Customer Reviews

The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable

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4 star:		(27)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're new to the Discworld, then "The Last Hero" is not the place to start. Sure you can read and still enjoy it but you'll enjoy it even more if you already have some background knowledge of this wonderful fantasy world (like why is the Librarian an ape and how come the best lawyer in Ankh is a zombie?)

For those of us who have joined the roller coaster ride that is the Discworld novels, this coffee book production is must have if only for the great Kidby artwork. In fact, I think the book was more Paul Kidby's than Terry's. The all-too-short story, it seems to me, played second fiddle to the visualisation of well known characters like Rincewind, Carrot and Cohen.

Saying that though, the tale isnt half bad. Old Cohen the Barbarian, last seen in "Interesting Times", goes on a final big quest. He and his compatriots, the Silver Horde, may not survive the quest. Thats not the problem. The problem is Cohen's quest may cause the end of all life on the Disc. Enter Rincewind....

After growing up reading Disc books with cover art by Josh Kirby, its quite strange (but not much) to see a different version of well known characters. Rincewind as drawn by Kidby is younger and Carrot more handsome. The Librarian is...dare I say it?...cute and Ponder Stibbons looks like Harry Potter.

But the most beautiful of all are the splash pages throughout the book. Great A'Tuin, City of Ankh-Morpork, the sea water dropping off the edge of the Disc, the Silver Horde with Cohen leading the charge....Simply eye candy par excellence!

Also, check out the 'Mona Lisa' in page 30. Better than the original HAHAHAHA!!

Finally, this is also the first Discworld novel that share the same cover in both UK and US. Usually, the US covers are just dead boring. How come they cant use the Josh Kirby covers for the American editions?? Too much red tape??

In his second collaborative Discworld 'picture' book (the first Being "Eric", which never received a proper release here in the States), Terry Pratchett shows that the momentum he seems to have regained in his last two or three books continues to mount. While the story is his shortest novel yet, it's packed with enough adventure for two of his regular novels.

Featuring not only Cohen the Barbarian and Rincewind, but also Carrot, the wizards of Unseen University and Leonard of Quirm, he somehow manages to combine the legend of Prometheus with the Apollo Program while tossing in evil overlords, Schrodinger's Cat and everything you ever wanted to know about dragons.

The story is vintage Pratchett and the illustrations are all gorgeous. While sometimes threatening to overwhelm the text, they work to immerse us in the Discworld in a way that, surprisingly enough, surpasses Pratchett's usual work. From beautifully rendered characters and Discscapes to the notes of Leonard and technical schematics, they give you the feeling of a Discworld almost real enough to touch.

If you're a Terry Pratchett fan, I can't recommend this book enough. Even with the somewhat steep price tag, it's well worth adding to a Pratchett collection. If you're not overly familiar with Pratchett, I recommend starting at a different book in the series, perhaps "Guards! Guards!" or "Small Gods" and then moving on to this one after getting a feel for the series. However, once you've gotten a feel for the series, definitely come back to this one.

Terry Pratchett has been writing books about Discworld since at least the mid-1980's. From that time on I have loyally followed it's eccentric denizens as they scooted about on the only turtle-powered world in the universe. Pratchett normally leaves us wondering exactly what it all looked like. Not that he doesn't write good descriptive prose, mind you. But all those places and characters are enough to severely stretch the imaginations of forgetful folks like me. While there seem to have been some recently illustrated work, most of it has refused to appear in my local bookstores. Well, thanks to illustrator Paul Kidby and "The Last Hero," all that's been fixed.

The work in question is a Discworld novella, totaling 160 pages of large print with a lot of illustrations. Even in this short space, Pratchett manages to put together his usual twisted, acerbically written plot. Genghiz Cohen the (nonagenarian) Barbarian and his equally Silver Horde have set out for their last quest - to return fire to the gods. After countless efforts at dying heroically they have decided to force the issue, and intend to use the Discworld equivalent of a hydrogen bomb to do it. They are aided in this hero-brained scheme by Evil Harry Dread the Dark Lord, the now gray-haired Vena the Raven-Haired (AKA Mrs. McGarry), and bring along a desperately unwilling minstrel to take notes.

