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Archive for the ‘Rincewind’ Category

Terry Pratchett–The Last Hero : A Discworld Fable (2001) [Discworld #27] [Rincewind/Wizards #7]

Posted in Anachronisms, Carrot Ironfoundersson, Death, Discworld, Funny (ha ha), Hex, Josh Kirby, Leonard of Quirm, Magic, Mustrum Ridcully, Ponder Stibbons, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Bursar, The Chair of Indefinite Studies, The Dean, The Lecturer in Recent Runes, The Librarian, The Senior Wrangler, Wizards, Wizards on June 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: March 2022] The Last Hero

The Last Hero is a Discworld illustrated short story or fable .  Really what that means is that there’s only one main plot line since most Discworld stories have multiple plots that interweave and then come together.  So it doesn’t really feel short because a full adventure happens–just without all of the ancillary characters.

And, perhaps most striking for any Discworld book is that this one is fully illustrated by Paul Kidby.  Only every other page is full text. The rest are half picture or full picture.  But the pictures are also very deatiled and will keep you busy for a while.  This particualr version has 16 all new pages of illustrations.

The Last Hero is Cohen the Barbarian.  We last saw him in Interesting Times when he became the Emperor of the Agatean Empire.  But, well, being in charge of things is kind of boring.  And, frankly, it’s no way for a hero to go out.  When one of the Silver Horde died by choking on a concubine–I think you mean cucumber– Cohen decides they need a plan.  So he gathers the rest of the Silver Horde for one last adventure.

The very first hero, “Fingers” Mazda, stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind (analogous to Prometheus), and was chained to a rock to be torn open daily by a giant eagle as punishment.  Cohen’s plan is to give the fire back–in the form of a giant explosive packed into a large sled filled with explosive Agatean Thunder Clay. They plan to blow up the gods at their mountain home, Cori Celesti. (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–The Last Continent (1998) [Discworld #22] [Rincewind/Wizards #6]

Posted in Anachronisms, Death, Discworld, Disembowel-Meself-Honourably Dibhala, Funny (ha ha), Hex, Josh Kirby, Magic, Mustrum Ridcully, Ponder Stibbons, Racism, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Bursar, The Chair of Indefinite Studies, The Dean, The Lecturer in Recent Runes, The Librarian, The Luggage, The Senior Wrangler, Wizards, Wizards on June 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: March 2022] The Last Continent

The Last Continent in Discworld is Australia. Or as Pratchett says “This is not a book about Australia. No, it’s about somewhere entirely different which just happens to be, here and there, a bit Australian.  Still… no worries, right?”

In the previous Rincewind story, he was sent to Four Ecks in exchange for a kangaroo.  He has been there for a time and has been adjusting reasonably well–only nearly everything wants to kill him.

But suddenly he meets Scrappy–a talking kangaroo.  Scrappy believes that Rincewind is a hero of sorts who is going to bring the wet (Rain) back to the continent.  Turns out that it has not rained in Four Ecks for a long time, although it is surrounded by forbidding storms that make the continent almost inaccessible from outside.

Four Ecks is also a time travel parody of sorts, because Rincewind is able to see himself (and the other wizards) in cave paintings that are thousands of years old but which just appeared in front of him.

Meanwhile, back in Ankh-Morpork, the librarian seems to be going through something.  His magical field (which tunrned him into an orangutan) seems to be failing.  He keeps turning into various shapes, and the senior wizards (Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully, The Dean, The Bursar, The Chair of Indefinite Studies, The Lecturer in Recent Runes, The Senior Wrangler, and Ponder Stibbons) are keen on fixing him–even if that means turning him back human–which he does NOT want, Indeed, the librarian destroyed all record of his original name–which would be essential for creating a spell to revert him to his original shape.

They decide that Rincewind might know a thing or two about the librarian since he was the librarian’s assistant.  They think about dragging Rincewind back, but soon realize the danger of that (and actually stop their plans before anyone can get hurt). (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Interesting Times (1994) [Discworld #17] [Rincewind #5]

Posted in Anachronisms, Death, Discworld, Disembowel-Meself-Honourably Dibhala, Funny (ha ha), Josh Kirby, Magic, Racism, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Luggage, Wizards, Wizards on January 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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). (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–(Faust) Eric (1990) [Discworld #9] [Rincewind #4]

Posted in Anachronisms, Death, Demons, Discworld, Funny (ha ha), Josh Kirby, Magic, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Luggage, Wizards, Wizards on September 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: September 2021] Faust Eric

Eric has always been a bit of a puzzle to me (until I recently used the internet to clarify things).  The title has always been listed as Faust Eric, which I always thought was funny (ha ha funny).  But it was really short and some people didn’t seem to consider it a proper Discworld book.  Or something.

So it turns out it was originally a “Discworld story,” published in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby.  So it was sort of like a storybook rather than a novel.

And obviously, it’s a play on the Faust story, which if you’ve forgotten: Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.

It’s also the fourth Rincewind story.  I guess leaving him in the Dungeon Dimensions wasn’t cool for Terry. (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Sourcery (1988) [Discworld #5] [Rincewind #3]

Posted in Coin, Conina, Death, Discworld, Funny (ha ha), Lord Vetinari, Magic, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Librarian, The Luggage, Unfinished series, Wizards, Wizards on September 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: Summer 2021] Sourcery

This story follows up on some of the ideas in Equal Rites.  In that books we learned that the eight son of an eighth son was destined to be a Wizard.  But the eighth son of a Wizard–which shouldn’t happen since Wizards don’t have relations.

But in this story, an excommunicated Wizard (he DID have relations) had a eighth son whom he named Coin.  He wanted to take revenge on the Wizarding world because of how they treated him and what better revenge than to create a Sourcerer.  A Sourcerer generates power rather than using it.

A few years later, Coin goes to Unseen University and overthrows the current Archchancellor Wayzygoose.  (The Archchancellor role becomes more stable in a few books, which is what I remembered).  Coin, being a strong presence and the kind of person who can Set Things Right, is embraced by the Wizards (who are pretty susceptible to this sort of thing).  It turns out that Rincewind (and his Luggage) as well as The Librarian (who is a Wizard that was tuned into an orangutan and does not want to be turned back) were not at the University when this all went down.  So they’re aware that something is suspicious about Coin. (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–The Light Fantastic (1986) [Discworld #2] [Rincewind #2]

Posted in Anachronisms, Death, Discworld, End of the World, Funny (ha ha), Magic, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Luggage, Trolls, Twoflower, Wizards, Wizards, Ysabell on September 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: Summer 2021] The Light Fantastic

After finishing the cliffhanger ending Colour of Magic, I quickly started book two.

Unlike the previous book, this one feels like a full novel–one story about the coming end of the Discworld.

Rincewind and Twoflower (with the luggage) have just fallen of off of the Disc.  The one wonderfully convenient thing about writing about wizards and magic and such is that you can have pretty much anything happen.

We learned early in book one that Rincewind had read a spell from the Octavo–the most powerful book of magic (so powerful that it was locked up and it had been assumed that no one would ever open it)–nice job Rincewind.  The spell then became lodged in Rincewind’s mind.  It has tried on occasion to get out (bit thankfully it never has).  It has also prevented Rincewind from learning any other spells–but that’s his problem. (more…)

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