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Eric (Discworld #9)

3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 · rating details · 20,149 ratings · 399 reviews

Discworld's only demonology hacker, Eric, is about to make life very difficult for the rest of Ankh-Morpork's denizens. This would-be Faust is very bad...at his work, that is. All he wants is to fulfill three little wishes: to live forever, to be master of the universe, and to have a stylin' hot babe.

But Eric isn't even good at getting his own way. Instead of a powerful de...more

Paperback, 224 pages

Published February 5th 2002 by HarperTorch (first published 1990)

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Feb 01, 2013 Nathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-male, high-fantasy, humor, rated-4-star, read-2013, books-i-own

Complete Discworld Reread

Pay attention, there is a lot going on and less than two hundred pages of large type to get it all in. Rincewind needs out of the Dungeon Dimensions, a young demonologist wants some wishes granted (and needs a cold shower), and several different demons have their own ideas of what should be done. So watch closely, and you will see how the trick is set. Young Eric calls on a demon, Rincewind slips through into the occult circle, and something unknown makes sure Eric gets...more Complete Discworld Reread

Pay attention, there is a lot going on and less than two hundred pages of large type to get it all in. Rincewind needs out of the Dungeon Dimensions, a young demonologist wants some wishes granted (and needs a cold shower), and several different demons have their own ideas of what should be done. So watch closely, and you will see how the trick is set. Young Eric calls on a demon, Rincewind slips through into the occult circle, and something unknown makes sure Eric gets everything he wishes for. Of course, this being Discworld, he really should be more careful in what he wished for.

I have probably read this book twice a year since I first discovered it. It is the perfect book for those ‘what do I read now?’ moments; short and funny as hell. Eric believes Rincewind is the demon he worked so hard to call and demands his three wishes (rule the world, meet the most beautiful girl in history, and live forever). From there they find the results of each wish, one after another. Along the way they meet obvious parodies of Ponce de Leon, Odysseus, and Helen of Troy.

Not a lot of depth, though the humor is a very smart. Not a lot of character development, Rincewind is a known quantity at this point, and Eric is nothing more than an out of depth, horny teenager; his wishes are more of a presence than he is. Not even a lot of cameo’s; only Death, Rincewind, and Luggage are regular characters from the series as a whole. There is however a wisecracking parrot, so take that for what it is worth.

Something that may be interesting to fans of ‘Good Omens,’ a book co-written by Gaiman; this book starts playing with the idea of a more efficient hell, immediately reminding me of Crowley.
For the review to be any longer it would reach the book’s word count. So a recap; not deep, standalone, funny as hell, quick little romp that is great for when you want something to read between the giant tomes of the latest blockbuster fantasy series.

4 stars. May not really deserve it based on plot and character development, but it is pure entertainment.
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Jun 05, 2007 Siria rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century, british-fiction, fantasy, humour

Eric is an oddity. Although it's the ninth Discworld novel to be published, it feels curiously scrappy and unfinished, like a fragment of juvenilia. It's set up as a parody of Faust; it feels like there's a lot more that could have been done with the novel based on this premise. In fact, it feels like there is a lot more set up to happen from this premise, but it never comes about. Eric is one of the most barely sketched in of all of the Discworld characters, for all that he is the person whose...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Chronographia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who are running out of Terry Pratchet books to read

Shelves: straight-up-fantasy, fiction

A lot of people want to compare this book to the entire series of Discworld books, which is a natural sort of thing to do since Pratchett's popularity is overwhelming these days and he's got a long back catalog to go through for newcomers.

So. This was written at a time when he was on fairly good grips with parody, but not yet satire. When a series of small adventures were easier to string together than, say, an engrossing novel-length plot. Rincewind and his Luggage are stock characters, and thu...more

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Mar 25, 2009 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Eric is the Discworld's only demonology hacker. The trouble is, he's not very good at it. All he wants is the usual three wishes: to be immortal, rule the world and have the most beautiful woman fall madly in love with him. The usual stuff. But what he gets is Rincewind, and Rincewind's Luggage into the bargain. Terry Pratchett's hilarious take on the Faust legend stars many of the Discworld's most popular characters in an outrageous adventure that will leave Eric wishing once more - th...more Synopsis:

Eric is the Discworld's only demonology hacker. The trouble is, he's not very good at it. All he wants is the usual three wishes: to be immortal, rule the world and have the most beautiful woman fall madly in love with him. The usual stuff. But what he gets is Rincewind, and Rincewind's Luggage into the bargain. Terry Pratchett's hilarious take on the Faust legend stars many of the Discworld's most popular characters in an outrageous adventure that will leave Eric wishing once more - this time, quite fervently, that he'd never been born . . .

