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The Color of Magic (Discworld #1)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 92,779 ratings · 2,571 reviews

Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent, bestselling novels have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody next to the likes of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.

The Color of Magic is Terry Pratchett's maiden voyage through the now-legendary land of Discworld. This is where it all begins -- with the tourist Twoflower and his wizard gui...more

Paperback, 224 pages

Published September 13th 2005 by Harper Perennial (first published 1983)

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Community Reviews

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Apr 26, 2013 Jon added it

Recommended to Jon by: SciFi and Fantasy Book Club August Book

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, fiction, read-in-my-40s, loved-it

4 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/10iGQld

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 29, 2009 Brad rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fantasy, speculative, political, doing-the-dishes

Before picking it up, I'd heard that The Colour of Magic was funny. Now that can mean just about anything because, let's face it, comedy is the most subjective of arts.

Funny is a deeply personal thing. The "funny peculiar" and the "funny ha-ha" might not be the same from person to person or even to the same person depending on their mood or their place in life. So knowing something is funny ahead of reading it really doesn't tell me much.

I'd read Terry Pratchett's & Neil Gaiman's Good Omen ...more

55 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2013 David Green rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: make-me-laugh, fantasy, 2013-reads, favorite-books-or-series

Reading The Color of Magic is akin to eating an entire bowl of ice cream just a little too fast...sure, it may cause your head to hurt at times, but the sweet rewards make it all worth it!

Filled with ambitious wizards and ruthless assassins, the city of Ankh-Morpork has survived many dangers in the past, but now it faces an even more destructive force...TOURISM!!! When a rich but bored outsider named Twoflower decides to explore the city in search for adventure, it soon becomes an adventure for...more

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Oct 28, 2007 Keely rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, humor, reviewed

Tried to start him at the beginning, as many of my dear friends love him. However, this book showed no particular charm nor skill of construction. It is an early piece, so this unpractised work is to be expected. The jokes were more worthy of groans than guffaws, and I was left feeling rather let down, since he's been compared to the superlatively funny Douglas Adams.

After finding this one dull, a friend suggested I try one of his later books, so I started Moving Pictures, which was better craft...more

17 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2008 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm pretty sure people have told me about Pratchett and his Diskworld series before, usually working in the phrase "He's the Douglas Adams of fantasy" into the description. But the problem was that I always felt that I had had enough of Adams after the third Hithiker's Guide to the Galaxy book, and whenever I scanned Pratchett's section in the bookstore I was immediately put off by not knowing where to start reading among the approximately five hundred thousand Diskworld books. I'm glad I finall...more I'm pretty sure people have told me about Pratchett and his Diskworld series before, usually working in the phrase "He's the Douglas Adams of fantasy" into the description. But the problem was that I always felt that I had had enough of Adams after the third Hithiker's Guide to the Galaxy book, and whenever I scanned Pratchett's section in the bookstore I was immediately put off by not knowing where to start reading among the approximately five hundred thousand Diskworld books. I'm glad I finally took the time to find out that these two books, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, jointly comprise the first tale in the series, and that they were definitely worth reading.

The Diskworld books are essentially satire of the high fantasy genre, or at least that's the foundation upon which everything else is built. This pair of books follows the misadventures of Rincewind, a utterly inept and thoroughly cowardly wizard, and Twoflowers, a clueless traveler who happens to be in possession of both endless optimism and a magical suitcase that's always wandering off and messily devouring people who get in its way. Things go from bad to worse for the two as divine powers both deliver them into and yank them out of all kinds of fantastic perils.

As someone who grew up reading plenty of this kind of thing and playing a lot of Dungeons& Dragons, I'm familiar enough with the genre and trappings that Pratchett lampoons. Yes, there's the Conan parody, there's the Dragonriders of Pern tribute, there's the in-joke about Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser. But that's easy. The thing that made me almost immediately fall in love with these books is the author's dry wit and his ability to derive humor not only from the absurdity of the story (and believe me, it gets plenty absurd) but also from just good old fashioned turns of phrase, wry commentary, and jokes. The guy just has an amazing ability to stuff five or six jokes into a single sentence, most of them making masterful use of that trusty standby of British humor, irony. It's really smart and really funny, and the fact that it builds on the inherent silliness of the high fantasy genre is just icing.

