Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett



So it can be difficult to find a great description of such popular books as The Color of Magic, but here is some basic information. Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent novels are consistent number one bestsellers in England, where they have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody next to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.

The Color of Magic is Terry Pratchett's maiden voyage through the now-legendary land of Discworld. This is where it all begins--with the tourist Twoflower and his wizard guide, Rincewind.

Thanks to Jason for another great recommendation!

1 comment:

  1. Terry Pratchett's Discworld books did for the fantasy genre what Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy did for science fiction -- skewered it mercilessly, yet ended up creating one of the more interesting alternative worlds in literature.

    His premise was to think of the most ridiculous improbable world imaginable: a flat world (a disc) that rotates on the backs of four giant elephants standing on the back of an even more gigantic turtle flying through space. Even more improbably (?), a sun rotates around it.

    But once he created such a world, the pragmatist got the better of him. Such a world would not have north, south, east, or west, but instead hubward, rimward, turnwise and widdershins (anti-turnwise). With the rotation of the disc and the sun rotating around, each of the four seasons would happen twice. And just to be all the more peculiar, a year has 13 months and a week has 8 days (Octeday happening between Saturday and Sunday).

    Reading as the author creates, analyzes, then populates this world is a fascinating exercise in anthropology and geography, all while telling the story of the Discworld's very first tourist...

    ...and it is damn funny as well.

    You can likely blame Barry for this selection, as he is the one who introduced me to these books. You can give him what-for when we visit in October for Kay's 70th.

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