The Light Fantastic

by Terry Pratchett

Paperback, 288 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 1986 by Corgi Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-552-12848-3

(206 reviews)

The Light Fantastic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the Discworld series. It was published on 2 June 1986, the first printing being of 1,034 copies. The title, taken from a poem by John Milton, in which it refers to dancing lightly with extravagance. The events of the novel are a direct continuation of those in the preceding book, The Colour of Magic.

38 editions

Matthew reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Fantastic!

5 stars

I love this opening quote:

The sun rose slowly, as if it wasn’t sure it was worth all the effort.

This was a brilliant read. Really enjoyed it.

Where I felt the first one to be perhaps a little disjointed - lots of fun little scenes but maybe a bit less in the way of compelling overall narrative - this one is so much better.

I'm aware that Sir Terry recommended people ignore the first two books in the reading order, and whilst I can see why he may have said that about the first one, this one is very much worth reading.

It's funny, heartwarming, interesting; the main story is compelling and well-paced; there's plenty of sharp observations on humanity. His talent only develops upwards from here, of course, but the improvement between the first and second books is remarkable.

It's also got some incredible punes in it.

@bookstodon@a.gup.pe …

I love this opening quote:

The sun rose slowly, as if it wasn’t sure it was worth all the effort.

This was a brilliant read. Really enjoyed it.

Where I felt the first one to be perhaps a little disjointed - lots of fun little scenes but maybe a bit less in the way of compelling overall narrative - this one is so much better.

I'm aware that Sir Terry recommended people ignore the first two books in the reading order, and whilst I can see why he may have said that about the first one, this one is very much worth reading.

It's also got some incredible punes in it.

@bookstodon@a.gup.pe

#Discworld #GNUTerryPratchett

jonn reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

The first actual Discworld novel

4 stars

This feels coherent and raises the serious topics such as that one of fascism and fanaticism which are so often treated by Pratchett. Lovely parting with Twoflower and amazing outro. Hooked me hard on the wizards stories.

ajft reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

Time to dive back into discworld... and luggage

4 stars

Hunting around for something for the kid to read and found the Pratchett's that I own. Time to revisit for a thoroughly enjoyable lighthearted romp

Hyperlink Your BOOKS reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

A fine sequel

3 stars

An improvement on "The Colour of Magic", but still not what I would come to expect from the series. The climax falls a little flat to me. A fun adventure nonetheless.

Smoon reviewed Lehké fantastično by Terry Pratchett

Byl jsem lapen

5 stars

Druhý díl je skutečně lepší jak ten první. Příběh už není rozkouskovaný a konečně začíná získávat směr. Ačkoliv mám pocit, že to nejlepší není až tak příběh samotný jako vykreslení jednotlivých postav. A to až do takové šířky, že člověk miluje i tu nejposlednější nejvedlejší postavu, o kterou hrdina jen zavadil okem.

Books That Burn reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

This follows the continuing adventures of Rincewind and Twoflower. Unfortunately I still can’t stand either one of them and the tone of the quips feels off. The pacing was better than THE COLOR OF MAGIC, but this one was a miss for me.

Keno Goertz reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This was an absolute blast to read after The Colour of Magic. It's still nuts and kind of all over the place. But I was prepared for that and damn was it fun.

Matto reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

Wonderful written

Wetdryvac reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The early Discworld stuff I enjoy less than the later, but it's still darn good.

Nathan Friedly reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Quite a lot of fun, and this one I hadn't read before!

matt reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

More focused than the previous book, but still pretty slapdash. Some of the jokes were overly on-the-nose, but the overall experience was fun.

Joao Trindade reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Complete non-sense, extremely hilarious

Jay Stevens reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Of the two I've read so far of this series, they are giving The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a very good run for its money (although I must say I am partial to Hitchhiker's a TINY bit more, but this is certainly VERY close).

Adrián Astur Álvarez reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is the second Discworld book and the second one I've read. I'm officially hooked. The writing is better here: more jokes (puns, one-liners, silly observations), focused plotting, filled out characters, and even a few poignant lines that lead me to believe there may be more to Pratchett than just a catalog of yuks.

I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series.

drizzy reviewed The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #2)

Review of 'The Light Fantastic' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I enjoyed this second Discworld novel marginally more than the first part (Colour of Magic). The humour is there in all its gory, no idiom will stay unscathed and no legend uprooted. Darkness is not the opposite of light, it's just absence of light. Opposite of light is called (appropriately): Light Fantastic.