The Light Fantastic (1986)

The Light Fantastic begins exactly where The Colour of Magic left off, so we’re back with Rincewind and pals, and dealing with The Spell.

Unfortunately just like the first book this is very much a straightforward comic fantasy story. It is a send-up of fantasy tropes but purely for the laughs, there is very little of the social commentary and smarts of the later Discworld books.

It is still amusing and very readable however. I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. I had memories of not really liking this one, but I guess maybe my expectations were low so I ended up pleasantly surprised. If you haven’t read any of the Discworld books then you’ll have nothing to compare it to, and it won’t fall short. And a Terry Pratchett book is always fun and worth a try.

Next up, Equal Rites. ( )

Rincewind and his tourist buddy, Twoflower, return in The Light Fantastic, book #2 of the Discworld series. Rincewind is still an inept wizard, and Twoflower is still a sweetly bumbling visitor, snapping photos of everything, even Death himself.

This time, the spell Rincewind carries in his head is needed to save the Disc from doom. Everyone is searching for him, but his usual ridiculous exploits make him incredibly difficult to find. From falling off the Disc to finding flying rocks in the sky, this book is a continuation of the glorious and horrible exploits of the worst wizard in the world and the first tourist with his ever-present attack luggage.

I first read this book when I was in college in the 80s. I loved the humor and sarcastic social commentary. Then life intervened spiriting me away from Discworld for a couple decades. I come back now to discover that Pratchett increased the few books that existed back then into 40 books! I am in heaven! I wish I had read these when they first came out...but you know....marriage, kids, divorce, work....things happen. I'm just very happy to be able to re-read the books I enjoyed in the 80s and discover all the lovely tales I missed!

It isn't often that a book makes me laugh out loud. But this lovely book had me doing just that constantly. Pratchett was a wizard of words, and created such a wondrous, funny world for us all to enjoy. I hope somewhere his soul is joyously sitting at a table playing Bridge with Death, who still doesn't understand bidding conventions.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre. It's a hoot filled with intelligent, witty humor!

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This book continues on with Rincewind and Twoflower's journey, and you find out how much of a ( )

I think a lot of my disgruntlement about this book stems from the production quality of the audio book. Fun stuff, and a good read. Pratchett was so very talented. ( )

Though Rincewind is not my favorite protagonist, this one is a fast, entertaining read, like all of the Discworld novels. ( )