This is the ninth book in Pratchett's Discworld series, and features some of the favourite characters - Rincewind, The Luggage and Death - all of whom are hilarious and tremendously fun to read. They are three of my favourite characters in this series, and I am always happy to read about them. Death with his dry sense of humour makes me laugh every time he is featured in a book, Rincewind and his great philosophy: run away make great reading and the Luggage is legendary - with its sharp teeth and hundreds of legs, scaring even the most fearsome. Highly entertaining.

In the ninth installment of the Discworld adventures we are introduced to Eric - a teenager with an acne problem who tries to conjure up demons. Instead, he realises Rincewind. With a snap of the fingers, they are transported back into the Faust legend, where armies defeat their enemies by the use of a wooden horse. This was an interesting re-write of the legend, and I definitely prefer it with Rincewind as the star! We find ourselves transported off with Rincewind and Eric to see universes created and the problems with Hell, all in one short book.

I enjoyed this book, like all the others I have read, but it isn't my favourite. I laughed and enjoyed Pratchett's writing ability and sense of humour. I liked his take on the legend, making it his own. I think the problem with this book was that is wasn't his own adventure and it wasn't very long. That said, I did enjoy it and would recommend it as a quick-read Discworld novel.

7/10(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 Gavin Felgate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eric is one of the shortest of the Discworld novels, and the fourth to feature the inept Wizard Rincewind.

When Rincewind was last seen, in Sourcery, he was sucked into a Hell dimension and it seemed like it was the end for him. This story opens with a teenage boy called Eric attempting to summon a demon, only to bring back Rincewind from the Hell dimensions (nevertheless, Eric spends the whole book thinking he has summoned a demon).

The rest of the book is written in an episodic nature similar t...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Eustacia Tan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apparently, I've read this book before (no wonder it felt familiar!) But since I gave a one paragraph review the last time, I'll do a proper review now :D

Ok, so Faust Eric is a parody of the book Faust. Or at least, a parody on the premises (where you exchange your soul for ___). I can't go into specifics because I've never read Faust (I feel like a huge gap in my reading life has been exposed.......). But still, Faust is such a famous book that you'll know what Terry Pratchett is referencing f...more Apparently, I've read this book before (no wonder it felt familiar!) But since I gave a one paragraph review the last time, I'll do a proper review now :D

Ok, so Faust Eric is a parody of the book Faust. Or at least, a parody on the premises (where you exchange your soul for ___). I can't go into specifics because I've never read Faust (I feel like a huge gap in my reading life has been exposed.......). But still, Faust is such a famous book that you'll know what Terry Pratchett is referencing from the very title.

So Eric, the titular would-be Faust of the book is trying to summon a demon. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and he summons Rincewind instead. And because that's how the way things work, when every Rincewind snaps his fingers, something brings them to a place where one of Eric's three wishes is fulfilled in a very unexpected way.

As usual, Rincewind was hilarious. He's really an anti-hero, being such a coward and all. But he does make a good case for being a coward, seeing as how he's survived all these books. Plus, his cynicism is hilarious at times.

But, I didn't really like Eric. I understand that he's supposed to a teenager and all, but he came across as an uninformed brat. He's thought process and speech grated on me. I'm actually glad he got stuck with Rincewind, who's the worst person you could get if you want help (Especially if the help you want involves danger of some sort).

Other characters include Ponce de Quirm (I wonder if he's related to Leonard De Quirm?) and the demon king with the name I can't pronounce, let alone remember.

Speaking of demons, the book explores the idea of evil in a pretty humorous (but not very accurate) way. There are the usual sly jokes like how the road to hell is paved (literally in this case) with good intentions but quite a lot of the book is focused on how evil humans can be. The things devised by humans are argued to be worse than those by demons (as seen by how inspired the king is at them). This is, of course, also poking fun at paperwork.

