This book is the continuation of The Color of Magic. It introduces a few important characters, Cohen the Barbarian, Bethane, the would-be sacrifice, and Trymon, the nasty, power hungry wizard. Once again, Pratchett's use of metaphor and his deft and comical descriptions make this a very enjoyable read and an excellent conclusion to The Color of Magic. ( )

This book continues on with Rincewind and Twoflower's journey, and you find out how much of a "Wizzard"--Rincewind truly is as the Discworld is on a collision course with a red star. Rincewind continues on his desperate attempts to keep the idiot Twoflower from getting them all killed, and along the way they meet some new friends, including an aging hero, Cohen the Barbarian, and a druidess saved from ritual sacrifice. They wind their way through a mix of Grimm's fairy tales, apocalyptic insanity.

One of Pratchett's earliest Discworld novels. Not his best, but has occasional flashes of brilliance. Fun for rabid fans (like me) to play "spot the link"--catching glimpses of ideas that Pratchett developed more fully in later novels: the castle of teeth (Hogfather); Death and the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Good Omens, Hogfather); trolls living backward in time (Thud); riffs on cliched SciFi / fantasy memes, like the mysterious magic shop and the non-leather-bustier-wearing warrior woman; and the presence of a villain treats people as things (Small Gods,Carpe Jugulum.) ( )

My Rating: B+

My Review:

At first this book struck me as hysterical, but after about fifty pages I found that I was having trouble getting into it. Beyond the sheer hilarity I had a lot of issues finding characters that I could connect with. By the end though, I was enthralled by the story and couldn't wait to get to the end to see how they dealt with the Star problem.

Part of my problem with this book, to be honest, may have been that it's the second book in the series, when I thought it was the first, so I'm hoping that when I go back and read the first that I'll find a lot of gaps filled for me.

I do recommend this book to those looking for a light funny read, but be prepared, there are certain things you'll have to stretch your mind around, like a suitcase that acts suspiciously like a dog! ( )

The second novel in the Discworld series is more of a 'The Colour of Magic II' since it not only finishes what it started but is also similar in tone and style (and thus quite different than the rest of the series). ( )

Since The Colour of Magic ends with a rather literal cliffhanger, I felt compelled to reread this one and bring Rincewind and Twoflower to the end of their adventures. In some ways this second Discworld book is slightly better than the first; you can already see the gears turning as Pratchett starts to get a feel for the sheer scope of the satirical possibilities offered by the Discworld.

One thing I have always enjoyed about these books is Pratchett's ability to create, right in the middle of relentless streams of hilarity, great characters that you actually care about. I think it's in this book that this really happens for the first time - at some point you start rooting for Rincewind and Twoflower (and of course, the Luggage) instead of just laughing at them. Surprisingly, instead of ruining the joke it makes the funny parts cut deeper.

Recommended to those who liked The Colour of Magic, or to veteran Discworld readers who want to revisit the beginning. ( )

QAnother story starring Rincewind, twoflower and the homocidle Luggage and another story where pratchett does what he does best, make you laugh. Rincewind is one of my favourite pratchett characters alongside death and granny weatherwax and this story is rincewind, the cowardly hero, at his best. ( )

This was one of those works that I found difficult to put down once I read the first couple pages. The Light Fantastic is the second offering in Pratchett’s Disc World Series and if anything, it is even better than the first. I first read this one as a stand alone, before I read any of the other books in this series, and found it held up well. I would suggest the first book in the series be read first, but it is certainly not necessary.
I am not going into the plot of this one at any depth as there are quite a number of very good reviews here that have done an outstand job of that already. Briefly though, this follows the adventures of a very inept wizard, Rincewind, the first evolved tourist on Disc World, Twoflower, and Luggage. Rincewind is a failed wizard, a coward and an actually rather likeable scoundrel. Twoflowers is the prototype tourist which can be found anywhere in our own world at any tourist destination and Luggage is Twoflower’s, well…luggage; a loyal trunk that follows its owner everywhere, through think an thin. This book is an account of their adventures while saving Disc World, a world held up by a giant turtle with giant elephants standing on her back, from complete destruction by crashing into a wondering star.

The story line, as with all of Pratchett’s work, is only the tip of the iceberg as far as reading pleasure goes. There were very few pages to this work that did not bring on a slight giggle, belly laugh or, at the very least, a smile. This author has humans pegged perfectly and through his humor, is able to make quite profound observations of the general overall human condition. The author has the ability to tell a rousing story while poking a bit of fun at just about everything. In this novel we meet Cohen the Barbarian, a wonderful take off on the original Conan, and a number of other very recognizable characters inhabiting our culture. I suppose the primary thrust of this work is to make light of the Conan type genre of literature, from The Hobbit to Conan to any number of other works of this order.