Earnestly trying to prevent Cohen's immolation of Cori Celesti, the Mountain of the Gods, is an equally motley crew. The wizards of the Unseen College have appealed to Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, for support in preventing an act which will destroy all magic and shut down Discworld permanently. Vetinari enlists Leonard of Quirm (best known for dangerous inventions and pictures whose eyes follow you around) to figure out how to get to Cori Celesti in time to stop the Heroes. Leonard invents the first spacecraft, powered by swamp dragons, and crewed by Leonard, Captain Carrot of the Watchmen, and Ridcully the Inept, one of Pratchett's oldest characters. Oh, stowaway duties are done by the Librarian, an orangutan wizard.

Pratchett is at his tongue in cheek best. I counted about 10 dire quips on each page, so expect to do a lot of smirking and giggling. Pratchett has no qualms about parodying himself, and he does so with relish. The plot, which is great fun, often gives away to the sheer exuberance of being able to say sarcastic and witty things at will. And fans will spend hours picking out various Pratchett characters and figuring out in which book they first appeared. Of course, DEATH makes his obligatory appearance.

And did I mention the illustrations? Paul Kidby is the perfect illustrator for Pratchett. He has a good sense of both the dramatic and the humorous and a detailed colorful style that harkens back to the illustrations on the old witch books. I never once felt that he had gotten a figure wrong. This is absolutely the perfect present for a Pratchett fan. It has a bit of a sticker shock to it. But for us addicts, it's worth it. The rest of you should run off to a bookstore where you can snort and smirk for free, and peek at it first. Then come back and buy it here at a discount.

Cohen the Barbarian (lately Genghiz Cohen, Emperor of Agatea) and his Silver Horde (they used to be a Golden Horde, but that was before what hair they have left went grey) have set out on one last grand and pointless adventure; Cohen plans to swarm the mountain of the gods and "the last thief will return what the first thief stole".

For those who wonder just what that means, the first thief is currently chained to a mountainside with an eagle tearing at his liver, and Cohen has a large barrel of Agatean Fire Clay[1]...

And, if he succeeds, it's the End Of The World.

And so the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork turns to the wizards of Unseen University and to Leonard of Quirm[2] to figure out how to stop Cohen.

As usual, Leonard has An Idea.

And so Leonard, Captain Carrot of the Watch and Rincewind, the reluctant wizard[3] set out in the Discworld's first spacecraft to orbit the Disc and get there in time to stop Cohen and company.

Unlike the usual Discworld adventure, this is a large-format book with illustrations by Paul Kidby[5], and the illustrations (while not essential to the story) are hilarious and complement Pratchett's inspired satirical insanity brilliantly.[7]

As usual, though, one can count on Pratchett to hold up a twisted mirror to our own world and to make a few Telling Points here and there.

And -- mirabile dictu! -- Archchancellor Ridcully seems to be beginning to understand some of the implications of quantum theory as it applies to magic and the (more or less) Real World.[8]

[1]Not to mention a kidnapped minstrel to write the saga after it's all over. It is required by The Rules that Heroic Deeds be recounted in sagas.

[2]Usually kept locked up in a tower -- he's a Really Nice Fellow and brilliant painter who can't help inventing things that people with the Wrong Sort Of Minds (most people, actually) see all sorts of potentials for bigger and better mayhem in.

[3] Recently appointed Chair of Cruel and Unusual Geography at UU, on account of having seen so much of it in a lifetime devoted to hair-raising escapes, Adventures[4] and general Running Away.

[4]An Adventure, properly defined, is someone far away having a truly terrible day.

[5]Not to be confused with the late Josh *Kirby*, who painted the definitive Discworld covers, which we don't get to see in the States.[6]

[6]This fact (and the Generally Awful covers the books *have* had in the States) may be part of the explanation of why the Discworld books don't sell better Over Here...

[7]Probably the best of all of the illustrations is the one printed Very Faintly across a two page spread that is almost invisible -- Kate missed it entirely until i showed t to her -- of Cohen and Blind Offler in the poses of Adam and Jehovah from the Sistine Chapel. Cohen, however, is not limply holding out his hand for the Divine Spark.

[8]And Ponder Stebbins has been promoted from the High Energy Magic department of UU to Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic.