But since the whole premise is that humans came up with these ideas on their own (as opposed to having help from demons), this theory doesn't apply in real life.

First posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile (less)

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May 14, 2012 Annette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, humor

A quick, amusing read featuring everyone's favorite anti-hero (that would be Rincewind) as he somehow manages to stumble through a Faustian adventure with an under-disciplined 13 year old "demonologist."
Honestly, the Rincewind sub-series has always been my least favorite of the Discworld sets. I just don't particularly enjoy central characters of the "befuddled bystander and hopeless loser" sort. Arthur Dent of the Hitchhiker's series is another (stronger) example of the type. I always prefer a...more

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May 12, 2012 Joshua Cejka rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Joshua by: Gillian

Shelves: fun

I received a copy of Eric - that just sounds weird - from a friend for My birthday and finished it in two days. On my birthday, no less, while sitting on my porch with a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. Perfect way to read in my opinion - but that's something else.

Anyway. Eric isn't quite as weighty - literally or figuratively - as some of the other Pratchett books i've read but it's a good, fun read with one of the most harrowingly awful depictions of Hell to come out in... well... centurie...more I received a copy of Eric - that just sounds weird - from a friend for My birthday and finished it in two days. On my birthday, no less, while sitting on my porch with a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. Perfect way to read in my opinion - but that's something else.

Anyway. Eric isn't quite as weighty - literally or figuratively - as some of the other Pratchett books i've read but it's a good, fun read with one of the most harrowingly awful depictions of Hell to come out in... well... centuries i guess. It's more like a string of pretty amusing anecdotal stories strung together and sandwiched into a small book form. But who cares, anyway? If that were a consideration Goodreads would come with a pagecounting scoreboard to show your ranking.

Bleh.

The true star of Eric, naturally, is The Luggage. He's enigmatic, fascinating, and determined. A compelling character in every sense of the word. What motivates him? Why is he so angry all the time? What compels him to devour those who stand in his way? And is it vaguely painful to walk on so many little feet? What must the sock cost be per month? These are the questions that will haunt me forever.

Like most of Pratchetts work (at least most of the stuff that i've read so far - i'm a bit of a noob) there are little gems of insight. Or dimsight. or acute ocular precision aimed at an out of focus image. Or something. That come about when Pratchett trains his wit on society and their... umm... societynesses. Boy that should be a word - indicating the things that a group of morons do which seem perfectly sensible to themselves but entirely idiotic to anyone with a brain. Pratchett just tosses these observations in with wild glee and abandon, perfectly aware that cleverness in novel making is something much frowned upon by people who read things for a purpose.

But Pratchett has a higher purpose. Books should make you think, he seems to say, but not to the extent that your head hurts and you want to curl up in a ball sobbing to yourself. They should also make you laugh, he seems to say, flying in the face of a century worth of literature devoted to the proposition that serious literature should make you want to open a vein or get really angry and start painting placards.

Pratchett is serious literature. Perhaps Eric is not. But it's still fun and much more fun than getting angry and painting placards. My Placard shall read "The Luggage for The Canon."

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Mar 26, 2012 Remo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2006, humor, novela

Encontré este libro en la tienda del aeropuerto y al llegar a mi destino ya lo había devorado. Terry Pratchett [TP] juega a reescribir la Historia y los clásicos. Un jovenzuelo llamado Eric invoca al demonio para que le conceda tres deseos, pero en su lugar aparece nuestro infatigable Rincewind, que hará lo posible por concedérselos. Durante las aventuras que corren tenemos oportunidad de observar cómo eran en realidad los aztecas, o cómo se invadió Troya (no fue con un caballo de madera), o cóm

...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Христо Блажев rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Ерик" на Пратчет преследва блаженства, а получава некадърния магьосник Ринсуинд...: http://www.knigolandia.info/2009/10/b...

Лошо е да си герой на Пратчет. Лошо е и да си хормонално необуздан тийнейджър. Най-лошо е да си от Анкх-Морпорк, най-шантавото място на Диска. А направо кошмарна е комбинацията от трите.

