Customer Reviews

The Colour of Magic (Discworld Novels)

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Fantasy has never been one of my favorite genres, but I decided to give the magical world of Discworld a try at the suggestion of several friends. I am very glad I did. This turned out to be a very different kind of fantasy, in spite of its wizards, trolls, and dragons. Discworld is a flat planet resting on the backs of four elephants riding on the back of a turtle that slowly makes its way across the universe. As strange and steeped in magic as Discworld is, it seems suspiciously like our own world. Its inhabitants have some very familiar vices and pastimes. Author Terry Pratchett is a wonderful cross between Douglas Adams, Piers Anthony, and Mark Twain, and his Discworld novels are full of great fun, inventiveness, and wicked satire.

"The Color of Magic" is the first story in the series. This paperback edition comes with an appendix that makes a handy travel guide for first-time tourists of Terry Pratchett's amazing fantasy land. It includes a brief musing on Discworld, a synopsis of the main cast of characters in the series, a nonmap (after all, how can a sense of humor be mapped?), a guide to Discworld on thirty dollars a day, and even a crossword puzzle to quiz you on what you have learned on your maiden voyage.

The bumbling wizard Rincewind, a wizard college dropout and the quintessential coward, is appointed as guide and protector for the four-eyed tourist Twoflower, who hails from a gold-rich city on the Counterweight Continent and who has come to the bustling metropolis of Ankh-Morpork to see the sights. As the story opens, Ankh-Morpork is in the process of burning to the ground, and Rincewind and Twoflower are fleeing to safety. Accompanied by a frightening piece of many-legged luggage, the twosome experiences one misadventure after another. They are threatened by thieves and magic spells, made pawns in a dice game of the gods, dogged by Death, chased by dragons around the upside-down mountain of Wyrmberg, and shipwrecked at the edge of Discworld. The end of the story leaves the reader hanging in midair (literally), but that's OK - because there are many more volumes that follow in this richly creative and hilarious series. These novels are like potato chips - bet you can't read just one!

Eileen Rieback

This poor book has been badly insulted by a number of latter-day Terry Pratchett fans such as myself, people who must shamefacedly admit that we began the Discworld series in the middle with "Small Gods" because of the shiny turtle on its cover. But "Color of Magic," the first book in the series, does not deserve such disdain.

For the yet untutored fan, "Color" is a great starting point to learn about the Discworld. The book is short, using most of its plot to describe the geography of the Disc and to introduce the earliest hero of the series, a cowardly and untalented wizard named Rincewhind. He's a thaumaturgical flop, but a comedic king.

Most of the Discworld novels are complex satires of our own world. "Color" begins, though, as a straight spoof of the fantasy genre. It isn't even a complete tale without the following novel, "The Light Fantastic." But it's the first bright grain of sand in the vast, murkey Nothing. Pratchett's own imagination was already birthing such wildly beautiful concepts as intelligent luggage and working classed pixies. Slightly philosophical police already skulk through the fans' beloved city of Ankh-Morpork and try not to be noticed by any criminals.

This book stands well enough on its own merit. It is a fun, Saturday afternoon romp that lets folks laugh at the "in" jokes of the fantasy genre. Non-Discphiles can file it next to "Bimbos of the Death Sun" by Sharyn McCrumb or "Bored Of the Rings" by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney. Pratchett fans can tell themselves that the author has done better. Sure he has. The next book was better, and the one after that was jaw-dropping, and the next was eye-popping ... so don't knock "Color of Magic" until you've grokked it. If you really must be dazzled, go find the book with the shiny turtle on it.

"The Colour of Magic" is the first, and obviously the oldest, of the now infamous "Discworld" series. More than ten years since originally published, the book is still attracting new readers - me among them - who have gone on to purchase each and every one of the series. High praise indeed? Read on...

The general plot of Pratchett's novel is a romp around a fantasy world. A place where the world is flat, and people who tried to show it was round were proven wrong years ago. It's carried through the cosmos on the back of four giant elephants, the magnitude of whom is so great that simply trying to imagine it makes your head spin. Even more mind-boggling, these elephants stand atop Great A'Tuin, the star turtle, who moves with extreme deliberance over tens of thousands of years, and has thoughts so vast that time itself pales into insignificance.

