The Colour of Magic

Paperback, 288 pages

English language

Published Dec. 30, 1990 by Corgi.

ISBN:
978-0-552-12475-1
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OCLC Number:
12583368

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4 stars (2 reviews)

Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent novels are consistent number one bestsellers in England, where they have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody next to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.The Color of Magic is Terry Pratchett's maiden voyage through the now-legendary land of Discworld. This is where it all begins--with the tourist Twoflower and his wizard guide, Rincewind.

19 editions

Torn between 3 and 4 stars

3 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 …

A fantasy world for the irreverent

5 stars

This is the first of Pratchett's Discworld series. I have read and enjoyed others in the setting but had never read this one. In case you are new to it, the discworld is literally a disc-shaped world being carried through space on the backs of four elephants, which are standing on a great tortoise. As you can tell, the rules are all different in this world. If you are looking for deep history and fully formed fantasy languages keep looking. If you want a laugh-out-loud fun romp, open this happy tome.