge, where the novel simply ends. If I want to read something which does not conclude, simply ceases with printed words until the next installment, I'll go for Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Discworld's an odd duck: some people prefer the earlier stuff, while others say it gets much better later. Perhaps you fall in the latter camp (I'm in the former, I actually like TCoM despite it basically riffing on Fritz Leiber.)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Hrun was a jab at Howard, so much as one at the pop culture conception of the "Big Dumb Barbarian." It was published a year after Conan the Barbarian, after all. Cohen is much more of a Conan poke, though not too bad, since he's pretty much how I'd imagine a 90-year-old Conan to be anyway!
I will say that The Light Fantastic is a marked improvement on TCoM. If that still doesn't move you, then go for one of the middle books like Small Gods or Interesting Times. Or maybe it's just not for you. Eh, that's opinions for you.