I should also note how imaginative Pratchett is, which is a useful quality given his subject matter. He bounces his heroes from one (generally horrible and dangerous) situation to another at a frantic pace, and his ability to come up with new material and new situations amazes me. And while many of them are obvious parodies of fantasy staples, just as many seem to be wholly new creations. As one small (and obligatory) example, the Diskworld itself is a flat coin of a world that rides atop four enormous elephants, who themselves ride on the back of a colossal turtle with two continent-sized flippers that it uses to swim slowly through the cold reaches of space.

But at the same time, if I have one complaint about these first two books, it's that they're almost maniacal in their plotting. While it's nice to see Pratchett's considerable imagination and humor on display as we go from situation to situation, the first book reads like an extended doodle with little plot and a whole "gods playing games with mortals" subtext that's entirely dropped in the next book. There's also one Conan the Barbarian parody that's abruptly dropped in favor of another Conan the Barbarian parody who Pratchett apparently liked better. It's not until the latter part of the second book does an overall plot come into play, but honestly I was enjoying myself so much I really didn't mind. Expect to see lots more Discworld books reviewed here in the future. (less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Steven Harbin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, discworld, fantasy, humor, owned, read-2000-to-2009, series, read-previously-re-reading

Although this is the first book in the Discworld series, it's actually the 2nd I've completed, The Wee Free Men being the first. I enjoyed this book, although having read a later book in the series showed me that Mr. Pratchett's writing has improved considerably over time. Still, this is a fun read for anyone who likes fantasy in general and humorous fantasy in particular. I came to really like inept magician Rincewind and his traveling companion Twoflower, first tourist in Discworld history (ap...more

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Feb 06, 2008 Belarius rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Obsessive Completionists

Author Terry Pratchett may be the modern day Mark Twain, one of the most prolific satirical authors in genre fiction. The world he spins his elaborate metaphors is that of Discworld, a setting in which he has successfully parodied everything from opera to religion, from currency to war, from morris dancing to mall proliferation. But before Discworld was a template upon which all things modern could be parodied, it was simply a parody, and a mediocre one at best.

Pratchett's humor is similar in ma...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Nathan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: author-male, high-fantasy, humor, rated-3-star, read-2012, books-i-own

From my Complete Discworld Reread Project

"What is your name?"...
"My name is inconsequential."
"That's a pretty name."
The Color of Magic- Terry Pratchett

Part one of a complete reread of Pratchett's Diskworld series. As such the style will be a little different from other reviews. The "review" portion will be shorter. Following the short review will be my thoughts of the book from a rereading standpoint, on how it holds up to expectations, the evolution of the series, and other musings.

The Color of...more From my Complete Discworld Reread Project

"What is your name?"...
"My name is inconsequential."
"That's a pretty name."
The Color of Magic- Terry Pratchett

Part one of a complete reread of Pratchett's Diskworld series. As such the style will be a little different from other reviews. The "review" portion will be shorter. Following the short review will be my thoughts of the book from a rereading standpoint, on how it holds up to expectations, the evolution of the series, and other musings.

The Color of Magic is the first book of Diskworld, a humor/parody series of fantasy books. This book is set up in four parts, which act almost as four short stories all featuring Rincewind, the worlds most inept wizard. Each section is a direct parody of specific fantasy tropes; the city of assassins and thieves, the barbarian adventure book, and a direct parody of the Pern series, and gods playing games with mortals. Rincewind is stuck "protecting" a man named Twoflower (much against his nature, and abilities), the worlds first tourist, who wants to visit all the fantastic places he has heard of in his boring desk job.

