Back from the time when it all began, The Light Fantastic is the classic second Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett from 1986. Little did anybody know that it would eventually lead to Pratchett becoming Great Britain's number one best-selling author in the following decade.
The Light Fantastic is a delightful parody on, among many other things, the mythical Armageddon and the religious fanaticism it engenders in people. In Pratchett's Discworld, this fanaticism naturally leads to book burning, lynch mobs, and entranced, mindless throngs.
Moving through all of this, we follow the (mis-)adventures of a "failed" wizard named Rincewind as he travels around the Discworld, trying to get away from anything that seems threatening, which covers just about everything.
Everything, that is, except the one thing that causes everyone else to panic: The new Red Star that has been showing up on the sky and keeps growing in intensity and heat. As Rincewind's friend Twoflower so aptly puts it: "If there was anything at all to be frightened about, he'd be frightened. But he's not. The star is just about the only thing I've ever seen him not frightened of. If he's not worried, then take if it from me, there's nothing to worry about."
In the end, it turns out that Twoflower is right in using Rincewind as the barometer for any real threat to the world as they know it. Rincewind is, after all, the Discworld's leading authority on when to panic.
The adventures of Rincewind and Twoflower take them through a forest of talking trees, a visit with predominantly friendly rock trolls, travelling through the universe in a magic gift shop and through the skies on a druid-levitated rock, narrowly escaping Death after visiting the netherworlds, and saving a sacrificial virgin against her most ardent insistence: Things that are possible on the Discworld and nowhere else.
However, what the story is really about is a "lost" magic spell that every wizard on Discworld is searching for. Together with the seven other spells from the magic book Octavo, it needs to be read at the appointed time in order to turn the tide of events, save the Discworld from destruction, and veer Great A'Tuin away from the Red Star.
Great A'Tuin, naturally, being the giant sea turtle swimming through space with four elephants on its back, elephants which in turn carry the Discworld on their backs. I'm just saying, in case there are those of you who still believe that worlds are generally spherical and revolve around the suns.
The Light Fantastic is a great read and highly recommended, though I must caution, it requires great discipline in order to not laugh out loud if read in quiet public spaces such as libraries. It can be read as a standalone book or as part of the series. - 31879
The Light Fantastic is a delightful parody on, among many other things, the mythical Armageddon and the religious fanaticism it engenders in people. In Pratchett's Discworld, this fanaticism naturally leads to book burning, lynch mobs, and entranced, mindless throngs.
Moving through all of this, we follow the (mis-)adventures of a "failed" wizard named Rincewind as he travels around the Discworld, trying to get away from anything that seems threatening, which covers just about everything.
Everything, that is, except the one thing that causes everyone else to panic: The new Red Star that has been showing up on the sky and keeps growing in intensity and heat. As Rincewind's friend Twoflower so aptly puts it: "If there was anything at all to be frightened about, he'd be frightened. But he's not. The star is just about the only thing I've ever seen him not frightened of. If he's not worried, then take if it from me, there's nothing to worry about."
In the end, it turns out that Twoflower is right in using Rincewind as the barometer for any real threat to the world as they know it. Rincewind is, after all, the Discworld's leading authority on when to panic.
The adventures of Rincewind and Twoflower take them through a forest of talking trees, a visit with predominantly friendly rock trolls, travelling through the universe in a magic gift shop and through the skies on a druid-levitated rock, narrowly escaping Death after visiting the netherworlds, and saving a sacrificial virgin against her most ardent insistence: Things that are possible on the Discworld and nowhere else.
However, what the story is really about is a "lost" magic spell that every wizard on Discworld is searching for. Together with the seven other spells from the magic book Octavo, it needs to be read at the appointed time in order to turn the tide of events, save the Discworld from destruction, and veer Great A'Tuin away from the Red Star.
Great A'Tuin, naturally, being the giant sea turtle swimming through space with four elephants on its back, elephants which in turn carry the Discworld on their backs. I'm just saying, in case there are those of you who still believe that worlds are generally spherical and revolve around the suns.
The Light Fantastic is a great read and highly recommended, though I must caution, it requires great discipline in order to not laugh out loud if read in quiet public spaces such as libraries. It can be read as a standalone book or as part of the series. - 31879
About the Author:
Mrs. Hellman resides in Western North Carolina with her husband and three children. A professional copywriter, she writes and publishes book reviews as a hobby. In the late 1980's, her husband turned her onto the books by Terry Pratchett. Visit her website The Light Fantastic for more information on Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, from The Color of Magic (1983) to Unseen Academicals (2009).