Това е Ерик. Приличен на Фауст. Но е тийнейджър. Разгонен е, макар и да не е никак наясно какво следва от това. Живее в споменатия град и е още жив, постижение само по себе си. Занимава...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Aldrea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Powered through this one in three days. As ever, the Discworld characters are a hoot to read about and this had me giggling through much of the story for one reason or the other.
Good to see Rincewind is finally out of the Dungeon Dimensions again, though what he’s been dragged into isn’t much better. Eric, a 13-year-old demonologist, is cute in his naivety about the wider world. Yet he still insists on his three wishes and what happens next is just hilarious.
First we get him wanting to be ruler...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Genie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eric, is a teenaged "would be" demonologist from Pseuodopolis. He is also a hopelessly spoiled brat. While trying to summon a demon to fulfill his wish for power, women, and eternal life, Eric winds up with the totally inept wizard, Rincewind who (along with Luggage) was last seen locked in the Dungeon Dimensions in "Sourcery".
Eric, Rincewind, Luggage and Eric's parrot time travel from the present to the past. They go all the way back to the beginning of time. Along the way Rincewind takes a t...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Creativity's Corner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, adult-lit

This book is supposed to be a satire on the story of Faust (in fact, many of the covers for other editions list it as Faust with a strikethrough and rewritten as Eric). I will be the first to admit that I know practically nothing about the Faust legend and what I do know is filtered through retelling upon retelling in various mediums. I don't really feel qualified to judge it in relation to Faust, because I don't know the original.

In relation to the rest of Pratchett's work though, I'd say this...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Ami rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

I don't read fiction, except when I do. And I read extremely slowly, except when I don't. Terry Prachett is one of the only authors who can cause those anomalies to occur. I love the Discworld series, and while this is one of the shorter tales, it was still a fun read. Rincewind is summoned by a demonologist named Eric, who happens to be a geeky teenager. I don't think "gamers" had come into popular media when the book was written, but I have to say that Eric reminded me of the stereotype. Pale,...more

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Feb 09, 2013 David Sarkies rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy

Eric seems to be that Discworld book that was written after Guards, Guards and before Moving Pictures that nobody really ever mentions. In fact having a glance over the comments on Goodreads it seems that it is not all that liked, and when I asked my friend who loves anything that Terry Pratchett writes, he simply said that it was okay, it has its moments, but not one of his best. Mind you we both agreed that the part where they travel to Discworld's version of the Trojan War was probably the h...more Eric seems to be that Discworld book that was written after Guards, Guards and before Moving Pictures that nobody really ever mentions. In fact having a glance over the comments on Goodreads it seems that it is not all that liked, and when I asked my friend who loves anything that Terry Pratchett writes, he simply said that it was okay, it has its moments, but not one of his best. Mind you we both agreed that the part where they travel to Discworld's version of the Trojan War was probably the highlight of the book, though I would have to also mention that the part where the guy whose hell is to endlessly push a boulder up a hill is replaced with somebody reading to him the entire Occupational Health and Safety Act (along with commentaries) was also a classic.
The story begins with Rincewind, who if we remember, was trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions at the end of Sourcery, being summoned by fourteen year old Eric who has wished to become the ruler of the world, marry the most beautiful woman in the world, and to live for ever. We then go on a journey to see these wishes fulfilled in a way that one would expect them to be fulfilled when the wishes are made to a demon (though Rincewind continues to protest that he is not a demon, despite the luggage – I love the luggage – doing its best to prove this assertion false).
One the wishes have all been fulfilled (as it turns out the whole idea of Helen being the most beautiful woman in the world was something of a legend, though we must remember that over a period of ten years people do tend to age), and Eric has discovered that the fulfillment of these wishes are not what he particularly wanted (sure, you can live forever, but you will begin your immortality at the beginning of the world, and continue on from there), the final leg of their journey is into hell (and we also get to see that road which is paved with good intentions).
Now the idea of hell that Pratchett portrays in very interesting, and he sort of pokes holes in the current idea that we tend to have (such as why is it when we don't have any nerves, or any body, are we inflicted with eternal pain?). His idea of hell, and though he brushes over Satre's comment that hell is other people, he gives the impression is that Hell is pure, unadulterated boredom (such as having the entire Occupational Health and Safety Act, inclusive of commentaries, being read to you). Personally, I don't think any of us can truly imagine what Hell is really like, except for the fact that it is not a very nice place. Our current idea of Hell, being fire and brimstone, is something that was borrowed from the Greeks, and developed by both Milton and Dante. However, the idea that we exist in Hell in a spirit form is not biblical because the Bible suggests that in Hell we will have our flesh, and thus be able to experience pain. Mind you, one of the best ideas that I have encountered about Hell comes from C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, and that is that Hell is not so much other people, but the fact that we cannot get along with other people, so we constantly seek loneliness. Not only that but it is also psychological, in that we are forever cursing those who have sent us there, and are so horrified with who we are and what we have done, that while we can see heaven, we simply do not feel worthy that we can go there.
I read recently an article in the Australian Financial Review about the idea of hell, and one idea that came from that was that Heaven was Heaven simply because it is not Hell. What was suggested was that those of us that were in Heaven could look down and see the fires and torments of Hell, and the fact that we were not there was what made heaven pleasurable. However that is a very smug and self-righteous view of what Heaven would be like, and to think that Heaven is being able to gloat over the fact that you are not suffering the way others are suffering is almost contradictory to the nature of God and Christ. The bible indicates that God is very unwilling to see people go to Hell, but they go their under their own steam simply because they have rejected God's offer. As I have suggested elsewhere, it is like being given an invitation to a party, and turning that invitation down so that on the night of the party you are sitting at home alone wishing that you could go to that party, but not doing so because you said no, and then raving in anger at those people because they are having so much fun (and I say that from experience).(less)