Some may hear the book is a parody and cringe, as many works of parody these days take the easy joke and milk it for cash(I am thinking of a whole line of movies here). If that discribs your thoughts, do not worry. Pratchett shows some skill in making a very interesting story on its own, that happens to gently mock some tropes(not beat you over the head with them, with the exception of some of the Pern references). While fantasy has moved in unique directions, it is interesting how many of the tropes Pratchett is working with are still in play. Because of this the book has aged well, and the humor holds up.

If you like both fantasy and comedy, The Color of Magic is still a very fun, very short read. It should be noted that it ends on a cliff hanger(the only book of the series that does), and The Light Fantastic is required if you want to know the end of the story.

3 stars, a good series start, but not a lot of depth.
(view spoiler)
(less)

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Mar 13, 2011 Stacey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-from-library, ebook, fantasy, pratchett, shopping-pratchett

I just adore Pratchett. The first thing I ever read by him was Good Omens, which of course, he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. Some of the ideas, being very Gaimanesque, led me to the rest of Gaiman's books, but the snarky, playful humor is (mostly) all Pratchett. It took me quite awhile to figure that out, and to read anything in the Pratchett-universe.

Since then, I've read several books in the Discworld series. I figured it was high time I started at the (sort of) beginning. Like the books, the rea...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ahh, the story of Twoflower and the "failed" wizard Rincewind. Although calling Rincewind a "failed" wizard is possibly not really fair to him as he's only a "failed" wizard because having sneaked a look at a forbidden spell book one the 8 Great Spells has taken up the room in his brain that would be needed for other spells and he can't get it out, at least not without casting it, and since neither he nor the other wizards know what it will do...destroy the world, the universe, the multiverse......more

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Apr 11, 2009 Werner rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of humorous fantasy

Recommended to Werner by: Book was a gift from my wife

Shelves: fantasy, books-i-own

Having recently read Swords of Lankhmar, I was able to recognize a marked influence of Leiber on this opening volume of Pratchett's popular Discworld series. Like Nehwon, the Discworld is a swords-and-sorcery flavored fantasy realm where the social environment is generally not a benevolent one; Pratchett's corrupt and decadent city of Ankh-Morpork has certain similarities to Lankhmar, and Bravd and the Weasel here are very reminiscent of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Potentates on the Discworld ev...more Having recently read Swords of Lankhmar, I was able to recognize a marked influence of Leiber on this opening volume of Pratchett's popular Discworld series. Like Nehwon, the Discworld is a swords-and-sorcery flavored fantasy realm where the social environment is generally not a benevolent one; Pratchett's corrupt and decadent city of Ankh-Morpork has certain similarities to Lankhmar, and Bravd and the Weasel here are very reminiscent of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Potentates on the Discworld even use albatrosses like carrier pigeons to transmit messages to each other, like their counterparts on Nehwon. But Pratchett provides some original touches all his own, especially in the Discworld's cosmology --as some primitive peoples once imagined the Earth to be, this fantasy world actually is flat, resting on the backs of four super-giant elephants who in turn stand on the carapace of an even more gigantic turtle, circled by a small sun and moon and slowly drifting through space in an alternate universe of flat worlds. (Pratchett suggests that different universes have different Creators/ pantheons, a literary conceit he uses to establish that the Discworld's panoply of not-always-nice "gods" --another feature it shares with Nehwon-- isn't intended to have any theological message for our world.)

