The Color of Magic

, #1

eBook, 293 pages

English language

Published April 14, 2014 by HarperCollins.

ISBN:
978-0-06-179684-5
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(2 reviews)

On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There's an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet...

21 editions

"Jerome K. Jerome meets The Lord of the Rings (with a touch of Peter Pan)"

That sentence was on the front cover of the edition I've read (although I usually despise comments places there apart from title/author) and it was quite on the spot for once: the style and irony of Jerome K. Jerome applied in an archetypal fantasy novel. Not sure about the Peter Pan's part of that comment, as I didn't read it yet, but I guess: Twoflower makes for it?

In any case, it was a very slow reading compared to the first one I've discovered from the Discworld saga ("Sourcery"), so the enthusiasm went a bit down and it's understandable I found it less appealing also given it's the first one -but I've liked it nonetheless as an absurd/whimsical reading! ;)

Torn between 3 and 4 stars

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 …