Discworld Tour: The Color of Magic

Hey, hi, hello there readers.

Chances are you've heard Terry Pratchett's name whispered on the bookish breeze. Even if you haven't, reader, fear not. I will literally never stop talking about Terry Pratchett and his books. I recommend him to everyone I meet. I have recommended him to my dentist. I'm recommending him to you, reader. I cannot be stopped. 

Anyway, welcome to my attempt to talk about a massive series of books that I have been reading since high school. A series that has spawned many a reading order list. And which I have chosen--please don't snatch my bones for this reader--to read in chronological order. That series? 

Discworld!

Art by Paul Kidby

I'm real excited y'all.

Where to even begin? Discworld is a massive series of books spanning decades of Terry Pratchett's writing career. It's a series that is technically fantasy, but always always always has something to say about the world we live in. That might be politics, philosophy, the failings of monarchy, or the tropes and tricks of the fantasy genre itself, but it is always witty and insightful and host to a colorful cast of characters each with their own faults and foibles. The Discworld books have been an integral part of my personal reading journey and every time I crack one open I find something new I didn't notice before.

These books contain multitudes, dear reader. 

Multitudes that I honestly did not get when I was in high school, I'll be honest. But worry not, reader, for these books are enjoyable no matter how much you know about Greek philosophers or the mythospace of Australia. The more you do know about the topics within, the richer the experience becomes but it isn't necessary. Honestly it's part of Discworld's charm. You can drop in anywhere in the series just to test the waters, see which characters you vibe with. Who you want to keep hanging around and reading about. 

Let me tell you a little about the series, for readers who might be feeling a touch lost.

Discworld is indeed a series of books, all talking place on the Disc, pictured above. Some of the books follow one-off characters, others keep coming back to the same set of characters. Depending on where the books are set you may see characters from other storylines pop up as well. The characters grow and the world changes as the books go on, but that doesn't mean you're obligated to start at the very beginning, Like I'm doing. Actually, most people don't recommend starting with The Color of Magic since it is the first one and there's some early installment oddities going on. I'll get to that later, however.

Another important note: Terry Pratchett does not often use chapters, There are exceptions to this, but for the most part the story just goes. I've no idea what you'll think of this, reader, but I doesn't bother me much. I am of course a known goblin who will just put a book down in the middle of a sentence. It's a habit I haven't been able to shake. Comes with sneak reading during classes, or reading on bus rides and car trips. 

Now that we're prepared for the journey ahead, reader, I think it's time I talk about the book in question. With as few spoilers as I can manage, of course.

 The Color of Magic.

The book was published in 1983 and is divided into four parts. They follow Rincewind the wizard who in this book has gotten roped into being a tour guide for Twoflower, a tourist from the the Agatean Empire (fantasy China) who has come to Ankh-Morpork (fantasy London). Oh, and Rincewind reads a spell out of a powerful spellbook which gets stuck in his head preventing him from doing any other magic. 

The whole book leans very heavily on pulpy high fantasy tropes, as does it's immediate sequel The Light Fantastic. 

In short, Rincewind is hired by Twoflower to show him the sights and shenanigans ensue winding up with them both falling off the edge of the Disc. But don't worry. They get better.

Generally in Rincewind's stories he's either hanging out with Cohen the Barbarian, Twoflower, or the rest of the wizards at the Unseen University (fantasy Oxbridge). He's a coward, loves potatoes, and has a knack for getting himself out of whatever trouble he gets into. This is his origin story, of sorts, without getting to far into the nitty gritty. Although there are some facts about the world introduced here that don't really come back. For example, the Patrician in this story is named Vetinari but he bares little resemblance to the Vetinari that pops up in the later stories. The Wyrmburg also doesn't come up again, which is a shame because it's a very interesting concept. Just one that I don't think gelled with the rest of the world Terry Pratchett wanted to create. In a sense it comes back into play during Guards! Guards! but that's a story for a later date.

Honestly, it's not hard to see why people say don't start with this book. It does not have the same tone as the rest of Terry's Discworld books. It's interesting, certainly. Some of the stuff mentioned in these pages do come back in later books. But on the whole, it's much different than the rest of the series. As I said before, it has a high fantasy vibe since those are the tropes Terry is playing with here. The other Discworld books don't tend to read like pulpy high fantasy. I'm not sure how you would describe them, but I know it's not that. 

It's short, clocking in at about 200 pages, and a quickish read. I wouldn't say it's may favorite Discworld book, reader, but it is the very first one and that counts for something.

Thus concludes the first stop on my Discworld Tour. Up next? The Light Fantastic.

Stay tuned for, reader. 

Until next time 🎃