OptionalBooks

Doesn't pop

The wizard Rincewind only knows one spell, but is afraid to cast it, because he doesn't even know what it does. But, sensing an opportunity for rich payment, he becomes a guide for the tourist Twoflower. The two survive the temple of Bel-Shamharoth, fight against and fly on dragons, and sail to the literal edge of Discworld.

As a short summary, this reads like an exciting fantasy adventure. And it does contain even more of what you'd wish for: magical swords, dungeons, trolls, thieves' guilds, dryads, treasure, Death, etc. What's missing is a sense of direction. There is no quest, no goal to be accomplished, no evil plot to thwart. The protagonists stumble—quite literally—from one (parody of a) fantasy trope to the next, with little justification for it all.

This is the first book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe. It succeeds in being a whirlwind tour of his whacky world, endearing characters, and style of humor. But it also fails in many ways, most of which regard the narrative and its structure.

For one, jumps between locations and characters to tell multiple perspectives or introduce characters complicate the narrative unnecessarily. Secondly, some information is repeated multiple times. The book is split into three arcs, which could be considered independent short stories, and each of those contains an explanation of how Rincewind learned his spell and what Discworld looks like. When reading the book all the way through in one go, this doubling—or tripling—of information is a tad annoying. Lastly, the way the protagonists get in and out of trouble, and move around the world is often much too arbitrary to deliver a satisfying narrative. They get teleported, dimension shift, or saved by word of God, all at random.

This last point especially is a result of putting the comedy before the plot. Above, I very consciously lauded the style of humor, and not the comedy itself. The style is good, there's clever puns, creative mashups, parodies, and subversions. But it's all too much here. The protagonists get thrown where there's jokes to be told or tropes to be parodied, and when that's done, they get pushed along with such force as to give the reader whiplash.

Even though this is the first book in this setting, it's not a good starting point for new readers. I can only recommend the other plot line I've read so far, which starts with The Wee Free Men. That one's as funny, but got much more heart as well.

___ Reach out via Mastodon @Optional@dice.camp or shoot me an email