Redheaded Reviews: The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Set in a world called Discworld this first book in a series takes place on a planet that is atop four elephants that are atop a giant turtle. The world is flat and it is believed that you can fall off the edges of it into nothingness. There are gods who play with humans over a game of dice. In this world there is a wizard named Rincewind who isn't much of a wizard seeing as he didn't finish his training much less go to school because he snuck into a secret room where a dangerous book was held and opened it and one of the dangerous spells leaped out into his mind causing him to be unable to remember any other spells.

Rincewind runs into an oddity, a tourist, from the mythical Counterweight Continent where gold is everywhere. And this stranger, Twoflowers, is carrying a magic box made of sapient peartree that will follow and protect it's owner to the ends of the earth. Inside this box is lots of gold and he is giving it away to pay for stuff that costs much less than what is owed and is being taken advantage of. Rincewind offers his assistance and speaks a language both men can understand as Twoflower doesn't really speak the local language. He just has a phrasebook.

Soon everyone in Morpork is interested in stealing the box of gold. But they're in for a rude surprise when the box bites back. Twoflower wants to see all the rough stuff. A bar fight, heroes, dragons, and a whore house. Rincewind at first obliges but then gets the feeling that he needs to leave because the town is in danger, so he goes to buy a horse and gets brought before the law for stealing a horse that he couldn't buy with the money he gave him. The law tells him that the Emperor of Morpork wants to keep this man safe and that is Rincewind's job now and if he does the charges will be dropped.

Rincewind's feeling about the town being in danger prove prophetic because the whole town soon burns to the ground. But he and Twoflowers make it out alright. The two go on an adventure the likes of which Twoflowers is very happy about, but has Rincewind worried as hell because they keep running into dangerous situations but somehow getting out of them. And Death is chasing Rincewind who was supposed to die on the day of the fire in another city but didn't.

I had very high expectations for this book as I had heard so much about the series and how wonderful it was. Perhaps my expectations were too high as I was sorely disappointed. I can't really explain why I didn't like the book, I just didn't. Maybe it was my mood when I read it. That happened when I read the first Harry Potter book for the first time. I was bored and ended up putting it down to try again at a later date. Maybe I should have done so with this book. It ends as a cliffhanger and to find out what further happens to Rincewind and Twoflowers I guess you have to read the next book which is The Light Fantastic. I don't know if I will read it or not. Maybe this series deserves another shot after all I've heard about it. Anyway, I give this book three stars out of five stars.

Quotes

No, what he didn’t like about heroes was that they were usually suicidially gloomy wgen sober and homicidially insane when drunk.

-Terry Pratchett (The Color of Magic p 39)

Magic never dies. It merely fades away.

-Terry Pratchett (The Color of Magic p 137)

Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer to achieve immortality by not dying.
-Terry Pratchett (The Color of Magic p 213)