The Last Hero
I've been reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series for several years now. I actually read my first Discworld
novel during my freshman year of college. But then I stopped taking
every single class pass/fail and ran out of time to read anything I was
being graded on. I didn't get back to the series until after graduation
and have spent the last four years occasionally visiting the Discworld.
I've read the first 26 (of 39) novels, without seeing much artwork.
There aren't any maps included in the books (only an admonishment that
you can't map a sense of humor). The covers of the editions I'm reading
are fairly abstract. And I haven't sought out the movies or graphic
novels. The world existed entirely in my imagination, and I was happy to
let it.
Then The Last Hero arrived in the mail and I was floored. The book is huge (10.8" x 9.2", according to Amazon) and fully illustrated. The illustrations, by Paul Kidby, are amazing. They comprise about 80% of my enjoyment of this book, which is saying a lot, since the story itself was also incredibly entertaining. I finally got to see Rincewind and Carrot and Cohen the Barbarian. There was a picture of the Discworld on the back of A'Tuin and the elephants that's the closest thing to a map I've ever seen. There are pages of Leonard of Quirm's paintings and schematics and notes. The book is a just a delight. Especially since I've already read so much about the Discworld. Seeing it all come to life was a lot of fun.
The story is good, too. It's a lot shorter than most Discworld novels. Even with all the illustrations, the book is only 175 pages long. The premise is that Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde have decided to go on one last adventure to return fire to the gods. The first hero stole fire from the gods back in the beginning of the world, so Cohen feels that it is appropriate that he, the last hero, return what was stolen. The wizards are convinced that this will end the world, so they recruit a team to stop him.
The team the wizards assemble to save the world is a stroke of genius on Pratchett's part. We get Leonard of Quirm (the Discworld equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci), Carrot (a simple-minded and honorable cop), and Rincewind (a coward and wizzard). I'm usually not the biggest fan of Rincewind, but pairing him up with Carrot and Leonard made him a lot more fun. And splitting time between him, Cohen, and the wizards provided the right balance for enjoyment.
This probably isn't the best Discworld book to start with, since so much of my appreciation of the artwork was dependent on the amount of time I've spent in this universe. But it's definitely a fun installment in the series, one I'll be returning to again and again.
Then The Last Hero arrived in the mail and I was floored. The book is huge (10.8" x 9.2", according to Amazon) and fully illustrated. The illustrations, by Paul Kidby, are amazing. They comprise about 80% of my enjoyment of this book, which is saying a lot, since the story itself was also incredibly entertaining. I finally got to see Rincewind and Carrot and Cohen the Barbarian. There was a picture of the Discworld on the back of A'Tuin and the elephants that's the closest thing to a map I've ever seen. There are pages of Leonard of Quirm's paintings and schematics and notes. The book is a just a delight. Especially since I've already read so much about the Discworld. Seeing it all come to life was a lot of fun.
The story is good, too. It's a lot shorter than most Discworld novels. Even with all the illustrations, the book is only 175 pages long. The premise is that Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde have decided to go on one last adventure to return fire to the gods. The first hero stole fire from the gods back in the beginning of the world, so Cohen feels that it is appropriate that he, the last hero, return what was stolen. The wizards are convinced that this will end the world, so they recruit a team to stop him.
The team the wizards assemble to save the world is a stroke of genius on Pratchett's part. We get Leonard of Quirm (the Discworld equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci), Carrot (a simple-minded and honorable cop), and Rincewind (a coward and wizzard). I'm usually not the biggest fan of Rincewind, but pairing him up with Carrot and Leonard made him a lot more fun. And splitting time between him, Cohen, and the wizards provided the right balance for enjoyment.
This probably isn't the best Discworld book to start with, since so much of my appreciation of the artwork was dependent on the amount of time I've spent in this universe. But it's definitely a fun installment in the series, one I'll be returning to again and again.
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