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Mar 05, 2013 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a weird little Discworld volume, closer in feel to a long short story than to the other Discworld novels. It's inoffensive, mildly funny, and better for sure than Sourcery, but its brief and linear story is also thoroughly inconsequential. The book's connection with Faust is thin and mostly limited to the first scenes, as 13-year-old Eric tries to summon a demon and gets Rincewind (who's been trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions since his last appearance in Sourcery) instead. Eric's three w...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Eliabeth Hawthorne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Eric is a fourteen year old demonologist who wants three things out of life: endless riches, the most beautiful woman in the world, oh and yeah- to rule the world. What he gets is Rincewind, a wizard better at running away than granting wishes. I'm always up for "be careful what you wish for" cautionary tales and this one did not disappoint. It had me chuckling and turning pages wondering how they were going to get out of each new wish. As the King of Hell puts it, "the whole point of the wish b...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you could have three wishes, what would they be? Eric, a young demonology hacker, is trying to summon a demon to grant his three, rather conventional, wishes granted. Unfortunately, instead of summoning a demon from hell, he only manages to summon Rincewind, Discworld’s least competent wizard. And because this is Discworld, Eric’s wishes are not granted in ways that at all resemble his true desires. His wish for mastery of the kingdoms of the world almost leads to them becoming a ritual sacri...more

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May 25, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-books-challenge

Eric, first published 1990, is the ninth discworld book, and the first published as illustrated novel. Sadly, the Kindle version I was reading included neither the illustrations by Josh Kirby, nor the alternating page titles of Eric and ~~Faust~~. It is also a Rincewind novel.

If you've read the older books revolving around the inept wizard, you already know that he has vanished to the dungeon dimensions in Sourcery. Now he gets a chance to come back - a one in a million chance, to be exact. They alw...more Eric, first published 1990, is the ninth discworld book, and the first published as illustrated novel. Sadly, the Kindle version I was reading included neither the illustrations by Josh Kirby, nor the alternating page titles of Eric and ~~Faust~~. It is also a Rincewind novel.

