false 34503 13 A new Discworld story is always an event. Terry Pratchett's <I>The Last Hero</I> is unusually short, a 40,000-word "Discworld Fable" rather than a full novel, but is illustrated throughout in sumptuous color by Paul Kidby.<p> The 160 pages cover the series' longest and most awesome (but still comic) journey yet, a mission to save all Discworld from a new threat. An old threat, actually. Aged warrior Cohen the Barbarian has decided to go out with a bang and take the gods with him. So, with the remnants of his geriatric Silver Horde, he's climbing to the divine retirement home Dunmanifestin with the Discworld equivalent of a nuke--a fifty-pound keg of Agatean Thunder Clay.<p> This will, for excellent magical reasons, destroy the world.<p> It's up to Leonard of Quirm, Discworld's da Vinci, to invent the technology that might just beat Cohen to his goal. His unlikely vessel is powered by dragons, crewed by himself and two popular regular characters, and secretly harbors a stowaway. Before long we hear the Discworld version of "Houston, we have a problem...."<p> Kidby rises splendidly to the challenge of painting both funny faces and cosmic vistas. As Pratchett puts it, <I>The Last Hero</I> "has an extra dimension: some parts of it are written in paint!" New characters include Evil Dark Lord Harry Dread, who started out with "just two lads and his Shed of Doom," and a god so tiresome that his worshippers are forbidden chocolate, ginger, mushrooms <I>and</I> garlic.<p> Pratchett's story alone is strong and effective, with several hair-raising <I>frissons</I> contrasting with high comedy; Kidby's paintings make it something very special. Not to be missed. <I>--David Langford, Amazon.co.uk</I> 1371210 book 2001 The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable total:2274|5:829|4:810|3:556|2:71|1:8| 2274 9203 2962 60 5 1 false false Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 14:31:55 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 09:30:47 -0700 2008 The Last Hero, thinking it would be a disappointing spinoff designed mostly for die-hard Discworld fans. As it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong! In The Last Hero, Mr. Pratchett has given us a beautiful, funny, eloquent story about the true nature of bravery and the c...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 20:52:23 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 20:53:35 -0700 2007 He can remember when a hero didn't have to worry about fences and lawyers and civilisation, and when people didn't tell you off for killing dragons.
But he can't always remember, these days, where he put his teeth . . .
So now, with his ancient ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 15:05:56 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 11:09:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 07:41:47 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 07:54:41 -0800 2009
The story is short, and sweet....more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 10 19:12:07 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 19:16:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 12:35:52 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 12:42:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 10:13:17 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 10:14:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 19 19:42:48 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 19:42:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 16:50:20 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 16:55:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 12 14:16:20 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 14:16:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 17:20:49 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 13:18:28 -0700 2009 3 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed Sep 05 07:46:23 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 07:14:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Dec 20 21:20:18 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 11 08:57:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 18:14:58 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 18:17:02 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Thu Jun 11 07:21:07 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 07:23:52 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jul 24 14:16:47 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 14:17:58 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jul 31 11:17:53 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 10:07:12 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 31 11:17:53 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Sep 18 15:52:48 -0700 2007 Mon Feb 11 07:57:36 -0800 2008
This latest (final?) volume to his series is an explosive, beautifully illustrated ode to Rincewand and his terrified, unacknowledged, and impossibly brav...more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 06:21:26 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 06:21:26 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Jan 18 14:48:40 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 14:49:17 -0800 2009 1 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=34503