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Terry Pratchett

The Color of Magic (Discworld) Mass Market Paperback – January 29, 2013

by Terry Pratchett (Author)

6,168 ratings

Book 1 of 40: Discworld

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The first novel in the hilarious and irreverent Discworld series from New York Timesbestselling author Terry Pratchett.

A writer who has been compared to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, and Douglas Adams, Sir Terry Pratchett has created a complex, yet zany world filled with a host of unforgettable characters who navigate around a profound fantasy universe, complete with its own set of cultures and rules.

Imagine, if you will . . . a flat world sitting on the backs of four elephants who hurtle through space balanced on a giant turtle. In truth, the Discworld is not so different from our own. Yet, at the same time, very different . . . but not so much.

In this, the maiden voyage through Terry Pratchett's divinely and recognizably twisted alternate dimension, the well-meaning but remarkably inept wizard Rincewind encounters something hitherto unknown in the Discworld: a tourist! Twoflower has arrived, Luggage by his side, to take in the sights and, unfortunately, has cast his lot with a most inappropriate tour guide—a decision that could result in Twoflower's becoming not only Discworld's first visitor from elsewhere . . . but quite possibly, portentously, its very last. And, of course, he's brought Luggage along, which has a mind of its own. And teeth.

Print length

277 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper
Publication date

January 29, 2013
Dimensions

7.4 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
Lexile measure

890L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Ingenious, brilliant, and hilarious.” (Washington Post)

From the Back Cover

Imagine, if you will . . .

a flat world sitting on the backs of four elephants who hurtle through space balanced on a giant turtle. In truth, the Discworld is not so different from our own. Yet, at the same time, very different . . . but not so much.

Start reading The Color of Magic: A Novel of Discworld on your Kindle in under a minute.

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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0062225677
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; Reissue edition (January 29, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 277 pages
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 890L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.4 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #7,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Humorous Fantasy (Books)
- #394 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
- #714 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
6,168 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
4 star		19%
3 star		9%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Sarah T

Not my favorite in the Discworld series

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2018

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This is the first book in the Discworld series, but my 6th Discworld book that I’ve read. I started with the Tiffany Aching series (which was a great introduction to Discworld!), and thought I’d go back and start at the beginning.

I really loved the Tiffany Aching series, but struggled to get immersed in this book. I found I wasn’t nearly attached to any of the characters in this book compared to Wee Free Men where I was immediately invested in Tiffany, her brother, and all the Nac Mac Feegles. The one “character” in Color of Magic that I somewhat cared about was Twoflower’s Luggage. I think what made this challenging to get in to the book was the main storyline was interrupted with snippits of “gods” controlling movement or position of the characters, and I still don’t know what that was about.

I loved all the descriptions of Great A’Tuin, the giant turtle on which the four elephants that hold up Discworld are standing on. There’s a lot of great stuff in this book, I just found a lot of plot not very interesting.

I am going to keep reading Discworld, because I believe there are more Discworld books out there that I will really love. I am so glad I didn’t start with this one, because there’s no way I would have continued the series based on this book. I love Pratchett’s later writing style and have high hopes for other Discworld books, especially the Witches series.

31 people found this helpful

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Michael Bartok

Great intro to the Discworld

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2016

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This is at least second time that I've read The Color of Magic. I am a die-hard Terry Pratchett and I absolutely love the Discworld. While I find this first book in the series somewhat less developed than the later books, it's still a great read. I can really see how far PTerry developed both the world and the characters when I compare this book with the later ones. I understand that most people don't actually start with this first book, but it really is a great jumping in point because the stories and the characters only get better with each successive novel. I highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who loves fantasy and humor. You can't beat PTerry's wisdom or wit.

74 people found this helpful

Helpful

"Sure," said Rincewind. "What heroes like best is themselves."

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2017

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Wow. I don't know how it is I've never read a novel of the Discworld before, but I am tremendously grateful to have rectified this oversight.

A failed wizard. A tourist from an unknown place. Semi-sentient luggage. A somewhat easily thwarted Death. These are the characters we follow across a world that ranges from sort of traditional fantasy to science fantasy. In the course of this tale, they will encounter great heroes, sometimes misunderstood villains, locales that are bigger on the inside than the outside and strange gods that seem to have only moderately more understanding of things than our protagonists.

His comedic presentation is undeniable. The scope of his creativity is as impressive as it is daunting and his perspective is unique and utterly refreshing. Dragons as creatures of pure creation, powered by imagination and an active mind? Death (as a conscious, if somewhat imperfect entity) that becomes petty when unable to collect its due, so instead it collects the life of a nearby cat (leaving it with the magic eight instead of the normal nine lives)? The fact that, on occasion, falling from great heights permits trans-dimensional travel? Genius.

Pratchett's prose is eminently accessible, which makes this book not only a breeze to read but rather difficult to put down. He may not have the sheer command of language that Vance and Leiber did, but he is every bit their equal in terms of sheer imaginative prowess, wit and tale-telling. Truly, one of the titans of fantasy and an incredible storyteller.

TLDR: A must read for any fan of humorous, ingenious and surreal fantasy. On to the quotes:

"Precisely why all the above should be so is not clear, but goes some way to explain why, on the disc, the Gods are not so much worshipped as blamed."

"He's got a box with a demon in it that draws pictures," said Rincewind shortly. "Do what the madman says and he will give you gold."