If you've read the older books revolving around the inept wizard, you already know that he has vanished to the dungeon dimensions in Sourcery. Now he gets a chance to come back - a one in a million chance, to be exact. They always work.
Eric is only a boy, but he is obsessed with summoning a demon to get three wishes: to live forever, to get the most beautiful woman of the world, and to be the ruler of the world. Instead of a demon, though, it's Rincewind who appears in the circle and has to play the role of a demon. He is quite surprised, in fact, that snapping his fingers has any effect at all...
Oh, and the effect it has! Rincewind and Eric are taken to an empire in Klatch, where the people are waiting to meet the ruler of the world - to complain. Only, complaining in an annoyed tone of voice is not their style, they're more the torture and kill types. They are rescued by the Luggage, of course, and with another finger snapping end up in a big wooden horse.
In Pyramids, the thing with the wooden horse was already extensively covered, but here's a short summary: Ephebe and Tsort are Terry Pratchett's parody on the Trojan war. In this war, though, the civilians try selling food to fighting soldiers and the Luggage gets to chase a lot of people. Before snapping his fingers again, Rincewind meets his ancestor Lavaeolus, who invented the horse and all tactics surrounding it. He can't bring himself to tell him that a long, 10 year journey lies before him...
Then Eric and Rincewind end up at the beginning of the universe, to have a nice chat with the creator (who creates an egg and cress sandwich for the wizard). To live forever means to start out at the beginning... But not with Rincewind! He makes Eric reverse his summoning of him, taking them both to hell.
How they escape from there as well, and what bureaucracy can do to hell, I'll leave up to you to find out.

So, what can I say about the book? It had Rincewind, the Luggage, a stupid teenager, Death, demons... Some references reminding me of Good Omens and a lot of travelling to strange places. I know some people really disliked Eric, but I enjoyed it as much as the other discworld novels I read so far.(less)

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Dec 13, 2010 Tana rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor-and-satire

Oh, Eric. Where do I even begin?

Even though it’s probably the shortest Discworld novel (197 pages in large font), it took me weeks to read. This might have had something to do with the obscene amount of schoolwork my teachers decided to heap on me at the time, but usually I will willingly give up homework, television and social life for a new Pratchett book, and I will do it with a grateful and reverent smile on my face.

This one, however . . . not so much.

For one thing I think I may be the only...more

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May 17, 2009 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

If "Eric" were a food, it'd be a hot dog. It feels like Pratchett took random bits of humor that weren't good enough to make it in other books, and mushed them all together. Eric is the lips and assholes of Pratchett's storytelling.

Eric seems to exist soley to resolve the cliffhanger ending of Sourcery, and it does so with a moderately amusing Deus Ex Machina. The rest of the book is more like a Family Guy episode than a coherent novel.

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Nov 04, 2011 Sorcha added it

Shelves: 2009, fantasy

One of the earliest Discworld books, and one of the shortest.[return][return]I'm not a huge fan of Rinceworld but this has to be the best one.[return][return]It contains one of my favourite scenes with Death:[return][return]The wizards stared into the magic octogram which remained empty. After a while the circle of robed figures began do mutter amongst themselves.[return][return][..][return][return]WHO ARE WE WATIING FOR, EXACTLY?[return][return]The bursar turned slowly to the figure beside him...more

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$Tommy /|\$

Jul 30, 2011 Tommy /|\ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Loosely based on the story of Faust, the story revolves around the conceptual aspects of Hell shortly after an Administrative transition has been achieved. Imagine Hell as a corporative entity undergoing a transitional change in its corporate culture. Now add to that mix the typical bad-luck of Rincewind the Demon..err..wizard. Mix into this a 13-year old Demonologist named Eric who has extreme concepts of ambition and glory that will be bestowed unto him via three wishes to be bestowed upon him...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars

A retelling of the classic Faust story in the form and style of a Discworld novel. Or rather a short story blown to novel proportions. With some careful prodding by a demon, Rincewind the most unfortunate wizard ever, finds himself dumped within a summoning circle. Young Eric now that he has in fact summoned a demon instead of a rather useless almost-wizard. Both Eric and Rincewind find themselves jostled around the disc and space-time as they become the leverage in not so subtle demon politics....more

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Jan 27, 2013 Charlotte Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apart from Terry Pratchett's children's books, Pratchett has never really been an author that I have had any interest in reading. I have tried to read some of his Discworld novels previously but never really got past the first few pages but after receiving this book as part of a brilliant collection for sale at The Book People online (not being sponsored at all, their collections are just amazing!), I thought I should try reading Terry Pratchett because I now actually own one of his books. Eric...more Apart from Terry Pratchett's children's books, Pratchett has never really been an author that I have had any interest in reading. I have tried to read some of his Discworld novels previously but never really got past the first few pages but after receiving this book as part of a brilliant collection for sale at The Book People online (not being sponsored at all, their collections are just amazing!), I thought I should try reading Terry Pratchett because I now actually own one of his books. Eric is a really short book, at only around 150 pages and I thought that this would be the perfect one to start with. Eric is about a fourteen year old demonology enthusiast who summons a demon to grant him three wishes, but instead he gets Rincewind, the most incompetent wizard in Discworld.

