The Colour of Magic

In the debut entry of the late Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, he gives some background on the world in which his stories occur, with the franchise’s eponymous world sitting atop a giant turtle named Great A’Tuin, atop which four sizeable elephants named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen sit as well. This was a hypothesis until emissaries from the secretive nation of Krull were lowered beyond the edge of Discworld, with the gender of the voluminous tortoise being indeterminate. The turtle itself is supposedly crawling from its Birthplace to the Time of Mating, from which shall come a Big Bang.

The story proper commences with colorful fire raging through the twin city of Ankh-Morpork, with some characters observing from a distance. One of the more confusing aspects of the story is that it’s a tad unclear as to whether Bravd and/or the Weasel are one in the same character or separate entities. The chief protagonist is an amateur wizard named Rincewind, with a citizen of Bes Palargic, the major seaport of the Agatean Empire, named Twoflower, coming with supposed treasure. The wizard and this rich fellow embark upon a series of misadventures, along with animate Luggage, that will take them to the edge of Discworld, maybe beyond.

This is a good start to the vast literary pantheon for the most part, although there are peculiarities such as the story’s main sections not divided by any chapters, which can occasionally lead to confusion regarding things such as a change of scenery or viewpoint. The franchise is further billed as a comical fantasy series, although this reviewer didn’t laugh much at the humor, despite the abundance of many humorous situations. Furthermore, the author is kind enough to introduce the setting of his series’ many novels, with the uniqueness of its suspension, and this critic would definitely recommend this read, which is undoubtedly unorthodox.