Most of Pratchett's readers probably first encounter his work with this series. My first acquaintance with his fiction, however, was through his excellent Bromeliad Trilogy; and this novel suffers by comparison, and by comparison to Leiber. The Bromeliad novels are exuberantly humorous, but they have serious messages as well. Swords of Lankhmar has its humorous aspects, but it's kept within the bounds of the psychologically possible; and while you can laugh at, or with, Leiber's heroes at times, you can also respect them. This book is often literally laugh-aloud funny, but the humor here is virtually always satirical or gallows humor with a cynical tone, and it swallows up the whole book --it isn't leaven for the story, but rather the whole reason for the story's telling in the first place. Also, the quality of the humor, and the characterizations, is much more cartoonish than Leiber's (barbarian warrior Hrun, for instance, has to pause and move his lips to subtract one from three); the book is essentially a parody of swords-and-sorcery fantasy, rather than a serious example of it. Unlike the Bromeliad books, it has no serious message; it's more in the nature of cotton candy or funnel cakes for the brain --everybody enjoys the latter for a treat, but probably not for an exclusive diet. And unlike Leiber's heroes, Rincewind inspires no admiration; he's a coward and opportunist solely concerned with his own interests and saving his own skin. (Twoflower actually engenders more respect, but his calm unflappability usually stems from a total naivety about the situation.)

Rather than being divided into chapters, the book is broken down into four major sections. In each of these, Rincewind and Twoflower are introduced to new characters and situations, which makes the plot rather episodic and disjointed. (My wife, to whom I read the book out loud, complained that we just get used to one set of circumstances and people before Pratchett pulls us away to another.) Apart from that flaw, the writing is vivid and interesting, the plot busy and eventful, and Pratchett's imagination wildly fertile (the idea of the Luggage was absolutely inspired, but there are other ideas here just as original). In keeping with the author's comedic intent, the violence here usually isn't lethal; there's not much bad language, and while Pratchett's humor can occasionally be a bit off-color, there's no sex in the book.
Since the second volume of the series continues the adventures of the tourist-wizard pair, both my wife and I plan to keep our eyes open for a copy!(less)

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Aug 07, 2008 Rob rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

I've never really been a fan of British comedy. I see the attraction to stuff like Monty Python, Faulty Towers, et al, but the humor's vastly different then what I enjoy. I think it's the propriety or formality that throws me off. People compare Terry Pratchett's work to Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide series and that seems pretty approriate. Both are outlandish and filled with silly inanity. That being said, it's not my cup of tea. There always seems to be those scenes where characters apolog...more

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Jul 06, 2007 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

First book in the excellent Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Satire at its finest, this is not strictly a sci-fi/fantasy series. Yes, it is set in a world that is not Earth and there are werewolves, vampires, dwarfs and golems, but the stories revolve around things that are parallel to our modern world (or England's modern world). Discworld is like the end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of the Rennaisance, but is also like today.

I just love the details that Pratchett has created for Disc...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Izlinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Pretty funny, though sometimes it dragged or seemed too hard to be funny.

Unfortunately now I'm curious what that spell is that Rincewind has stuck in his brain. :-S I might check out some of the other Discworld bookss. I bought this one on a whim in the Chicago O'Hare Airport.

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Sep 19, 2007 Bethany rated it 4 of 5 stars

Terry Pratchett is to fantasy what Douglas Adams is to Science Fiction. The Colour of Magic (I read it in England, thus the added u in colour) is a comedic introduction to the Discworld series in which we follow the inept wizard, Rincewind as he is unwantingly roped into guiding the clueless tourist Twoflower along with the ever faithful Luggage around the flat, disc-shaped world. This is a world where the gods gamble to decide the fates of the world and the ever-present Death, efficiently "coll...more

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Jul 09, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Read this years ago but had forgotten all about it until I was looked at it in the bookshop and recognised the cover. It's next month's book for the science fiction and fantasy group, so it'll be interesting to read it again after all these years. It's the very first Discworld book and I originally read it to see if I liked it, but I didn't so I never read any of the other Discworld novels. Then again, I really can't remember anything about it! (Don't worry, I'll write a fresh review when I've r...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-july-2012, kept

The main problem I have with this book is that there's simply far too much to discover, to familiarise yourself with, and you're either left hopelessly confused, or you're left wanting.