I found that although the idea of the plot and the synopsis on the back of the book looked interesting, the execution lacked a deep plot and it seemed to end quite suddenly. I appreciate that this is a short book, and that there was not really much time for development but I found that it just seemed to describe a chain of events with no real conclusion. Although I did like the plot, I think that if the book was longer there would have been more time to develop the story as I felt that the book seemed unfinished somehow.

I really liked the characters in this book. Rincewind reminded me very much of Radagast from Tolkien's The Hobbit in that he is incompetent as far as a wizard goes, and a bit eccentric. I think that I would like to read more about Rincewind in Terry Pratchett's other books but I don't think that the character was really explored to his fullest in this book.

Overall I think that the writing style was something that I could happily read in another one of this author's books, though it did take a bit of getting used to. I loved the world building and think that the writing style lent itself well to this fantasy style of book.

On the whole, I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars, and although I didn't particularly enjoy Eric, I would be interested in reading other Terry Pratchett books as I really liked the way that it was written and the world that Pratchett created.(less)

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Oct 05, 2012 Michael Clemens rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a shame that Goodreads doesn't allow half-stars, for there's certainly something missing in Eric. Pratchett does have a habit of sometimes jumping from scene to scene without a decipherable transition: extend that to book length, and you'll have a sense of how disjointedly this title reads. Rincewind's standard imperiled shtick is growing a little thin by now, and the supporting characters are even thinner. Shunted through time, he and the titular character barely spend enough time mucking...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Jeremy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

This isn't the among the best of the Discworld novels that I've read, but I found it entertaining still. It is structured more like the first two Discworld novels than the ones immediately before it. It's a series of short satirical stories connected by the main plot of Eric as a would-be Faust, and Rincewind the demon he's supposed to summon.

The situations they end up in are on the more lighthearted side of satirical. None of them were very thought-provoking, but they did get a few laughs out o...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Candy Wood added it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

The only trouble with Eric: it’s too short. Here we are with Rincewind (who discovers an ancestor called Lavaeolus, a version of Odysseus), the Luggage, and not-quite-fourteen-year-old Eric, an unlikely version of Faust, exploring a Hell that has circles but has been improved (if that’s the word) by the demon king Astfgl into a realm of excruciating boredom. A proper Faust has to want a Helen of Troy, so we get the Discworld version of the Trojan War; he wants to live forever, so here comes a pa...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Xirxe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookcrossing, fantasy, humor

Nachdem es Rincewind, den erfolglosen Zauberer der Scheibenwelt, bei seinem letzten Abenteuer in eine Kerkerdimension verschlagen hat, unternimmt er alles um zurückzukommen. Dabei kommt ihm Eric, ein kleiner Junge, wider Willen zu Hilfe. Dieser wollte eigentlich einen Dämon heraufbeschwören, statt dessen bekam er - Rincewind. Ehe sie es sich versehen, sind sie schon auf einer Reise durch Zeit, Raum und sonstige Dimensionen statt einfach nach Ankh-Morpork zurückzukehren.
Ein ungewöhnlich kurzer Ro...more

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May 14, 2011 Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Unlike the rest of Pratchett's oeuvre, I'd only ever read Eric once before this current re-read/send-off I'm doing of his work.

Maybe I'm being more lenient towards this than his other books because of it, but Eric was really funny. It's also -I think- the last time Pterry let his personal life (rather than personal beliefs, crucial difference) colour a book so thoroughly. It's short and snappy, the jokes are constructed with that meticulous, engineered zeal that he has, and the idea of torturing...more

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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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“Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.” — 720 people liked it

“There's a door."
"Where does it go?"
"It stays where it is, I think.” — 212 people liked it

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Eric (Discworld #9)

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