"No, what he didn't like abut heroes was that they were usually suicidally gloomy when sober and homicidally insane when drunk. There were too many of them, too."

"The Disc gods themselves, despite the splendor of the world below them, are seldom satisfied. It is embarrassing to know that one is a god of a world that only exists because every improbability curve must have its far end; especially when one can peer into other dimensions at worlds whose Creators had more mechanical aptitude than imagination. No wonder, then, that the Disc gods spend more time in bickering than in omnicognizance."

36 people found this helpful

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James B.Top Contributor: Batman

The start of a wonderful journey.

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2017

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I waited far, far too long to start reading this series, but now that I've started, I'm never going to be able to stop. Pratchett earns his title of one of the best fantasy writers in existence, combining large scale, intricate world building with hilarious prose.

The story starts off with telling us what's so special about Discworld. Disworld is actually a flat plan, a 'disc', if you will, resting on the back of four giant elephants, which are themselves standing on the shell of an even more giant turtle crawling through space. Things only get more ridiculous from there. Pratchett introduces us to two great characters. The first, Rincewind, is a washed out drop out of the local wizard college, who a knack for both languages and finding his way to trouble. The second, Twoflower, is a foreigner bored with his life as an insurance salesman, who comes to Rincewinds city as tourist looking for adventure, and willing to pay for it handsomely. Together, the two traipse across the Disc on all sorts of wacky adventures.

I want to compare Pratchetts writing to Douglas Adams, or even Kurt Vonnegut, but that wouldn't be accurate. Those authors are massively cynical, and while Pratchett can do satire, his humor is much more kind-hearted. You really just need to read the book for yourself to see what I mean.

31 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

ValinKent

The first Discworld novel - but don't read first!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2020

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Normally I would always recommend reading this great series in sequence from start to finish, but when I first read this book it was, fortunately, some time after I had commenced my discworld adventure by accidentally starting haphazardly with Guards Guards, Men at Arms, and Mort. This first novel is Sir Terry finding his feet. Most notable is the way in one major character, found in most of the books, Death, evolves from the rather unlovable personality in This book to the multi faceted and complex character discworld fans know and love. There seem to be various ideas and characterizations that are being tried out and discarded to better effect in later novels....ways of speaking, unpronouncable names, brainless barbarian heroes (the glorious Conan introduced in a later novel is a much more original and interesting personality) , an inferior Patrician etc....even the use of chapter headings. Had I read Colour of Magic before reading some of Sir Terrys subsequent work I probably wouldn't have bothered with the rest of discworld and what a loss to me that would have been. There's nothing wrong with the book and by the end of it you can see Rincewinds personality really beginning to take shape. So, it's certainly worth reading it but not in my opinion, first, as it is inferior in quality of writing to his other books, but it is a great way to consider how from this slightly experimental beginning such a glorious series of novels developed that I have read several times.

18 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Reading through the set again is such fun

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

I have read the vast majority of the Discworld books but wanted to go back to the start and do it all again.

This is a great book and had reintroduced me to some old favourites... I intend to read in order, not that you have to but knowing some of what's to come makes me want to.

Great standalone story or the start of a long and very enjoyable experience, you decide.

22 people found this helpful

Bookmarked Reviews

What a treat!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

How much magic, peril and adventure, how many wizards, heroes, dragons and trolls, how much wit and laughter is it possible to squeeze onto a disc carried by just four elephants standing on a single, albeit giant, turtle? The sky is the limit, but only if your name is Terry Pratchett.

The Colour of Magic will take you out of the grim reality of the year of the pandemic and into multiple fantasy worlds where everything is completely other-worldly and belly-laughingly hilarious.

Twoflower, a tourist who arrives in the city of Ankh-Morpork (on its rougher side) acquires special protection from a (failed) wizard Rincewind, primarily because of his Luggage which is filled with riches the criminal fraternity of the city has never seen before. Like a caterpillar, The Luggage travels of its own accord, using its many busy feet, and that’s not even the most puzzling thing about it . Rincewind and Twoflower meet villains, dragons, trolls and all matter of characters who either assist or obstruct them on their travels. And then they come to the edge of the disc. I can’t say anymore but the story doesn’t end there – not quite, not once, and not in the conventional sense of the word.

I reached for The Colour of Magic to shake off the blues of last year. I remembered reading I Shall Wear Midnight many years ago with my daughter, and I wanted to recapture that old magic. I definitely achieved that.

4 people found this helpful

oldMark

Good introduction to the Discworld series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

This first book introduces you to the Discworld and explains about it's various continents and seas, via a hilarious story line following the exploits of two loveable characters, who feature in a few of the later books too. Couldn't put the book down once I'd started it, and I only stopped when my Kindle needed a recharge. Can't wait to get to grips with the next book in the series.

8 people found this helpful

slr

What’s the fuss about ?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

I was recommended this series for my 11 year old , who is a prolific reader . He handed it back to me after 50 pages as he just couldn’t follow what was going on ... and wasn’t intrigued enough to persevere . So I had a go ... it took me a while to figure out was going on , more than the 50 pages my son managed. It was very densely and imaginatively written , lots of detail about the characters and their environs . Terry Pratchetts mind must have been a very crowded place! I liked the dry humour in places , but the plot itself really just didn’t grab me . The writing felt too detailed for the strength of the plot. I doubt I’ll pick up another Terry Pratchett book - a shame , my son works through authors so quickly

6 people found this helpful

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