Saturday, September 14, 2019

Sourcery

Sourcery-cover.jpg 

The third Discworld novel starring Rincewind opens with author Terry Pratchett explaining the origin of the animate Luggage, not to mention the legend of an eighth son of an eighth son becoming a wizard. Death interacts with Ipslore the Red, the father of eighty son Coin, and spring comes to Ankh-Morpork, where Virrid Wayzygoose is the favorite to become the new Archchancellor of Unseen University. However, his forthcoming ascension does not go unopposed, as Spelter plots poisoning, and Skarmer Billias, head of the Order of the Silver Star, takes a liking to Coin, whilst Gravie Derment of the Sages of the Unknown Shadow want the boy trained formally.

Pratchett highlights the difference between wizardry and sourcery, and a thief ultimately purloins the magical hat necessary to coronate a new Archchancellor. The thief, Conina, foretells the death of wizardry, with Rincewind agreeing to protect her, and the two taking a slave-populated vessel to the city of Al Khali, after Conina has the hat stolen from her. Sourcerers threaten to bring new magic into the world, with Unseen University being their target, given their wish to end the systems of Orders and Levels, and Coin among them questions the rule of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari.

No king has ruled Ankh-Morpork for over two millennia, with one of the main antagonists of the story, Carding, plotting an overthrow of the Patrician. The Apocralypse, essentially an apocryphal Apocalypse, is predicted, with Rincewind, aboard the slave ship, communicating with deceased Archchancellors, he and Conina stirring an insurrection by the bonded. Rincewind and Conina explore Al Khali, with the latter indicating that her father Cohen sought the Lost City of Ee, and Coin plots the incineration of the Library of Unseen University, with Spelter concerned about said forthcoming immolation.

Creosote, the Seriph of Al Khali, is eventually introduced, with the Grand Vizier coming to possess the Archchancellor’s hat, which is sentient and attempts negotiation with the vizier. The Luggage has its own adventures, wandering the desert and traveling via the River Tsort, while Rincewind and Conina recruit another character, Nijel, with whom they seek a flying carpet for faster conveyance. A magic lamp and its accompanying genie are thrown into the mix, whilst towers of sourcery arrive and threaten the whole of the Discworld. The horsemen, three who become Pedestrians, of the Apocralypse are among the final characters introduced.

Overall, this was another enjoyable Discworld story, and while Pratchett, like other entries of the series, doesn’t divide it into chapters, there are natural breaks in viewpoint changes, so the lack of numbered subsections is largely forgivable. The action of the story, given the constant perspective alternation, can be somewhat chaotic, and there are instances, for instance one where a character falls asleep, where it’s unclear who is performing said action. Readers’ mileage will also vary regarding the book’s hypothetical humor, and while I didn’t find it all that funny, there are occasional humorous situations, and I would easily recommend it to those who enjoyed its precursors.

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