This is a short story, a novella at most, but it's wrapped in the gorgeous illustrations of Paul Kidby. And while the story is short, it features the Patrician, Cohen and the Silver Horde, Carrot, Leonard of Quirm, the Librarian and, once again in an astronaut, er..., chelonaut suit, Rincewind.

Cohen and the Silver Horde (except Vincent the Ripper, who choked to death on a concubine) are on a final heroic quest: they are going to return the fire that was stolen from the gods. With interest. And while anyone can sympathize with their grievances, it will mean the destruction of the Disc. So it's up to our favorite characters from Ankh Morpork to stop the unstoppable.

The plot's not bad, but the illustrations range from quite good to jaw-dropping stunning. In particular, I was knocked over by the drawing of Elephant-rise from the Disc's moon. A conscious parody of the famous NASA photo of earth rise from the moon, it transcends parody and makes the Disc suddenly real. As others have noted, Death and the kitten is pretty fine, too. Kidby has thought it through.

Even in a novella, Pratchett manages to introduce a memorable new character, perhaps the best since Bilious, the Oh God of Hangovers from "Hogfather." Evil Harry Dread, and his Shed of Doom, a Dark Lord who has always played by the Code, always hired really stupid henchmen, and always left a back way into his Tower of Doom.

So Evil Harry, Cohen and his Silver Horde, the gods themselves come to a final confrontation at the home of the gods, Dun Manifestin, with the future of the disk itself at stake. Will the Ankh Morpork chelonauts arrive in time? Will the disk be saved? Does Rincewind _really_ look like that? Can Pratchett possibly top this?

Great fun, wonderful art and another excellent entry in the Discworld series.

This is the pseudo-Latin motto of the brave space adventurers of Pratchett and Kidby's The Last Hero. If you're surprised to find that it translates to "We Who Are About To Die Don't Want To", this must be your first trip to the Discworld.

In many ways this is the most epic of all Discworld adventures. The travels of Cohen the Barbarian (and cohorts) and Rincewind the coward (and companions) take us to Dunmanifestin (home of the gods), over the edge of the Rimfall (where we discover there are actually people living on the SIDE of the Discworld -- I sense a future tale being set up) into the void, over the shell of the mighty spacefaring turtle A'Tuin and through the legs of the giant world-carrying elephants, and to the surface of the moon itself. And happily, the Librarian is along for the ride (though, sadly, the Luggage makes only a cameo appearance).

And the illustrations of Paul Kidby give the tale an extra dimension of wonder; each gorgeous, hilarious, perfectly-rendered painting builds upon the words and makes the story deeper and richer. The artwork is not simply slapped in between chapters, but rather is integral to the advancement of the story. The sketches from Leonard's notebook are vital to the story, and the renderings of Death cradling a kitten, and of Ponder Stibbons wearing his "Actually I AM a Rocket Wizard" T-shirt are priceless in their own ways. Kidby's art is a great asset, and I am already hungry for another collaboration between him and Pratchett.

My only complaint is that the story itself feels a bit choppy. The situations and the character moments are among Pratchett's best -- especially Rincewind's resignation to his participation in the dangerous adventure, and his regrettable familiarity with space travel, Cohen and his Silver Horde, and many other hazardous elements he has spent his cowardly life trying, but miserably failing, to AVOID -- but the actual flow of the story feels, at times, forced and awkward, as if Pratchett were trying to work around the artwork and not quite succeeding. It's not a bad story by any stretch of the imagination, but it's less cohesive than some of his other works and could have used another go-through by an editor. But still, a slightly less than his best effort from Pratchett is miles ahead of the best works from most anyone else.

In short, The Last Hero is an absolutely essential addition to the library of any Discworld fan, as well as the library of any fan of humor, fantasy, adventure, just plain good writing, or wonderful art.

It's not so easy to assess The Last Hero. Terry Pratchett gets top billing as the storyteller, but the book is largely the work of illustrator Paul Kidby. Not that the tale (a chronicle of the heroic attempts of Rincewind and his colleagues to prevent the destruction of Discworld as Cohen the Barbarian seeks, with the rest of the Silver Horde, to go out in a blaze of epic glory) is dull. Yet, the small-ish amount of space given over to yarn spinning does not allow for the virtuosic narrative sweep (and dust mopping) typical of Pratchett's full-length works.

