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A review by chrisbiss
The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
3.0
I'm reading all of the Discworld novels in publication order.
I was - still am, in fact - sure that I'd read this before, but it must have been so long ago that I've forgotten literally all of it. Reading it today was like coming to it for the first time, which was fun.
Where The Colour of Magic feels sort of half-formed, The Light Fantastic feels almost exactly like the Discworld we know and love. Gone is the picaresque structure. We have an actual honest-to-god plot this time, and we're no longer dabbling in pastiche of other series (Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Dragonriders of Pern, etc.). This is very much its own thing, and it's much better as a result of that.
I don't really love Rincewind as a main character, if I'm being honest. The picaresque structure may have gone but Rincewind is still very much a picaresque-style hero. The events of the book largely happen to and around him rather than being driven or directly influenced by him. That's fine but it's not the kind of story I'm drawn to, and for me the book suffers as a result of that. That's not to say that there isn't plenty to like here, though. The Luggage is a delight, and the aging barbarian Cohen is wonderful. It's also very fun to see glimpses of characters who will be important in later books (namely Death's daughter Ysabell, and Mort - who is mentioned but never actually seen). I don't know if Chancellor Galder Weatherwax is ever mentioned again in the series but it's fun to see that name pop up so early, too.
This is a definite step up from The Colour of Magic and really feels like the first "proper" Discworld book. It's a shame, really, that you probably do need to know the history of Rincewind and Twoflower to get the most out of it, because if it worked well as a standalone I think I'd happily advise people to start here. I think Pratchett's decision to largely write standalone novels rather than direct sequels from this point on was a smart one.
Very excited to move on to Equal Rites next.
3/5: I liked it. "Solid 6 out of 10".
I was - still am, in fact - sure that I'd read this before, but it must have been so long ago that I've forgotten literally all of it. Reading it today was like coming to it for the first time, which was fun.
Where The Colour of Magic feels sort of half-formed, The Light Fantastic feels almost exactly like the Discworld we know and love. Gone is the picaresque structure. We have an actual honest-to-god plot this time, and we're no longer dabbling in pastiche of other series (Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Dragonriders of Pern, etc.). This is very much its own thing, and it's much better as a result of that.
I don't really love Rincewind as a main character, if I'm being honest. The picaresque structure may have gone but Rincewind is still very much a picaresque-style hero. The events of the book largely happen to and around him rather than being driven or directly influenced by him. That's fine but it's not the kind of story I'm drawn to, and for me the book suffers as a result of that. That's not to say that there isn't plenty to like here, though. The Luggage is a delight, and the aging barbarian Cohen is wonderful. It's also very fun to see glimpses of characters who will be important in later books (namely Death's daughter Ysabell, and Mort - who is mentioned but never actually seen). I don't know if Chancellor Galder Weatherwax is ever mentioned again in the series but it's fun to see that name pop up so early, too.
This is a definite step up from The Colour of Magic and really feels like the first "proper" Discworld book. It's a shame, really, that you probably do need to know the history of Rincewind and Twoflower to get the most out of it, because if it worked well as a standalone I think I'd happily advise people to start here. I think Pratchett's decision to largely write standalone novels rather than direct sequels from this point on was a smart one.
Very excited to move on to Equal Rites next.
3/5: I liked it. "Solid 6 out of 10".