Title: The Colour of Magic
Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld #1, Rincewind #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Easy reading, Fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Corgi
Year: 1983
5th sentence, 74th page: Is he that funny looking one over there?

In the beginning there was… a turtle.

Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place which might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different. Particularly as it’s carried though space on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown). It plays by different rules.

But then, some things are the same everywhere. The Disc’s very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the world’s first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land. Unfortunately, the person charged with maintaining that survival in the face of robbers, mercenaries and, well, Death, is a spectacularly inept wizard…

I have had The Colour of Magic in my bookshelf since Terry Pratchett passed away. After all, I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. As usual though, I was a little delayed with opening the actual book. However, I really wasn’t disappointed. This story was funny, entertaining and cute. It was incredibly fun and easy to read, and I was really sad when it was all over.

Rincewind’s journey through Discworld with Twoflower is a calamity of mistakes that just steadily gets worse and worse. Anything that can go wrong does, and although in most stories, I would just find this predictable, irritating and cringe-worthy – in Pratchett’s world, it’s just funny. Partly it feels like he’s just making fun at the more serious versions of fantasy and scifi novels. But, there’s also this ability for the storyline to completely suck you in. For me, a good book is one that you just can’t put down. And that was the case with The Colour of Magic.

Although I loved this book, there were no specific moments that jumped out at me. I remember the rough plotline, I remember the feeling of reading the book. But not so much the exact plotline. Nor, the poignant message in the words that I get in some storylines. But, that’s probably what I loved about this. It’s a happy go lucky, easy storyline. Something that I will be able to read again and again and enjoy each and every time.

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Image source: Waterstones