SOUNDTRACK: hiatus
[READ: December 2021] Interesting Times
I tend to think that there aren’t that many Rincewind novels, but it’s clear that Terry liked to have him around as this is the fifth one!
I’ll also preface this by saying that some readers find this book to be problematic because it deals with people from the Aurient (Asia) and tends toward the stereotypical. I will come right out and say that some of the things said in this book were cringeworthy, and one or two things made me uncomfortable. However, keep in mind that Pratchett was clearly anti-racist in the Disc overall. The Watch is one of the most un-racist institutions in fiction.
Remember also that Pratchett was a satirist and is writing for comedy. Few people fare worse than white “European” men under Pratchett’s pen. Finally, this book is mostly meant to be about ancient China and the draconian empires. Yes, he throws in anachronisms (as he always does), and he blurs the boundaries into Japanese culture here and there–not cool. But the real targets are bureaucracy and tyranny.
The book starts out with Rincewind finally happy. That doesn’t bode well.
Then the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork receives a demand from the Agatean Empire that the “Great Wizzard” be sent to them immediately. Vetinari doesn’t know what to make of this, but it obviously involves the WIzards. All signs (well, the spelling of WIzzard) points to Rincewind. Although the “great” part surely doesn’t. But the wizards are suspicious of foreign parts and no one else wants to go, so why not send Rincewind?
In part because after Eric, Rincewind has been on a desert island. The Wizards use their machine Hex (a proto-computer) to bring him back to Anhk-Morpork. Rincewind is none too happy–he was really looking forward to the Amazon women that had just arrived on the island. They might have potatoes after all.
But Hex worked and Rincewind is back. Although soon enough they are about to send him to the Agatean Empire. The Hex works by displacing something from where you land. Which in this case was a lit cannon. It arrives in the middle of the University (the Wizards wisely put out the fuse).
Rincewind arrives and clearly magically made the cannon disappear. He IS the great Wizzard! And guess who is with him…? The Luggage! Hooray. But the Luggage has returned to his homeland–where sapient pearwood thrives. And The Luggage is having some mixed emotions about it–look at all of the other Luggages around.
Of course, Rincewind is known for running away from any danger. While he is fleeing, he runs into Genghiz Cohen the Barbarian and his band of miscreants The Silver Horde: Boy Willie, the only member of the Horde under 80; Mad Hamish; Caleb the Ripper; Truckle the Uncivil and Ronald Saveloy, or “Teach.” Saveloy is with them to teach them how to be civilized.
Are the Silver Horde settling down? No indeed, they have a plan. It’s a long plan, and it involves NOT killing everyone in their path and NOT stealing everything they see (they may be old but that just means that they have survived for nearly a hundred years each).
The story then gives some history of the Empire. A historical Emperor conquered the country with help from the Grand Wizzard and the Red Army.
Now there are five families who battle for the right to be Emperor: Hong, Sung, Fang, Tang, and McSweeney. The Empire is known for being wealthy and cultured and technologically advanced. Although it is also to be extremely violent and exerts total control of its citizens. The current Emperor has everyone so afraid that he doesn’t need whips or an army. They just all live in fear. And they are all very beaten down.
But there is a rebellious group of young people who are calling themselves the Red Army. They have been copying a manuscript that everyone in the rebel group is familiar with: What I Did on My Holidays. How can such a book be so powerful? Because it was written by the most optimistic, most not-bothered, most fearless man in history: Twoflower!
That’s right, Twoflower, Rincewind’s intrepid travelling companion is back. Turns out that he is from the Agatean Empire–something Rincewind had clearly forgotten (or never cared to remember). And as we know, Twoflower is a mild man. And his manuscript is full of mild slogans. The emperor’s vizier (there’s a very funny joke about all viziers being psychopaths) Lord Hong has convinced everyone that this new Red Army is dangerous and had them locked up. It turns out that the leaders of the Red Army are actually Twoflower’s daughters. And Rincewind manages to release them.
Butterfly, the leader of the Red Army is very, very very, suspicious of Rincewind’s skills (with very, very very good reason).
I enjoyed a lot of the moments in this story. I liked the pictogram translation jokes. And I enjoyed that Twoflower’s book, which seems so odd to Rincewind (“People in Ankh-Morpork are allowed to speak their mind and are not disemboweled”) are in fact very subversive in a country where you can’t speak your mind. Plus, everyone believes that the people outside of the Empire are even more oppressed than they are. Seeing reality is a shock and can really get people worked up. Also fun was that inflections in words can change the meaning of the sentence
The Silver Horde allows for a lot of the humor (these six old guys face a giant army and ask the army to surrender). And there’s a cool moment when Rincewind, will trying to hide, encounters the original Red Army.
A lot of things happen at the end. The most interesting is what sets up another Rincewind adventure. By triangulating Hex (who seems to be coming more and more to life, which is a cool setup for a future story as well), the cannon is sent back to the Empire (lit), but what comes back to the University is a giant rodent with a big tail and a pouch. Which means that Rincewind is now in what the map says is XXXX, known as Fourecks.
And, there’s a Dibbler there, too! Disembowel-Meself-Honourably Dibhala
I’m not sure why I haven’t included the list of all Discworld books in these posts yet, but here’s the list:
1. The Colour of Magic
2. The Light Fantastic
3. Equal Rites
4. Mort
5. Sourcery
6. Wyrd Sisters
7. Pyramids
8. Guards! Guards!
9. Faust Eric
10. Moving Pictures
11. Reaper Man
12. Witches Abroad
13. Small Gods
14. Lords and Ladies
15. Men at Arms
16. Soul Music
17. Interesting Times
18. Maskerade
19. Feet of Clay
20. Hogfather
21. Jingo
22. The Last Continent
23. Carpe Jugulum
24. The Fifth Elephant
25. The Truth
26. Thief of Time
27. The Last Hero
28. The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents
29. Night Watch
30. The Wee Free Men
31. Monstrous Regiment
32. A Hat Full of Sky
33. Going Postal
34. Thud!
35. Wintersmith
36. Making Money
37. Unseen Academicals
38. I Shall Wear Midnight
39. Snuff
40. Raising Steam
41. The Shepherd’s Crown
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