I've decided to review the first two books, "The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic" together since they both follow the same characters and storyline.
First, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way.
Is this an epic beginning to this iconic series so loved and cherished that it's considered a national treasure in Britain? No.
Is it remarkable, incredible, the best thing you will ever read? No.
Is it as funny as they say, will you gasp for breath while laughing uncontrollably? No.
Is it expertly crafted, the work of an accomplished author? No.
These two books are the work of a novice author long before he knew he'd become a national icon and his hobby turn into a book series spanning thirty years and forty-one novels.
Is it still worth reading? Yes, absolutely.
"The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic" are not bad books, they have some great lines, and the characters are enjoyable if a bit rough around the edges. What is apparent, is that when these books were written Terry Pratchett hadn't quite found his unique language yet. It's there developing in front of your eyes, but sometimes it gets swallowed by wordiness; the pacing is uneven and the plot somewhat unfocused.
To quote Terry himself: "I suppose around the fifth or sixth Discworld book, I discovered the joy of plot."
That's not to say there isn't a plot in these two books, there is. In the first book, we're introduced to the Discworld.
“The disc, being flat, has no real horizon. Any adventurous sailor who got funny ideas from staring at eggs and oranges for too long and set out for the antipodes soon learned that the reason why distant ships sometimes looked as though they were disappearing over the edge of the world was that they were disappearing over the edge of the world.”
― Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic
The story begins in the city of Ankh-Morpork just as it's inhabitants are about to experience something new and unfamiliar, a tourist.
“Ankh-Morpork! Pearl of cities! This is not a completely accurate description, of course — it was not round and shiny — but even its worst enemies would agree that if you had to liken Ankh-Morpork to anything, then it might as well be a piece of rubbish covered with the diseased secretions of a dying mollusk.”
― Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic
Twoflower the tourist eventually meet Rincewind the Wizard. Rincewind is not a very good wizard, in fact, he only knows one spell, and because of the nature of this spell, he can under no circumstances use it. One thing Rincewind is good at is languages, and since he's one of few people in Ankh-Morpork who can understand Twoflower, and Twoflower has a lot of gold, he agrees to become a guide. The story that unfolds in the first book and continues in the second centers around the adventures these two come across as they travel the Discworld; it's a buddy road trip comedy of sorts. The problem is that Twoflower the tourist loves adventures and has a knack for getting himself into trouble...
"Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on the Discworld. Tourist, Rincewind had decided, meant 'idiot.'" (The Color of Magic)"
While Rincewind...
"Rincewind could scream for mercy in nineteen languages, and just scream in another forty-four." (Terry Pratchett)
Their journey takes them across the Discworld all the way to the land of Krull right at the rim of the Discworld and then back again. Along the way, they meet heroes, dragons, elderly barbarians with arthritis, druids and virgin sacrifice not that keen to be rescued and many more.
Terry Pratchett plays with words, themes, irony, sarcasm, parody, and satire. The books can appear simple at first glance, but the language and story have more layers than you might think. Terry Pratchett doesn't explain things to you; you either have a grasp on the underlying theme he's making fun of, or you don't; that knowledge determines if you understand the jokes or not. Simply put, the books are a lot smarter than they appear to be.
If you're thinking about taking on the Discworld series, I think you should read these, if not for anything else than for the joy of experiencing the Discworld's birth. But do so with an open mind and knowledge that the style, pacing, plot and the skill of the author will quickly evolve as the series continues, don't judge the entire series on these first two books. "The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic" is not amazing writing but the potential and the promise of what this series later become is clear, and if you can take the books for what they are, I'm sure you'll have a good time.
