As the second book in the Discworld series, The Light Fantastic continues the story of the wizard Rincewind and the tourist Twoflower. This is also the second book that I've read and I think that Terry Pratchett did even better with this novel than with the first. It had more of an overall purpose and really did a good job of expanding on the characters introduced in the first story.In this story, we pick up with Rincewind as he is falling off the edge of the Discworld and Twoflower is leaving in a bronze spacecraft. Suddenly, a magical shift happens and both of these men are returned to the land. They meet back up and find that they are being tracked. They journey through the land, meeting new friends and avoiding capture -- all while trying to figure out what part they have in saving the Discworld from the large red star that is heading their way.
I really enjoyed the development of the Rincewind character in this book. There are a few more books that feature him so I will definitely continue on his track. Right now, though, I think I might start a new line -- either the Witches series (Equal Rites) or the Death series (Mort). Death is a hilarious side character in these first two books and I would love to see what Pratchett does with him as a main character.
Exploring this web of a series,
K
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If you're wanting to read something with a very "What is human?" undertone I suggest the Death books, Mort is great and Reaper Man is one of my favorite books of all time.
ReplyDeleteIf you want something more about sexual equality then Equal Rites (obviously) is the way to go and Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are absolutely hilarious.
Ray- Thanks for the info on the two series. You made it quite hard to choose so I will just have to read quickly, I guess!
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting and watching the Color of Magic movie tonight and it's quite amusing and very similar to the books in the parts they used.