4 out of 5 Stars
Welcome to the first instalment of our Terry Pratchett DiscWorld Read-a-Thon! Follow the read-a-thon and see what everyone else though of this book here!
Nina at The Cozy Pages
Meeghan at Meeghan Reads
Kathy at Pages Below the Vaulted Sky
Didi at Didi Oviatt
Alicia at Miss Honeybugs Reads & Crafts
Nicole at The BookWorm Dinketh
Emma @ The Stride of my Step
Synopsis
Together in one volume, here are the first two Discworld novels, featuring Rincewind the wizard and his Luggage, Twoflower and innocent tourist and Cohen the Barbarian, the world’s oldest and greatest hero. And not to mention Death, who’s not so bad once you get to know him.
My Thoughts
This book is so nostalgic to me! Sadly, I almost rated it a 3.5 though just because it’s only the first novel.. but that world building!! No one can build a world as intricate as Sir Terry Pratchett. He came up with EVERYTHING! The lay of the land from what the world is built on (The Great Turtle A’Tuin and a Disc held up by 4 Elephants), the Directions (Hubward, Rimward, Turwise and Widdershins), and the way the seasons work… I’ll let you figure that one out yourselves…. mind. Blown.
I think that I probably love this book more having read the whole series before in my life and, going back, seeing how much foreshadowing and build up there is for the rest of the series (anyone who DIDN’T like this book, remember that it gets SO MUCH BETTER! This is just the prequel to so much.)
Is it strange to have a favourite character that really does nothing at all??? The Luggage is my FAVOURITE!!!
I just picture that luggage like a faithful dog that you never wanted, and Rincewind’s poor fate to have to deal with it was hilarious,
“In any case, he told himself with sinking heart, the damn thing would follow him again. It had that dogged look about it. Even if he managed to get to a horse, he had a nasty suspicion that it would follow him at its own pace. Endlessly. Swimming rivers and oceans. Gaining slowly every night, while he had to stop to sleep. And then one day, in some exotic city and years hence, he’d hear the sound of hundreds of tiny feet accelerating down the road behind him…”
And, poor Rincewind, always thinking of money over his own safety and sanity. He’s such a wonderfully sarcastic character who always seems to get dumped on with the most ridiculous tasks that are harder than a job “juggling snowballs through Hell”
“You don’t understand at all,” said the wizard wearily, “I’m so scared of you that I’m suffering from an overdose of terror right now. I mean, when I’ve got over that then I’ll have time to be decently frightened by you.”
The one thing that I ABSOLUTELY loved, is the insertion of real world concepts into this world that is so foreign, you get an introduction to a world so different than our own and than you meet a character like Twoflower who is introducing normal things into this society,
“Inn-sewer-ants,” repeated Rincewind. “That’s a funny word. Wossit mean?”
“Well, suppose you have a ship loaded with, say, gold bars. It might run into storms or be taken by pirates. You don’t want that to happen, so you take out an inn-sewer-ants-polly-sea. I work out the odds against the cargo being lost, based on weather reports and piracy records for the last twenty years, then I add a bit, then you pay me some money based on those odds-“
“-and the bit-” Rincewind said, waggling a finger solemnly.
“-and then, if the cargo is lost, I reimburse you.”
“Bloody hell,” he thought. “he’s alive! Me too. Who’d have thought it? Perhaps there is something in this reflected-sound-of-underground-spirits?” It was a cumbersome phrase. Rincewind tried to get his tongue round the thick syllables that were the word in Twoflower’s own language.
“Ecolirix?” he tried. “Ecro-gnothics? Echo-gnomics?” That would do. That sounded about right.”
I learned a lot from this book, as Sir Terry Pratchett turns logic, and everything you thought you knew, on it’s head,
“Lightning is the spears hurled by the thunder giants when they fight,” it said gently. “Established meteorological fact. You can’t harness it.”
“All cats can see into the octarine.” (the basic colour of which all other colours are merely pale shadows impinging on normal four-dimensional space. It is said to be a sort of fluorescent greenish-yellow purple.)
I love the references from my childhood,
“Here’s another fine mess you’ve got me into,” he moaned and slumped backwards.” (full disclosure, I grew up with a father in a Laurel and Hardy fan club… if you don’t know who they are, they’re a comedy duo from the 20s-40s and they were AMAZING! Please check them out!!)