On the other hand, the drawings of Kidby, who usually gets a cover credit at best, are witty and artistically astounding (although readers who wish to form their own visualizations of Rincewind, Leonard da Quirm, and other Discworld regulars are advised to avoid The Last Hero), replete with their own versions of Pratchett-style puns, references, and inside jokes.

Discworld fans will find plenty of allusional nuggets, including Apollo 13, The Right Stuff, Casablanca, The Ring, arras work, Michelangelo, famous gladiatorial phrases, The Last Flight of the...something--Icarus, maybe--and a whole lot more.

Overall, The Last Hero is a worthy addition to the library of any Discworld aficionado, or at least to his coffee table.

This is fantastic ! I've been a Pratchett fan for quite a long time now and he just keeps surprising me. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, he just comes up with something totally new ! OK, I have to admit it, the story isn't as good as some of his others. Well, maybe "good" is not the right word, ofcourse the story is good, but it's just not as complicated, as detailed as the other masterpieces Terry gave birth to. It is more of a slideshow of all the witty characters he's been creating during the past decades. For a die-hard DW fan like me, reading this book was like coming home from an unforgettable holiday and looking at all those incredibly funny pictures I took there. And then Paul Kidby, he is unbelievable ! I do like to draw myself, but the day I create something that's even half as fantastic as Kidby's works of art, I'll buy all the people who've read this review a copy of my favourite Pratchett book, "Wyrd Sisters". What more does any sane man desire than a combination of Terry's great writing talent and Paul's magical drawing hand ? The best way to describe what it feels like to read this book, is to compare it with the books I read in my childhood. I just felt 7 again; reading a wonderfull tale about heroes and magic, made even more wonderfull by marvellous drawings. Every page you turn is a revelation, opens a new world of colours and words. I found myself staring at the pictures as if I were a little boy, seeing his first airoplane. And what is more honest than the amazement and the pure delight of a child ? Just buy this, you won't regret it !

...Pratchett books are too short. This (sigh!) is the
shortest of the lot. Other than that, of course, it's
marvelous.
We last met Cohen the Barbarian and his antique
superheroes when they conquered the Counterweight Continent
in _Interesting Times_. With nothing left to conquer, they
give up the easy life that has already taken one of their
number. They are going to climb Cori Celesti, the impossibly
high central spire of Discworld, and return fire to the gods
- in the form of a barrel of gunpowder. The resulting
explosion in Dunmanifestin, the godly city, will destabilize
the entire world.
To stop them, Unseen University is launching an
experimental ship, powered by belching mini-dragons, off the
edge of the Disc. Designed by Leonard of Quirm, its orbital
path should land it on the mountain in time to stop the
attack.
Once again, Pratchett takes the ridiculous and raises it
to the sublime. Truckle the Uncivil, Boy Willie, and Mad
Hamish (in his wheelchair) can't take on the gods! But when
they do, we'll learn something about how to remember real
heroism. The terrified minstrel dragged along behind Caleb
the Ripper and grandmotherly war-maiden Vena the Raven-haired
learns how to write a song remembered forever. Leonard of
Quirm, the innocent super-genius, can design an possible
flying machine in his head, but stands in awe, painting the
grandeur he views from space.
There is clearly some Pratchett soul in Leonard, and
Rincewind the Wizzard, and even in Evil Harry Dread (the last
Dark Lord). Likwise, Paul Kidby has contributed part of his
being to everything from group shots of the gods, to the
masterful turtle-elephants-Disc views, to the dozens of
(Leonardo de Vinci) fantasy/technical drawings of dragon-
powered aircraft and self-filling ink quills.
This is a marvelous book to the very last page - Kidby
gives us rubies sprouting flowers in the snow. Pratchett
gives us an immortal saga on a lyre made from a skull and
broken wires, about five heroes who weren't sure they were
dead. (Well, if you're not sure, steal the flying horses of
the Valkyries who come for you and head for other worlds.)
"No one remembers the singer. The song remains."

This is a great book.

I think everyone will enjoy it.

For someone unfamiliar with Terry Pratchett's novels, it is a marvelous introduction to his Discworld. Technically, it is fantasy, but in truth you won't find more realistic characters in any other author's books.

And, long time Pratchett fans will marvel at the quality of the writing and the splendid illustrations.