My Terry Pratchett Day

In which I read "The Colour of Magic" and "The Last Hero" (the latter also illustrated by Paul Kidby).

Unlike Gary, my affair with fantasy stories did not start from young. In fact, pre-Edding days, I used to profess downright disdain for them. I really didn't dig fantasy in those days. A chance encounter several years ago, where I picked up one of Eddings' book, changed my opinion, and I haven't looked back since. Today, I count Eddings, Holt, and Pratchett among my favourite authors now. Amongst others of course.

But that is neither here nor there. The purpose of this post is not to reminisce about my reading journeys, but to talk about these 2 books. Pardon the digression!

"The Colour of Magic"

"Colour of Magic" is Pratchett's first book in the Discworld series. Rincewind, Twoflower and the Luggage are the main characters of this book. R's the inept wizard who only knows 1 spell and can't say it, because it's one of the great (7+1) spells of the world. Twoflower's a tourist to the Disc (the fantasy world created by Pratchett), determined to see the world of the Disc and he brings with him the Luggage, a "being" made out of sapient pearwood who is ridiculously attached to his owner.

It's a comical tale, to be sure, and rather satirical in that they managed to weave modern day concepts such as insurance (or "inn-sewer-ants") and economics (forgot the Pratchett version of it) and have so much fun mocking it. There's quite a bit about mocking authority, ineffability and hero-bashing in there too. O, and not to forget Death, whom I understand is a central figure in the Discworld series. His way of speaking in CAPS, and his favourite motto that death comes to everybody, even to wizards, actually reminds me of Death, a character in Neil Gaiman's book too.

Geek rating for TCM: 4 out of 5

"The Last Hero"

One other taste that I acquired alongside fantasy books is also reading graphic novels. The Last Hero is an interesting mix of both. 3 central groups of characters make up the story: the Gods, the Wizards and the Silver Horde, a band of bona fide heroes who want to literally go out in a blaze of glory by challenging the Gods. The Wizards, for their part, are determined to step in to stop the apocalypse from happening.

Not to forget a ministrel who has been abducted by the Horde to sing the legend of the Heros.

If I'm not wrong, the book also satirises da Vinci, the inventor. In a bid to reach the abode of the Gods, he invented flight, but was made to undertake a massive painting enterprise for punishment. The similarities to the real painter are so obvious, it's quite hard to pass up, no?

And therein I think lies the genius of Pratchett. He manages to weave in many aspects of the real world in his fictional world, in a fashion so subversive and absurd, it makes you want to laugh at the world you live in.

I end this post with one of my more memorable quotes from "The Last Hero", being, "And Carelinus wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer." Haven't the faintest idea why I liked that though.

Geek rating for TLH: 4.5 out of 5