Our heroes? Well there's Rincewind, the dropout wizard who failed Unseen University, the Wizard's universal school in all dimensions including ours, and TwoFlower, the tourist with the living luggage (and what stroppy luggage it is too). Happening upon each other in a pub, Rincewind finds the odd fellow strangely endearing; mainly because he is paying for a pint of ale with three times the value of the pub in solid gold. Their quest leads to run-ins with goblins, the local malitia, an entire array of very scary trees, demons with a penchant for the number eight, the local barbarian (who is usually for hire) and a crackpot set of scientists determined to travel to the edge of the world, and beyond...

Pratchett's writing style is both warm and intoxicating. He involves the reader from the very first page with such wild fantasy that it simply must be true! His wacky, irreverent humour is simply so fresh that I have not encountered such entertaining and strongly visual prose since Douglas Adam's and his series of books including "The Hitch Hiker Guide to the Galaxy."

If you're a little mad at heart, love a new perspective on things and want to be thoroughly engaged in a genuinely fun read that you won't want to put down till it's finished (and the fact that it isn't written in chapters aids to this end) then this book is an absolute must. Thoroughly recommended!

This is the Big Bang of Terry Pratchett's massive Discworld series. The book that gave birth to the craze.

Those who have read the other Discworld books first before reading 'Colour of Magic' may find this book not as funny and the writing not as smooth. That is to be understood. It is the first book after all.

Well known characters may also seem different. Death is potrayed as Death should be; dark and sinister. It is a contrast from his later appearances, especially in his own books 'Mort' and 'Reaper Man', where he (it?) is more...well, funnier. Other Discworld regulars also make their first appearances here such as the Patrician and the City Watch officers. Oh, the famous Mended Drum (Ankh Morpork's hippest hangout) is featured as well in the early part of the book...but something happens to it.

In fact, something happens to at least half the city. It catches fire. Then it floods. The inept wizard Rincewind swears its not his fault. Nor is it Twoflower's. It just so happens that trouble is attracted to them like pubescent boys are to Britney Spears.

Rincewind is a failed wizard with only one spell in his head. A spell so powerful other spells run away. Twoflower is a tourist from a faraway land who wants to see the fabled city of Ankh Morpork. Rincewind has to look after him and make sure he's not hurt by order of the Patrician...or else. Of course this being Rincewind and the world being the Disc, a nice leisurely stroll through the sights and sounds of Ankh Morpock are well nigh impossible. Its more like a gallop.

'Colour of Magic' reads like a typical fantasy novel like 'The Hobbit' albeit with more jokes. The reader is roller-coastered from one mishap to the next with a permanent grin on his/her face.

And that's all your face will probably make. A grin. Not a chuckle. Nor a guffaw. Read the other Discworld books if you want to laugh out loud. Especially the ones that feature Death or the City Watch. Saying that though, 'Colour of Magic' is still a good book from the fertile mind of Terry Pratchett. After all, if it wasnt good enough there wouldn't be a Discworld series.

3 stars.

After reading lots of young adult books, I decided to try out the big kid's version of "The Edge Chronicles". To tell the truth, this book has been sitting on the shelf for over six months, because of all the frightening reports - why go willingly into a situation that is widely known to be addictive?

I was hesitant to get involved, but a chorus of voices kept haranguing me to make the first step, and weakened by a lack of excuses, I succumbed.

This is actually a very complicated book, due to the various levels of humor, from slapstick to dry one-liners, expertly delivered in an incredible fantasy setting. After you get a basic understanding of the geography of the Discworld, and work out the meaning of "hubward", "rimward", "turnwise" and "widdershins", and that there are eight seasons, you can enjoy the relatively simple story that unfolds in the last two thirds of the book. Beware though of the many familiar references to our own world, which are thrown in randomly to retard your progress while you stop to consider them.

A bungling wizard (with a charmed life and one good spell in his arsenal) gets saddled as a tour guide to a naive visitor from another continent. Unfortunately, the tourist has a lot of gold to throw around, and this leads to all kinds of unwanted attention from the dregs of society. Luckily for the tourist, he has a very useful piece of luggage that doubles as a body guard, and is self-transporting with a built in homing device - a dream suitcase if there ever was one.

Here there be trolls, barbarians, bandits, beauties, dragons, magic, deities, and even Death, who gets quite stressed on the job, and really needs a holiday.

Now that I'm corrupted, I need volunteers to feed my habit. Buddy, can you spare a rhinu?