And DEATH!!! I can’t forget about him! And, I can’t wait to learn more about him!!! He has to be one of my favourite characters in this series!!
“Death, insofar as it was possible in a face with no features, looked surprised.
RINCEWIND? Death said, in tones as deep and heavy as the slamming of leaden doors, far underground.
“Um,” said Rincewind, trying to back away from that eyeless stare.
BUT WHY ARE YOU HERE? (Boom, boom went crypt lids, in the worm-haunted fastnesses under old mountains….)
“Um, why not?” said Rincewind. “Anyways, I’m sure you’ve got lots to do, so if you’ll just-“
I WAS SURPRISED THAT YOU JOSTLED ME, RINCEWIND, FOR I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THEE THIS VERY NIGHT.
“Oh no, not-“
OF COURSE, WHAT’S SO BLOODY VEXING ABOUT THE WHOLE BUSINESS IS THAT I WAS EXPECTING TO MEET YOU IN PSEPHOPOLOLIS.
“But that’s five hundred miles away!”
YOU DON’T HAVE TO TELL ME, THE WHOLE SYSTEM’S GOT SCREWED UP AGAIN, I CAN SEE THAT. LOOK, THERE’S NO CHANCE OF YOU-?
Rincewind backed away, hands spread protectively in front of him. The dried fish salesman on a nearby stall watched this madman with interest.
“Not a chance!”
I COULD LEND YOU A VERY FAST HORSE.
“No!”
IT WON’T HURT A BIT.
“No!” Rincewind turned and ran. Death watched him go, and shrugged bitterly.
SOD YOU, THEN, Death said.
All in all it is such a fun book that really sets the tone and builds the world for the rest of the series. I can’t wait for everyone to see where it’s all going and get introduced to some other residents of Discworld!
BUY YOUR COPY HERE!!!
The Colour of Magic is Best Served with a Tipsy Turtle
This drink is in honour of the Great A’Tuin! As the first book in the series I figured we could give a cheers to the Turtle that holds up this world!! CHEERS TO THE GREAT A’TUIN AND DISCWORLD! 🍻
“Although the disc’s sun is but an orbiting moonlet,its prominences hardly bigger than croquet hoops, this slight drawback must be set against the trmendous sight of Great A’Tuin the Turtle, upon Whose ancient and meteor-riddled shell the disc ultimately rests. Sometimes, in His slow journey across the shores of Infinity, He moves His country-sized head to snap at a passing comet.”
Ingredients
- 1oz White Rum
- 1 oz Melon Liqueur
- 2 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 oz Sweet and Sour mix (I replaced this with soda water as I’m not a huge fan of drinks that are sweet and it was still good!)
- Ice
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a glass full of ice and stir.
- CHEERS!!
Lovely review 💜 Nicole 💜
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Thank you! 😊💖🍻
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Ahaha oh god, maybe I was too harsh on the book. 😆 But I have ZERO doubt I’m going to like the books more and more, and it’s pretty awesome to see you get all geeked out on nostalgia! 😛 Oh and the luggage IS pretty awesome!!
Also that drink looks DELICIOUS. I had no idea melon liqueors were a thing!
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I was almost a little harsh on it myself! He gets a little heavy on the world building (of course he is trying to build a world worthy of 41 books!), and his writing style is a little…. Frantic? At times it’s almost like someone with ADD wrote the book! But, I LOVE his world and I’m a huge fan of weird and frantic, so it’s right up my alley!! 😂😂
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anyone who DIDN’T like this book, remember that it gets SO MUCH BETTER! This is just the prequel to so much….. HAHAHAHAHA
Will post in a bit.
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Ha ha!!! Hey, I didn’t name you SPECIFICALLY! I just meant that in GENERAL… I SWEAR! 🤣🤣💖 No worries, Nina. I didn’t know if I should take you off the list. I got so busy with all this work garbage that I myself was up until 3:30am finishing the book and getting my post up!
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Lol. No worries. I’ve always meant to try Terry Pratchett books anyways. I finished the post and it will go up around 2 as I’m giving the book blitz feature I also had scheduled today it’s time as the top post.