Despite that however, this is classic fantasy at it's best. I have encountered a lot of people who would choose to judge me and my reading tastes because I enjoy Pratchett's novels, however I think they're, for lack of a better word (and because I stayed up stupidly late to finish the book), brilliant. Immediatel...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Rita rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, in-my-home-library, my-reviews, 2011, fiction, 2-stars, speculative-fiction

It has been said that this book is one of the best and funniest ones ever written - after all it has created a vast following and spawned numerous of other books in the same series. I guess humour is highly subjective, for I didn't find this book to be that funny, but in all fairness it was an amusing read, and I might even pick it up again in the future.

I found the story line and universe created by Pratchett to be well written and inventive (especially the use of the English language itself wa...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Hannah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

When the Disc’s first tourist, Twoflower, arrives at Ankh Morpork’s docks, failed wizard Rincewind, is ordered to look after the naive visitor. Determined to see all the local sights, Twoflower unknowingly leads the pair into pub brawls, dragon lairs and a dryad realm.

I never read The Disc World series when I was younger, because shamefully I thought the books were more for boys. Maybe that was down to their covers? But, how very wrong I was. In The Colour of Magic you are not just thrown into a...more When the Disc’s first tourist, Twoflower, arrives at Ankh Morpork’s docks, failed wizard Rincewind, is ordered to look after the naive visitor. Determined to see all the local sights, Twoflower unknowingly leads the pair into pub brawls, dragon lairs and a dryad realm.

I never read The Disc World series when I was younger, because shamefully I thought the books were more for boys. Maybe that was down to their covers? But, how very wrong I was. In The Colour of Magic you are not just thrown into an extraordinary world of wizards and dragons, barbarian heroes and walking treasure chests, you are thrown into a whole universe!

Pratchett’s writing style is elaborate, describing the universal anomalies and features of magic and often going off on a tangent, but there is always an undercurrent of humour and wit. Well, more like a tidal wave. The pace is steady, with Rincewind and Twoflower being thrown from one danger to the next, amazingly unscathed.

During the book a number of scientific theorems are touched on in a more humorous than scientific way, including the time-space continuum, parallel universes, and Gods playing their cruel game with Fate. As long as I accepted them as part of the story, then I could get my head around the strange things that happen during the story. And yes, plenty of strange things happen.

There is a stark contrast between the two main characters Rincewind and Twoflower; one panicking at the slightest hint of adventure and danger, and the other enthusiastically seeking out adventure. I enjoyed the interplay between the two, and the addition of other characters including Death provided additional humour and action.

My one (tiny) bug bear is that certain background information was repeated several times throughout the course of the book. I understood that the information does have a significant bearing on what’s to come; I just found it interrupted the flow between scenes.

After their journey across the Disc world, both horizontally and vertically, the end of the story is literally left hanging. I wished I had had the next book ‘The Light Fantastic’ to hand to start reading it straight away and find out what happens.(less)

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Jan 19, 2012 Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, comico, favorites

Questo Libro, proprio con la "L" maiuscola, è stata una di quelle piacevoli sorprese che capitano molto di rado.

Quello che più mi ha meravigliosamente conquistato di questo romanzo è il "senso del meraviglioso", quello che a volte si può trovare anche nella fantascienza; quel senso del "stupire" il lettore ad ogni pagina, ad ogni riga e non voglio dimenticare certo quei sorrisi alla descrizione di certi personaggi, all'evolversi degli accadimenti.

Un Libro dove puoi lasciarti andare alla più pu...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Kristjan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Recommended to Kristjan by: GR Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Club

Shelves: book-club-selection, pulp-fantasy, reviewed

This is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ... only for Fantasy. The two main, hapless characters lurch from scene to scene (or storyline to storyline) in what might be considered a classic epic ... If the scenes actually had anything in common other then the main characters. Along the way, Prachett humorously substitutes magic for science, frequently with the intent to play with our perceptions and fantasy stereotypes, while we explore the Disk World in his first novel of the series. It was h...more

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Jul 08, 2008 Dhendlowitch rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Dhendlowitch by: Matt

