Somehow, I had never read a Terry Pratchett book before. That was a significant gap in my reading history for sure, and having read just this one so far, I can see why people love his work so much.

I did receive recommendations from several people to start on one of the later Discworld books. What I took away from that is that if I wasn’t blown away by the first few, I would still continue, because the best is still to come. And I totally get an author taking some time to develop a voice and hit their stride with their stories. I was never really going to start on any book except the first one, like some kind of madman.

As I say though - I do see why people love these books. Pratchett has a voice that isn’t quite like any other sci-fi or fantasy book that I have read. The irreverence is endearing and not overused. The surprise humor doesn’t pull you out of the story, because the story is intentionally and consistently fantastically beyond the rules of our reality, and that gives the setting space for humor that would interrupt another, more “believable” one.

I greatly enjoyed the quick back and forth where someone was trying to burn down a building and failing, due to wet matches. Death (the actual avatar of the concept of death) hands the man a lit match. The man absently says “Thanks,” and then death says “Don’t mention it”. The way that Death is so casual, so everyday, is quite delightful.

Also, don’t fuck with the Luggage.

If you haven’t read Pratchett, I’d highly recommend him. And I hear it gets better over time too.

The Colour of Magic

By Terry Pratchett

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Reference links: Why I like Storygraph, My concerns with Goodreads, How my scoring system works