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3:30… jeez!!! Early to bed tonight!
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I haven’t even slept… There was a miscommunication between my man and I yesterday, I thought I had a ride into work on my first day at my new store… And I didn’t. So, I have 30 minutes late and essentially had to run the hr to work… Then I wasn’t in the system and didn’t have a code to the lock on the backroom (thankfully, I’m a smart gal and figured out the old manager’s passwords and got myself in!) but the run there locked up my back and neck somehow and I can’t move… So, I’ve been up all night in pain. So far my move to the new store has been… Awesome. 😕
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Oh crap.
I hope it gets better… it has to!!!!
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We can hope!! 😀😀🐻
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Omg seems like we have the same favorite characters! hahaha!! cheers to the great A’Tuin which we still don’t know what gender it is :PI need to keep reading the book! the graphic novel was good but now I want to enjoy those tiny details omitted in the adaptation. I can feel the love you have for this series! Thank you for doing this read-a-thon possible ❤
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Ha ha! It’s funny that you want to go to the book, meanwhile I want to go to the graphic novel!! 🤣🤣 I want to see what they took out!! 💖🍻
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Hahaha! Yes! And i would love to hear your opinion about it 😉
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Fantastic review and love all the images with it!!
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Thank you! It’s such a great series! I can’t wait for book 2 next month! 💖💖
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Well…would you believe that I have never ever read a single book by Terry Pratchett? Yes I know it’s horrible and I know how they are supposed to be. Oh well…the good thing about this post is that I now at least know where to begin (and the bad thing is that I will probably now get stalked because I have to read this one lol 😂😂
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You have to read ALL OF THEM!!… Don’t worry, Michel. There’s only 41 of them. CAKE WALK!! 😂😂 Well, if you ever want to join us for a month and try one out, you’re always welcome! 💖💖 I’m really enjoying this, it was so fun to go to the other blogs and see everyone’s different opinions on things! Like our own little book club. 😊
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Ohhhh…only 41? Okay I will get right on that. I should probably have that finished in…oh …this saturday? Lol
I’d love too, but I know next month I won’t have the time for it, as I have a new blog project coming up. You will see what that is in August. But I will definitely keep it in mind 😊😊
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Well, with a book a month and 41 books, you have a few years to join!! 🤣🤣
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…. And, I hate it when you keep me in suspense, jerk. 😉😘
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Jerk? 😮😮😱😱😱 Lol 😂😂😂 Well I was going to tell you what it was….but now I’m not so sure anymore lol 😂😂
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Again, really sorry I bailed out of this book, I just could not finish it this time (I read it ages ago and do remember enjoying it then). 💖
For what it’s worth, your review did bring those good memories back, cheers for that. Lovely review. 🙂 💖
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Not a problem! Hopefully you get the chance to join us at some point!! 💖🍻
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Death. Always Death. Any of the books that he plays even a minor role in are instantly upgraded!
Ah, now I wish I had made that drink while reading it, would’ve been perfect!
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Ha ha! Well, you can drink it with the next one!…. Although, I’ll probably have another drink for that one!
Death just gets better and better through this series!! 💖💖 (never thought I would say that! 😉🤣
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I always enjoy your reviews Nicole, but I think you might have just outdone yourself with this one! 🤗
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Ha ha! Thank you! I’m very passionate about the Discworld novels. They used to be one of my favourite series (they probably still are, which is why I’m so excited to re read them!!) the other is “The Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony which is a PHENOMENAL series… I would love to Re-read those, as well! 💖💖
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This is the only one that I have read and I thought it was fine. But I also kind of agree with the person who originally introduced me to the series who said you probably shouldn’t read this one first. Oh well! Great review and very much looking forward to continuing on!
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I think it’s a good one to start with the the world building sense. It gives a great explanation to the set up of the world and how it works, and it does introduce quite a few of reoccurring characters. But, as for one that will really make you want to KEEP reading the series? This one may not be the best choice. Some of the others are WAY better. That’s one reason I was happy to make this a read a thon with others, because more people want to continue if they have others who have read the books saying “keep going, it gets better!”
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Great review, I did try to read one of his books but didn’t care for it I’m afraid 😦 never mind you can do it for me 😀
Love that drink!