I feel I found Discworld Very late in the game. There are like 30 books in the series now and the is a shit load to catch up on. I figured the best place to start in this epic series was with book 1, although I have been told that you can really pick up any of them and understand where you are in the series. Most of them have little if nothing to do with each other other then being in the same fantasy world, with the same impractical physics, and same greater beings such as Luck (the lady), Deat...more I feel I found Discworld Very late in the game. There are like 30 books in the series now and the is a shit load to catch up on. I figured the best place to start in this epic series was with book 1, although I have been told that you can really pick up any of them and understand where you are in the series. Most of them have little if nothing to do with each other other then being in the same fantasy world, with the same impractical physics, and same greater beings such as Luck (the lady), Death, and other gods. The first few books actually follow a few other characters throw their adventures, but then the series breaks off into different strings of characters.
The only way to explain the feel of these books is the setting and physics of the dragon lance books, with the humor and self awareness of the hitchhiker series. I love the hitchhiker books and have never really been able to dive into the DragonLance mythous, but the Discworld book ease you into that setting using the hitchhiker humor. It really helps. Orces, imps, elfs, demons, and trolls can be a little over whelming sometimes.
This being said the book is really just so much fun that it is hard to point out really what i loved about it. I just sets you up for laugh after laugh. You really just have to read it for yourself to find the charm in it. I promise you won't want to put it down after you start it, and i suggest the audio book version of it for the car or trip. A great reader can make the book 20 times better. They really translate to someone else reading them to you well. It is like a missed up bed time story where everything works backwards but it seems to understand that it does. Now if you want to see a adaptation of this and the second book, The light fantastic, then check out the SKY ONE (uk hbo) Mini Series, The color of magic part 1 and 2. This mixes both books together, so things happen out of the order they do happen in the books, and there is a lot of elements the either leave out or dumb down. REALLY good stuff to that made me love the book just never shows you in the mini series and other stuff is changed and it does not seem to be for any good reason. That being said it is still alot of fun for what it is and if you don't feel like reading you will get a idea of the style of the discworld books from it anyway. If you like the mini series, do yourself a favor and go back and read color of magic anyway. They are to different, totally enjoyable experiences. (less)

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Jul 31, 2008 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2008, discworld

Like Douglas Adams did with science-fiction, Terry Pratchett takes the typical conventions of fantasy and turns them on their head for comic effect with his popular DiscWorld series.

By having a slightly skewed view of fantasy conventions, Pratchett points out the strengths and the fallacies of the genre. And he always does it with a story that has more than its share of laugh out loud moments. Pratchett is also a master of construction language to come together in interesting ways. It's not jus...more

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Nov 26, 2007 Bonnie Gayle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of funny fantasy, ie Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Shelves: reviewed, fantasy-sf, library-books

This was a really funny beginning to the Discworld series. It's the funniest book that I've read in quite awhile, and I'm now looking forward to the rest of the series.

The book tells the tale of Twoflower and Rincewind. Twoflower is a care-free tourist from a rich land, and Rincewind is a wizard who Twoflower hires to be his tour guide, since Rincewind is the only one who he can communicate with.
Each character has issues. Twoflower came from his land with a magical walking chest filled with gol...more This was a really funny beginning to the Discworld series. It's the funniest book that I've read in quite awhile, and I'm now looking forward to the rest of the series.

The book tells the tale of Twoflower and Rincewind. Twoflower is a care-free tourist from a rich land, and Rincewind is a wizard who Twoflower hires to be his tour guide, since Rincewind is the only one who he can communicate with.
Each character has issues. Twoflower came from his land with a magical walking chest filled with gold coins that are hardly worth anything in his land, but in this land, one of them could buy an inn. Because of this, thieves plague him constantly. Twoflower doesn't care though. His chest has a mind (and attitude) of it's own, and can defend itself, and he is the least worried person I've ever read. He goes from one deadly scene to the next, as carefree as can be.
Rincewind, on the other hand, was going to wizarding school when, on a bet, he looked in a secret book and instantly learned one of the 8 great original spells. This spell forced all the other spells out of his mind, but he is afraid to use the one spell he knows, because no one knows what it does, and for all he knows, it could blow up the Discworld. So, he is a wizard who knows no usable spells, and he is as terrified of every situation as Twoflower is carefree.
Together, these 2 characters go all over the Discworld, since Twoflower wants to see everything, and everywhere they go, there is danger, adventure, and humor.