Amanda Richards, February 28, 2005

Originally published in 1983, "The Color of Magic" begins one of the most popular (the author's books account for a little over 1% of all book sales in Great Britain!), prolific and unique series to be found in any genre. While it has its precedents, perhaps, in the short stories of Fritz Leiber (in the opening to this book Pratchett pays homage to Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser with his characters Bravd and the Weasel), and Pratchett's style of humor has been admirably imitated in works such as Steven Brust's tales of Vlad Taltos, Pratchett remains the master of fantastic satire, punning and poking fun at fantasy as well as the society that has spawned it. Had the cast of Monty Python chosen to write fiction, it is likely work such as this would have sprung from their endeavors. And I suspect there are many who read Pratchett that touch no other fantasy.

While replete with the delightful and bumbling cast of characters and imaginative, often perverse circumstances that typify and enrich Pratchett's later work, this novel nonetheless lacks the focus of much of the author's best stories, essentially a rather rambling and loosely constructed saga comprising four separate tales, patched together by the shared setting of Discworld and the characters of Rincewind, Twoflowers and the inimitable Luggage. Because of this, despite its uproarious moments of humor, it is not entirely successful. However, it is our introduction to Discworld and The Great A'tuin, Unseen University and the precincts and denizens of Ankh-Morpork, with its guilds of assassins and thieves, and so many other settings and characters that are so memorably evolved in the later books that one would be bereft were one not to begin the Discworld series here. Even with the loose composition and shifting, often abrupt turn of events, the rich humor and satiric moments that enliven and punctuate all of Pratchett's prose are in ample evidence here, foreshadowing the gems that are to follow. And, compared to the vast waste of ordinary, commonplace fantasy published each year, any work by Pratchett is certain to shine out like a star lighting the night.

Don't fail to read this: you're in for some real fun!

Open the door to your mind and let a bizarre vision enter. It's a Discworld, resting on the backs of four elephants, who stand on a massive tortoise swimming through space. There's magic here, symbolised by the eighth colour of the rainbow - octiron. There's little magic done in this story, but the tale itself is more compelling than any stage sleight-of-hand. For while there are trolls, dryads, barbarian heroes, it is the real people who are the focus. Publishers, notorious for lacking a sense of humour, label this book "Fantasy". Don't be fooled. This book is the first step in a journey to face ourselves - a tramp to realms of reality, presented with wit and wisdom.

Rincewind, a failed "wizzard" is given the task of guiding, and guarding, the Discworld's first tourist. Originating in the Counterweight Continent, Twoflower is an insurance clerk. He knows about the "reflected sounds of the underground spirits" - echo-gnomics. Introducing the concept to the denizens of Ankh-Morpork, the Disc's greatest city, proves disastrous. Rincewind, who knows the City is experienced in disasters, is more concerned with his own survival, which is threatened at every turn. Yet, like the City, he bounces back to confront the next crisis. He has some help, in the form of one of the Eight Spells, which, if improperly invoked, may distort Time and Space. It's a heavy responsibility, especially for one who's so adept at dodging such burdens.

While the magic is subdued, nothing subdues the gods but each other. Overseeing the Discworld, the panoply of deities idle the days with The Game. The contenders, Blind Io, chief of the gods, Offler the Crocodile God, and Fate, cast dice to guide the movements of the Board's pieces. These, of course, are Rincewind and other denizens of Discworld. Logic says Fate must be the ultimate winner, but The Lady is a strong opponent. She is the one goddess who arrives at her own whim, as Rincewind learns to his distress.

All these deities, characters and events are presented in the most compelling style. Pratchett is a master of language and offers levels of wit, pathos, characterisation and story rarely matched and never excelled. He also adds science to a field usually devoid of real knowledge. The combination is explosive, while demanding reflection. For that is the purpose of his writing - to mirror another world, ours. There's a laugh per page, but when you've wiped your eyes, you'll realize there's far more here than humour. Start with this volume and be prepared to continue the trek. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I enjoyed this book enormously and went on to read the sequal: The Light Fantastic. I was put off by Equal Rites because it doesn't feature Rincewind, but when I eventually read it I went on and read loads of the series. At the time of reading the book I would have awarded 5 stars, but now having read the others, I can safely say Pratchett gets better and better and 3 stars is a comparison to his fantastic and hilarious later books. The first book is a little too obsessed by the number eight and the principles of Gods. Pratchett has eased up on the warped Adams / Rankin style and moved to a simpler and frankly more sane approach that works a dream. Now, if only Christmas would hurry up and with it a copy of the Lost Continent and the others...