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Ha ha! Why must I ALWAYS read books for you? 😂😂 The drink is very tasty, though. I preferred it cut with the soda water so it wasn’t too sweet!
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I love the sound of all these drinks, but I’ve gone teetotal (except Fridays 🙂 )
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WHAAAA???? What brought this on?? Well, you’ll have to make a note of the best ones to enjoy on Friday’s then!
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Will do! (Am on a serious get yerself sorted Missis campaign!)
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Awww…. I should probably do that at some point… But, the blog kind of hinders that process!! 😂
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Haha yes, you’ve stuffed yourself there! 😂
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I have tried to like Prachett, Nicole, a bunch of times. And for some reason, his books and I don’t connect. It’s weird. We’re like two people sitting at a table trying to have a conversation and yelling “What?” at each other, over and over again. Lol. I can sense the genius, but it does not compute! The read-athon sounds like fun and Prachett fans are going to love it. Great review. 😀
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I can understand how he may not be for everyone. He has a strangely abrupt and quirky kind of writing style that doesn’t mesh with everyone! It can sometimes be like reading a fantasy version of Gilmore Girls. 😂😂😂
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Ha ha ha. I really have tried. 😀
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Great review 😃its interesting to read because most people don’t really like the first two books.
I’m a fan of Rincewind btw! His auro of defeatism and dread is so funny to me 😂
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Oh, I definitely love Rincewind as well! He’s so delightfully morose! 😂😂 I think I liked this book better this time because I’ve read the others already. Going back there’s a lot more in this book if you understand characters and situations ahead of time!
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I can definetly see that! You can fill in the characters yourself, because you know how they are supposed to be from later books. You know, I realize now, I haven’t even read the light fantastic! Lol I am in no hurry to read all the remaining TP’s though…
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We’re not in a rush, either. At the rate we’re going it’s going to take us a few years to finish these! 😂😂
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Good gives me all the opportunity to hop on and off this TP train 😀
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Exactly! Join us whenever you can, we’ll be happy to have you. This was so much fun! Everyone had different opinions and favourite characters. It was like a fun little book club! 💖
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Sounds awesome!
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I want to read this book just to experience the Luggage! Another fun review, Nicole! I look forward to following the readathon. And yummy drink!
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The juggage is definitely adorably creepy!🤣🤣
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.. And that obviously should have said luggage. 😉
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BOOM! And, that’s how it’s done my friend. Tipsy Turtle is officially on my list, as a too drink on one of the next books lol, it’s a total fit. You picked the best quotes too! My favorite is the one where he says,
‘once I’ve gotten over that, then I’ll have time to be decently frightened by you.’
hilarious!!
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Ha ha! There were so many quotes that made me laugh, I had to be very picky or it was going to be a LONG review!! 😂👍🍻 I hope you enjoy the tipsy turtle, I definitely did!
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LOL just copy the whole book and paste it as a ‘quote’ HAHA… I think I’ll REALLY enjoy it! sounds phenomenal!
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I love the luggage! These books were such a big part of my adolescence. Even before I started reading them, I was playing Discworld MUD for way too many hours each day. I felt like I lived in this bizarre world for a while, hah.
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And that is AWESOME! It was definitely a big part of my adolescence as well. It’s so much fun to rer-read them as an adult!! (… Okay, an adult BY AGE. 😉)
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Love the Discworld series! My dad introduced them to me! Great memories, thanks, ♥️♥️
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Awww… That’s a good series to have associated with your dad! If the mood ever strikes you to Re-read any of them, feel free to join us in later months! 😀
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I really wanted to take part on your read-a-long, but man.. life and its obstacles makes it hard! I’m to see how much you enjoyed this though. I can’t wait to find out more on that luggage and Death. Death is actually one of the biggest attractions for me regarding the Discworld. Thanks for sharing and hope the next book will be as good or even better! 😀
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Amazing review! Your site is the bees knees! ❤❤❤ I miss your face!
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Awww… miss your face, too! I haven’t been around much for a while, I’m afraid!! I’m trying to get back out into the blogging world, so expect to see me around in the near future!!
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I haven’t been around much and I’m scared as well. I’m so far behind but put a post up on everything going on in my life so perhaps some people understand. You have been in my thoughts.❤❤❤
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