I thought the book was remarkably well written. Pratchett is hilarious and brilliant. I never find books where I don't know a word, and 5 or so words in this book were brand new to me. That to me is really impressive.
The only negative is that I found the end of the 3rd chapter super confusing, and I had no idea what was going on. Other than that, hilarious, adventurous, and smart book. Highly recommended.

P.S. I forgot to mention that they ride on invisible flying creatures way before Harry Potter was written...I wonder if J.K. Rowling has read the Discworld books?(less)

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Nov 22, 2007 Adrienne Brundage rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comedy

I have to take breaks between reading Terry Pratchett books. My friend summed it up the best, I think, when he asked “Do you ever get the feeling that Terry is sitting in a room, writing and laughing to himself?” Yes, I do get that feeling. It’s kind of like one of those long-running jokes between friends that’s really funny when you forget about it for awhile then bring it up at a dinner sometime. But if you keep harping on it without giving it a break, it just loses the humor it once had. For...more

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Mar 24, 2009 Beth F. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, 2009, tnbbc-spring-2009

I admit it. I am probably not the intended audience for this book. I don't like elf and sword fantasies and have not read many. Regardless, I thought a parody of that sort of fantasy would be a laugh for me and I've had countless people recommend Terry Pratchett to me over the years. Unfortunately this book fell flat for me and many of the references were beyond my realm of giving a shit.

The introduction of a cast of forgettable characters from forgettable places was rushed and confusing. I was...more

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Mar 29, 2008 bup rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Discworld completists

Shelves: 2008, genres-i-hate

More like a two-and-a-half stars...I'm not a big fan of fantasy, but I read the 3 Tiffany Aching books (also Discworld) and liked them, so I thought I'd start at the beginning.

Well, it was his first try at Discworld. Entertaining. Kind of. I would have found this funnier in high school, like when I read "Hitchhiker's Guide." All the self-aware writing, and cheats to get through plot points (even if the excuse is the self-awareness and cheats are in the name of humor) hurt the book. I was not at...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Christine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-challenge

I am glad I read this one because its been sitting on my shelf for a while. It is also listed as one of the 100 Best Fantasy Books in the Fantasy Aficionados GR group. Hmmmmm. It was ok, kind of a Monty Python meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't think I laughed out loud once which was disappointing because I am a fan of British humor. I am told by a friend that there are other books in the Discworld series that are better, but at this point in time, I don't think I will be going...more

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Feb 12, 2008 Danger Kallisti rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: nobody

Shelves: sci-fi, crap-just-crap

I've always hated fantasy, and I still do. This book was disorganized to the point that reading it made my soul hurt. I guess part of that could have been trying to read it while sick, but even then, I didn't see that it really helped me any to put this in my brain. From what I understand, the books do get better as the series meanders along, but I'm not going to buy more. I might read them if I run out of anything else to read and happen to be in the “P” section of the library. Still, the fact...more

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Jun 16, 2012 April rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, own, mooched

Sometimes, I am so American, it just hurts. I realize this when I read books which have British humor, because I nod and smile, but don’t guffaw as much as when I read books by American authors (i.e. David Sedaris and Jen Lancaster).I admit, I find Monty Python and The Holy Grail side-splitting funny. However, half the time I just don’t get it (i.e. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Universe). I’m thinking The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett fits in with ‘British Humor I Just Don’t Get.’ I do unde...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel,...more

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“If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards!” — 639 people liked it

“You can't map a sense of humor. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragons? On the Discworld we know that There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs. ” — 160 people liked it

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