 "Pratchett has a definitive voice in fantasy." | 2010-02-24 |
| - Reviewed By A. Burdick from Pennsylvania |
As far as fantasy stories are concerned, this is a solid introduction into the fantasy land of Discworld that Pratchett has created. I enjoyed the witty banter between the two protagonists and it seemed to me that this was the focus of the story; the relationship between Rincewind and Twoflower.
It was an enjoyable, fun book that sets itself up well for the other stories within this plot-line. |
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 "Its strength is also its weakness" | 2010-02-03 |
| - Reviewed By R. Baltrush from Connecticut USA |
It is rare to find a book where its strength is also its weakness. However, such is the case with The Colour of Magic. As a satire of the fantasy genre, the book has no boundaries and succeeds and fails for it. The author takes aim at a number of cliches and stereotypes and succeeds about 66% of the time. However, the author seemed to want to skewer so many different cliches that the narrative connecting them suffers. It reminds me of a movie parody a la Scary Movie. Whether the movie/book works depends on how skillfully the disparate scenes are connected. Here, the connections are hit and miss.
At times, it seems like the author paints himself into a corner and just makes up some ridiculous to solve the problem. For instance, at one part of the book, the two main characters are falling to certain death from several thousand feet in the air. All of sudden - Whoosh - and they are on an airplane on an alternate world for a page or two and then - Whoosh - they are back in their own world miles away and several thousand feet over water. In the next paragraph, they are washing up on an island. It makes the reader go Wait, What, how did they survive the fall? Absent these distracting occurrences, the novel is otherwise entertaining and original. I can't help but think i missed some of the references and satire due to the age of the book, but the ones i caught i mostly enjoyed. Reasonably entertaining, but i will not be continuing the series. |
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| "High Expectations, Unsure Delivery" | 2010-01-17 |
| - Reviewed By Canuckster1127 from Sterling, VA USA |
The circles I run in have been touting the merits of Terry Pratchett for as long as I can remember. I've always enjoyed well written fantasy having read many of the standards in the genre, but for some reason I just haven't "gotten around" to Pratchett's Discworld.
Having the Kindle now removed on of the barriers (cost and convenience) and so I went ahead and searched out what was the first book in the series, downloaded it and read it.
All in all, I had a little difficulty entering into the flow of the novel. The writing was strong and very humorous in places. I had difficulty however, in following some of the plot and transitions which were just a little too random and disjointed for my taste. A little investigation led me to discover that this is not an unusual first response to this series and that later editions of this book in hard-copy come with a map and with some supporting material to help provide some better contextual overview than what the text by itself does.
As good fantasy usually does, there are strong anchor points within the book that tie back to our more mundane and predictable world. The characters are well developed and cast more in the light of anti-hero which provides for plenty of irony, dry humor, sarcasm and puns, which brings the book into line with other strong offerings in this genre such as Adams, Anthony and Asprin.
All in all, I'm inclined to go further in this series in the belief that the quality will stay the same or improve and that the elements that felt confusing on this pass through will clarify.
I think however, that based on my experience and the observation of others, that I'd recommend that this book be purchased in hard-copy and not on the Kindle for those who want to enter into the experience more fully with the additional resources that the Kindle does not have.
4 Stars. 5 for the story, 3 for the Kindle version and splitting the difference.
bart breen |
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| "A Strong, Not Great, Start" | 2010-01-03 |
| - Reviewed By P. Barrett Coleman from Richmond, VA |
This is only my 2nd discworld book under my belt, the 1st being Small Gods which comes much later in the series. This is important because so many people started in different points in the series and this obviously affects the reviews concerning this novel.
I felt like this was a strong start to the series, although not as good as Small Gods. I kept getting the sense that there was a lack of control; the story was all over the place, the characters lacked consistency, and the humor was bare. Of course, all of those are comparing it to my previous experience with Terry Pratchett's writing, meaning this: the novel is an enjoyable read on most standards! I can see where many of the motifs for the series are slowly being built and how the principal foundation is being laid.
Reading other reviews, I get the same kind of sense after reading this novel: Pratchett hasn't hit the stride yet he finds a few books in. I hope to find that this is true when I continue to read the series. But, if the rest of the novels are at least on the level of The Color of Magic, I'll be more than satisfied. |
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 "goes beyond satire and into a gem of the genre" | 2010-01-02 |
| - Reviewed By Kelsey May Dangelo from Vermont |
| Rincewind, perhaps the worst wizard of all time, whose cowardice is so great that it might turn out to be bravery and heroism, finds himself employed by enthusiastic tourist Twoflower due to being threatened by Twoflower's super-powered luggage. Wacky adventures across the magical realm of Discworld, involving game-playing gods, Death, dragon riders, the most heinous creature of all time, dull-witted heroes, and a demon-powered camera ensue. All in a refracted mirror of our world, where magic is common, troublesome, and dull. Pratchett's prose, characters, and imagination rival that of the comic genius of Douglas Adams. It is a book to be savored while simultaneously being devoured. Also, anyone within earshot will wonder why you're laughing. Fantastic, juicy book. Absolute candy. Grade: A+ |
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| "great book" | 2010-01-01 |
| - Reviewed By Tanya Komatz from Wisconsin |
| the first of a series of books and i would recommend reading this one first and get to know the magical world discworld |
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