Sourcery by Terry Pratchett

 

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ipslore the Red the eighth son of an eighth son and a mage of incredible power and above average (for a Wizard) level of arrogance is thrown out of the Unseen University after he shows tendencies towards relationships and love for a woman. He has seven sons all mighty Wizards and then he has an eighth son (Coin) who is born with the power to create magic, to wrap the world around his will, he is a Sorcerer. Death however comes to us all and will not allow Ipslore to dictate the fate of Coin, destiny and free will must have a chance so if the new born sorcerer willingly abandons his staff only then will the future have a chance to be something other than a world without wizardry and alas by extension human life as the Ice Giants ultimately return to reclaim the Disc.
Coin eventually makes his way to the University and offers the Wizards power and influence beyond the walls they themselves have made however with the wisdom of mages down the centuries the Archchancellors Hat arranges for itself to be stolen but ends up in the hands of Rincewind who truth to form gets as far away from the University as possible.
Well there we have the foundation for the fifth novel in the Discworld series, a Sorcerer who can pretty much do anything leads the University faction of the Wizarding world into a Mage War and once again the Discworld trembles on the edge of catastrophe. Rincewind has adventures along with a new companion ( Conina the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian ) and of course the Luggage. Overall the narrative is quite compelling, we understand why Wizards are not encouraged to marry and why by and large they don't do magic. The history of the disc is also expanded to clarify the existence of the areas saturated with magic (source of Sapient Pearwood) and why the Gods are useful in the bigger picture if not in everyday events. Sourcery is a Rincewind novel but not so much as you would think, the secondary and ancillary characters are pretty well presented and are entertaining in themselves and the story flows well leading to a satisfying and ultimately logical conclusion.

View all my reviews

Mort by Terry Pratchett

 

Mort by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mortimer (Mort) is one of those enthusiastic youngsters who while always curious, adventurous and active never seem to achieve much which is a problem for his father. However help is at hand in the form of an apprenticeship with the boys new master being responsible for him, now this makes Mort's family seem "bad" but it is really for the best. They travel to a hiring fare where alas as the hours go by Mort is the only boy not be taken into a new and exciting trade which is why at the stroke of midnight a black robed individual riding a large white horse offering to take Mort under his wing is most welcome even if undertaking was not the job Mort's father thought would be for him (Often the case when encountering Death a human's perception is changed to allow them to function).
So Mort is taken to the House of Death which offers it's own surprises and in the spirit of wax on wax off Mort is let into the secrets of the job of reaping souls and dealing with the seemingly unfair and unjust consequences of belief and what comes after death plus the need to muck out the stables of a well fed and cared for horse named Binky.
Mort is a fun read, the expansion of the Death character who really becomes a force to be reckoned with in the Discworld novels begins here, we've seen him toy with those he reaps and in many cases (Rincewind for example) interact indirectly but here he is a real "flesh and blood" being so to speak who realises that there is more to "life" than the job until Mort alters reality in a spectacular way and well the duty is the duty. Mort would be a good introduction to the Discworld series, it balances humour with a little drama and includes many well written characters most of which are unique to this novel but Death continues and that's the greatest thing to come from the novel.


View all my reviews

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

 

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Granny Weatherwax, what more needs to be said for one of the cornerstones of the Discworld who makes her first appearance in Equal Rites. Granted she's not quite the Granny (or Mistress if you will) that we come to know but all the elements are there. The story begins with the death of a Wizard who bequeaths his Staff and power to the eighth child of an eighth son which should have been a male child but wasn't and this causes some complications further down the line. Young Eskarina Smith is taken under the wing of Granny to be taught Witchcraft but the girls innate gifts and the Staffs "help" means it will never be enough. So the decision is made to take Esk to Unseen University (Granny claims to know it's location but she wouldn't be where she was if she ever admitted ignorance of anything). Naturally the two of them have a few obstacles to overcome and it's no surprise when Esk and Granny are separated only to eventually meet again in Ankh-Morpork. Esk learns a painful lesson in how the Discworld works and more specifically the world of the wizards but Granny long ago learnt how to get what she wanted and this serves Esk well as she interacts with the domestic staff of the University as well as the latest initiate "Simon" who is a bit of a prodigy but alas has drawn the attention of the denizens of the Dungeon Dimensions...
Equal Rites is the first of the novels to really reflect how Terry writes in the years to come, there is still a long way to go but it's impossible not to rate the novel highly and is a very entertaining and easy read.

View all my reviews

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

 

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Light Fantastic is the second novel in the Discworld series and is a straight sequel to The Colour Of Magic so there is more Rincewind and Twoflower with a healthy does of Cohen The Barbarian with the recently "not" rescued Bethan a young woman who never considered liniment as being in her near future. As the Disc drifts into chaos thanks to the ever growing star in the sky even the Unseen University is not immune, the search for Rincewind and the missing Spell is an opportunity for a Wizard with ambitions and the nerve to act so Trymon tempts fate to control the Octavo and claim the eighth spell. Naturally we get adventures and near death experiences thanks to Rincewind and Twoflower but in this novel there is more rigidity as the main plot drives them forward towards the revelation about the mysterious star and why the Octavo was "left" behind in the first place.
The novel took me a little longer to read than I expected, it's not long but I didn't immediately pick up the kindle when I had a few minutes. It maybe I had reached the end of the Rincewind/Twoflower show or as mentioned before I rate the latter novels so highly the earlier ones suffer in comparison. Over all though the story holds up and Cohen was a delight and if you have not seen "Troll Bridge" by Snowgum Films (it's on youtube) then I highly recommend that addition to the lore.


View all my reviews