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This time around I’ve chosen a book that was first published back in 1983. The author, Terry Pratchett, has crafted a humorous satire of the Fantasy genre. The setting is Discworld, a flat circular world that rests on the back of 4 giant (well, colossal really) elephants that are standing on the shell of an enormous turtle swimming through space. That kind of gives you the impression that this book book and the many that follow, doesn’t take itself to seriously.

This book is the first of dozens of books in the same fantasy world with many of the same characters crossing over from book to book.  In this story we are introduced first to the world, then to it’s greatest city, Ankh-Morpork. As the story open the city is burning, which it does from time to time as well as gets flooded, overrun, conquered, etc. Escaping from city are the two primary characters in this book; Rincewind, a failed wizard that can’t cast a single simple spell; and Twoflower, a naive traveler from a far away land.

The unlikely duo come together after Twoflower arrives at the docks with phrase book in hand and a chest full of money. A series of misadventures, misunderstandings and plain mistakes, have the city ablaze and the pair making a run for it. What follows is the adventures of the pair as they travel the Discworld. Twoflower gets them into trouble because he is an eager tourist and wants to see all the sights and experience everything he has only ever read about, including haunted tombs, and riding dragons. Meanwhile, Rincewind is only trying to stay alive and do his best to keep his companion that way as well.

Pratchett’s writing style is easy to get into, the flow and pace are quick and the plot easy to follow. Pratchett pokes fun at the typical fantasy ideals. Big, bold heroes, scheming city leaders, dramatic rescues and that sort of thing. There is a great deal of humor in the story as well. It’s not terribly graphic or violent but there is some fighting and swordplay and things typical of the sword and sorcery genre. This is the first of dozens of books set in the Discworld universe and I would recommend then all.

Is it Right for Kids?  Only for older kids, probably 8 or older. If your kids are reading Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and similar books, these will be a great addition to their library.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 6:47 am and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.