After reading some heavier material, I picked up the first Discworld book and was very pleased. I feel like lots of fantasy writers fail to write compelling stories because they spend most of their energy trying to convince the reader their world is real and gritty and serious.

Not Terry Pratchett. There's not a serious bone in this book's body. It's funny from start to finish and slaps nearly every fantasy convention in the face, repeatedly, and without regret. The characters are memorable, from the inept Rincewind the wizard (who doesn't really do anything very wizardly) to the tourist Twoflower (whose delightful naivete carries the book forward when it seems cornered) to the Hrun the Barbarian (testosterone anyone?) and finally to the Luggage (a dedicated chest made of sapient pearwood that has quite the appetite when it comes to munching bad guys).

I recommend this book to people who love fantasy and possess even just a single ounce of humor. Pratchett caters to the absurd lunatic in us all, and delivers a very silly, very satisfying story on a pretty platter called Discworld.

The Color of Magic is the first in the extremely long and growing Discworld series. In the first novel, the central character is Rincewind, a failed wizard with a craven nature. Rincewind meets up with the Discworld's first tourist, an insurance salesman named Twoflower from a far-off continent. They pair up because Rincewind seems to be the only person in the city who can speak a common language with Twoflower. Together, they maneuver themselves through various situations, manipulated by the gods who sit above and move them like game pieces in some contest only they understand. And Twoflower's luggage, made of sapient pearwood, loyally follows along with them wherever they go.

Through this premise, they encounter a series of adventures that parody the fantasy genre. They run afoul of a dragonrider enclave, a reference to Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, and a fairly amusing one. There were a few other obvious tributes for veterans of the genre. Bravd and the Weasel were clear references to Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Hrun the Barbarian is a standard Conan type. We are introduced to various aspects of the Discworld itself. The physics of the seasons of a flat world with an orbiting sun, and the terminology resulting from its nature, detailed in an early footnote, were interesting.

The problem with the story is that it's just a little ... dull. I did like the book, but not as much as the other Discworld books I've read. I'd read this one years ago, and the disappointment I'd felt in it after hearing so much about Discworld put me off reading any other Discworld books for a long time. But constant raving by the loyal fan base caused me to abandon my misgivings and read more of the seires. And I'm glad I did. But even after rereading the first one with a little more of the series under my belt, I decided it wasn't just a first impression. This is just not as good as some others in the series. The series can't be judged by its beginning.

This story was a little too much of a revolving door of other stories and characters. I'm not that fond of Rincewind, the main character in this one. He's not very interesting, and after a while I found him a little annoying. The tourist character, Twoflower, wasn't really consistent. Throughout most of the book, he's a sort of blissfully ignorant, cheery rube, blundering on protected from harm by his own inability to understand the danger he's in. But at a couple points in the book he becomes uncharacteristically angry or wise. Also the first time he's described, the writer says he has four eyes, but it's not really clear that this is because the person viewing him has never seen eyeglasses before. And also somehow Twoflower at some point becomes able to converse with people besides Rincewind without having a common language.

There are a few good funny lines in the book, but not enough to really say the book was funny cover to cover. There were a couple parts where I did really laugh out loud, but not enough to call this pure comedy. Pratchett is often called the "Douglas Adams of Fantasy," but I feel the comparison to Douglas Adams isn't really accurate. The sense of humor is vaguely similar, but The Hitchhiker series had something funny on almost every page, sometimes at the expense of the storytelling, which suffered a little bit with the side-conversations that went nowhere just for the sake of a laugh. For the most part, The Color of Magic was pure parody of the fantasy genre, and the humor is more subtle. Expecting a quotable "joke" as often as in the Hitchhiker series is bound to lead to a disappointment.

The other Discworld books I've read are better than this. Fortunately, one doesn't need to read all the books sequentially to get the most enjoyment out of the series. Although there are over 30 books already, there are several smaller subseries focusing on various characters. I'll probably skip all the ones that focus on Rincewind, but I plan to read several more in the series. If this is the first Discworld book you read, you may also be put off the series, but I assure you, it gets better.