Hardcover, 207 pages
English language
Published Oct. 12, 1989 by Colin Smythe.
Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent novels are consistent number one bestsellers in England, where they have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody next to 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 guide, Rincewind.
On re-read I was very disappointed. It focuses too much on the comedy and forgets to tell a story.
Full review here.
As others have no doubt long since covered, this isn't the best introduction to the Discworld - but at the same time, I think it's solid, and does some things well.
The book is reliant on satirising a type of fantasy novel which has become less popular in the decades since. Without that context and indeed even understanding it but looking back all these years later, I think it's solidly "OK", with a few germs of ideas that will become something stronger later but not itself really hitting the heights.
I love Ricewind story and I loved plentiful allusions to nerd culture of the 80s, but it almost reads like a really good Discworld fanfic than a Discworld book.
The storyline was scattered and it felt like three or four short-stories stitched together (by a genius).
I loved re-reading it, but it truly shows how amazing other works of Pratchett are.
Imagine dragons!
Nun habe ich also mein erstes Scheibenwelt-Buch gelesen. Ich las es auf englisch, und das hat sich als Problem herausgestellt. Obwohl mein Englisch eigentlich nicht schlecht ist, hatte ich hier doch einige Probleme mit dem Verständnis. Viel zu viele Wörter kannte ich nämlich überhaupt nicht. Das hat den Lesespaß ein bisschen getrübt. Wobei ich nicht weiß, ob das überhaupt alles reguläre englische Wörter waren, oder ob T.P. sich die nur ausgedacht hat. Ich werde auf jeden Fall dranbleiben, weil ich skurrile Welten mag. Vielleicht lese ich den nächsten Band der Reihe aber mal auf deutsch.
This is the first of Pratchett's books I've read. He has an absurd yet clever sense of humour that I rather appreciate.
Enjoyed it - a fun read!
Discworld and Sir Terry were a big part of my life growing up, he had a large impact on who I became.
I'm not sure for newcomers to his writing I'd fully recommend The Colour of Magic - I believe Sir Terry himself said to start from book three (Sourcery) - but this is an interesting historical artefact.
I plan to read through the entire Discworld series in the coming months (and years, I guess - I don't plan to only read Discworld non-stop), so starting from the very beginning to experience how Sir Terry's style developed was a key choice for me.
I did enjoy it a lot though! Torn between 3 and 4 stars. It's good! But I feel like 4 stars requires a level of excellence not quite attained here - it does feel a little disjointed at times, and some …
Enjoyed it - a fun read!
Discworld and Sir Terry were a big part of my life growing up, he had a large impact on who I became.
I'm not sure for newcomers to his writing I'd fully recommend The Colour of Magic - I believe Sir Terry himself said to start from book three (Sourcery) - but this is an interesting historical artefact.
I plan to read through the entire Discworld series in the coming months (and years, I guess - I don't plan to only read Discworld non-stop), so starting from the very beginning to experience how Sir Terry's style developed was a key choice for me.
I did enjoy it a lot though! Torn between 3 and 4 stars. It's good! But I feel like 4 stars requires a level of excellence not quite attained here - it does feel a little disjointed at times, and some scenes don't really seem to have any purpose.
I almost didn't want to re-read this one because it is so overshadowed in my mind by the series it would spawn. It's weirdly structured and unfocused - more like four sequential short stories than a novel - but it's still an incredible romp across the freshly imagined Discworld (and beyond).
Many people say that this is the worst Discworld novel to start with, because Sir Terry had not yet truly come into his own.
That may be, but without much other exposure to his writing, this is perfectly enjoyable! Just because it gets better, does not mean this is bad.
Listened to the shiny new audiobook, and the narration was quite good (though not entirely obvious it’s entirely different people narrating footnotes and a certain character).
