Sourcery (Mass Market Paperback)

by Terry Pratchett (Author) "There was a man and he had eight sons..." (more)
Key Phrases: assembled wizards, senior wizards, barbarian hero, Unseen University, Great Hall, Ice Giants (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This fifth Discworld tale ( Mort ), about a barely averted apocalypse there, reasserts Pratchett's adroitness as a storyteller. Inventive, satirical of the contemporary scene, Pratchett does not merely play with words, he juggles shrewd observations with aplomb. His creations are gently allegorical: for instance, the Unseen University Library is the repository of magic, its librarian an orangutan and its archchancellorship reserved for the most powerful magician, a "sourcerer" named Coin. But the author never takes himself or his message too seriously, and maintains a feather-light touch throughout. Even Death, an important minor character here, receives a distinctive voice.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"Superb popular entertainment. -- -- Washington Post Book World

"Think J.R.R. Tolkien with a sharper, more satiric edge." -- -- Houston Chronicle

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch; Reissue edition (February 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061020672
• ISBN-13: 978-0061020674
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,375 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Discworld Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's up to Rincewind to save the world. Oook!, August 24, 2002

By	Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As a big Rincewind fan, I count Sourcery as one of my favorite Pratchett novels. This fifth novel of Discworld is the first to have a real epic quality to it. Seeing as how the plot is hinged around the "Apocralypse" (even though an inebriated Pestilence, War, and Famine cannot remember the proper term for it), it pretty much has to be an epic. Ipslore was a natural-born wizard, the eight son of an eighth son, who did the unthinkable (not to mention unwizardly) act of marrying and having an eighth son of his own--a sourcerer. By tricking Death, he enters his own wizard staff and later guides the ten-year-old boy Coin in assuming the Archchancellorship of Unseen University and trying to take over the world. A sourcerer has free rein over the use of magic, unlike modern-day wizards who talk about magic but rarely perform it. Sourcerers almost destroyed the Discworld in ancient times in the Mage Wars, and young Coin sets in motion a modern-day Mage War that can only end in disaster. Only one man can stop the sourcerer and save the world--most unfortunately, that one man is the inept wizard Rincewind. His only allies are the wise and good Librarian (who happens to be an orangutan), the beautiful yet deadly thief Conina (daughter of Cohen the Barbarian), and Nigel, the skinniest hero on the Discworld whose only heroic wisdom comes from a ghost-written book by Cohen the aforementioned Barbarian. The Luggage also plays a part, but he/she/it is not there at Rincewind's side.

I love how the character of Rincewind is strengthened and expanded in this novel; he's still the funny little man in a pointy hat that we met in earlier Discworld novels, but instead of running around all over the world trying to avoid dying, Rincewind is transformed in these pages into a hero--not a very good one, of course, but a hero nonetheless. His commitment to wizardry is steadfast and firm, while the vast majority of successful wizards go along with Coin, delight in the new magical powers they gain through sourcery, and eventually wage a magical war among themselves in the pursuit of raw power. Rincewind redeems himself admirably here by actually performing some acts of bravery, risking his life--albeit reluctantly--for the sake of the Discworld.

The book starts out like gangbusters, and although it loses a little steam and wanders a little bit in the later stages, the conclusion brings everything together rather nicely. It does, however, leave a few questions unanswered for the time being. The character of Coin, the ten-year-old sourcerer, could have used more thrashing out, I felt, but Conina and Nigel are very interesting new characters in Pratchett's universe. Sourcery is overflowing with typical Pratchett humor, but it also features an exciting, narrowly-focused storyline that provides a wealth of new information about the wizards of Unseen University, the brave and wise banana-craving Librarian, and the crucial role and importance of magic in the Discworld. Whereas earlier novels sometimes seemed to have stories built around the jokes, this novel is built upon a solid foundation of an epic fantasy plot--the comedy is just icing on the cake. Of the first five Discworld novels, this is by far the most exciting and entertaining.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spellbinding tale of sorcery, May 23, 2005

By	Eileen Rieback (Coral Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When the eighth son of an eighth son has an eighth son named Coin, that child is a wizard squared - a mighty sorcerer. Sorcery makes wizardry look like child's play, and ten-year-old Coin, guided by his staff imbued with the spirit of his wizard father, wants his magical power to reign supreme over all Discworld. Starting off by usurping the position of Archchancellor of Unseen University, he proceeds to overpower anyone and anything that stands in his way. The Patrician Vetinari, and even the gods themselves, are no match for Coin. The entire future of Discworld is at stake as it teeters on the brink of the Apocralypse. No, I didn't misspell it - the Aprocralypse is an apocryphal apocalypse in which magic will destroy Discworld and the Ice Age will return.

Rincewind, the bumbling and cowardly wizard of previous Discworld books, is back to face his most daunting challenge yet as he is commanded by the Archchancellor's magic hat to vanquish sorcery and save Discworld. He reluctantly joins forces with the beautiful but fierce Conina and an adolescent barbarian-wannabe named Nijel, and together they travel from Ankh Morpork to Klatch and back using some very unusual modes of transportation. Rincewind's many-legged luggage makes an appearance as well, but it keeps wandering off and it doesn't do much to advance the story line.

Pratchett delivers another madcap adventure full of satire and spoofery. He does a wonderful job of portraying a parade of funny characters. Among them are a filthy rich Klatchian ruler who spouts bad poetry, the One Horseman and Three Pedestrians of the Aprocralypse, the orangutan librarian of Unseen University, and a genie who doesn't obey commands very well. Pratchett can anthropomorphize objects like no one else. Besides the luggage, he animates an ill-tempered magic staff and the frightened grimoires of the university library. He enlightens the reader on the nature of hit-or-miss inspiration, warns of the flaws of the wizards' genetic experiments, and presents a magic lamp paradox that even the laws of physics can't keep up with. This is a hilarious story of magic gone awry. Since it builds on the characters from the previous books of the Discworld wizard track, I suggest you read "The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic" first, if you haven't already done so. Then dive headlong into this one. You will be enchanted!

Eileen Rieback

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why wizards don't multiply, December 9, 2006

By	Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme" (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Have you ever found yourself wondering why wizards don't go forth and multiply? Perhaps it's because they're usually too old to remember how the multiplying part works, or maybe it's because they didn't have access to spam mail with all the special "performance" tablets on offer, but most likely it's just to prevent the birth of an eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son.

According to Pratchett, the little son of a gun that emerges from this equation is a super-mega-wizard called a sourcerer, someone who happens to be a source of magic and the cause of many a mage war with the accompanying wanton destruction and so on and so forth.

As you can probably tell by glancing at the title of this fifth book in the Discworld series, somewhere along the line a double eight wizard broke the rules, fell in love and had a bunch of kids, the eighth boy (this one with the unlikely name of Coin, although it DOES have a ring to it) obviously becoming a sourcerer. Soon Coin begins to cash in on his legacy, and before you know it, he's running a "Wizards Rule!!!" campaign, albeit with a little help from Dad who's sticking beside him for dear life.

Of course there's always a pesky fly or two to get into the ointment, and this time it's a mangy maggot named Rincewind (the world's most useless wizard) with his unlikely companions, Nijel the destroyer and Conina the Hairdresser (daughter of Cohen the Barbarian).

Pratchett fills this one with tons of wonderful characters, including the luggage with a mind of its own, Death with his Horseman and Three Pedestrians of the Apocralypse, a poetry-spouting royal, and a librarian who has no problems with a little monkey-business.

Insanely clever and hysterically funny.


Amanda Richards, December 9, 2006