Read these books closely. The word play is a major part of the enchantment of this author’s work and can easily be missed if you go too fast. It, the word play, is an absolute delight! Wit and satire are this authors greatest strengths and when you mix those with his imagination and story telling abilities, you have a wonderful entertaining and educational read.

I very much enjoyed Pratchett’s humor, story telling ability and quirky outlook on life. I suppose these novels are not for everyone, but I certainly enjoyed this one. Like another reviewer here, Luggage was my favorite character, followed closely by Cohen.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks ( )

In The Light Fantastic, the failed wizard Rincewind and his tagalong tourist Twoflower get caught up in another adventure. As a youngster, Rincewind had stolen a glance at the powerful spellbook known as the Octavo (because it contains eight Spells), and one of the spells had hopped right into his mind and resisted all efforts to extricate it. This had the effect of making it impossible for any other spells to stick in Rincewind's head, and this had the effect of making him quite possibly the Discworld's worst wizard ever. But now the Spell is needed. The magic is draining from Discworld as Great A'Tuin moves nearer and nearer a dangerous red star that looks like it is going to crash into the disc. In the meanwhile, an unscrupulous and aspiring young(ish) wizard named Trymon is intent on getting his hands on the Octavo's power. Good thing it only has seven Spells in it!

Along Rincewind's madcap path we meet such characters as Cohen the Barbarian, who was a legend in his own lifetime and now, old and decrepit, has been a lifetime in his own legend; Lackjaw the Dwarf, who makes the Disc's first set of dentures out of diamonds; Bethan, who was being offered as a virgin sacrifice to placate the star, and who was most indignant when she was rescued; and Herrena, who is a female warrior who does not wear armor that sexily exposes half her body. And where would Twoflower and Rincewind be without the Luggage? In this story, the Luggage is officially made over to Rincewind when Twoflower decides he wants to go back home. It's apt.

This one wasn't as funny as some of the other Discworld books have been. But it was still an enjoyable read. ( )

http://bookcrossing.com/journal/67337... ( )

http://bookchronicle.wordpress.com/20... ( )

This is more like it! A lot more satisfying read that the previous book, and a hell of a lot funnier too. Many people say that Rincewind isn't their favourite Discworld character, but I love him. I'm reminded of Indiana Jones - the adventurer who get away with things more by luck than judgement, makes for a very entertaining character. ( )

For such a humorous book, this has a surprising amount of drama to it, but on re-reading, this and the first novel feel a little like a first series of a TV programme - still finding its way and building up the pieces and characters for better things to come. ( )

We return to the Discworld in time to find Rincewind leaving it - and inexplicably returning. Possibly some of the events in "The Last Hero" go some way to an explanation in retrospect. The story is essentially Rincewind attempting to return to Ankh-Morpork in order to get rid of the spell that has been stuck in his head since his days as a student of wizardry - and incidentally, save the Discworld. This is rather an unmemorable tale. ( )

Definitely more cohesive than its predecessor, which was more a series of semi-related shorts than a single story. ( )

Listened to this one on audiobook.

Not really that big a fan of this book or the one that preceded it. It just gets really redundant. The chest is powerful and scares everyone, alrighty, got it, move on. The wizard is cowardly; why do you insist on describing this fact to me every time things get dangerous (which is often)? I guess it broke the "show don't tell" rule too often for my tastes.

Almost turned me off Pratchett completely. Lucky for me that I had another of his later books on my ipod and decided to give him a second chance. Read Terry Pratchett's later Discworld books, but I suggest missing this one. ( )

Great A'tuin is heading for the red star, which should mean the destruction for the Discworld unless the Spell hidden in Rincewind's mind can be united with the other seven Great Spells.

Great fun. I shall miss Twoflowers, but hopefully the Luggage will make an appearance in the later books. And will Bethan survive marriage to Cohen the Barbarian, with or without his din chewers? ( )

My Bookspotcentral review ( )

See The Color of Magic. ( )

The 2nd Discworld book. It's kind of the second half to Color of Magic (the 1st book). That book didn't really have much of a coherent plot except to allude to events coming in this book, but the character development between the Rincewind (a wizard with no magic) and Twoflower (a tourist) carries over through both books.

They're both extremely funny. Sometimes Pratchett plays with words or ideas the way Douglas Adams does. But more often it's a character-based humor, and the characters are very strong and inherently funny. And even without the humor, these would still be good fantasy novels. ( )

Which gotten me in to Terry Pratchett... ( )

I liked the first Discworld novel quite a bit, but this second book is much better. Where the first book meandered around without much of a overarching plot, this book keeps moving from the very start to a determined conclusion. The first book served its purpose familiarizing us with the world and some characters, and this book is the first real story.

Oh, and I love the humor.

I can’t get over the fact that the most interesting characters are Death and a very determined piece of luggage.

I give this book a 4, and that is because I’m trying really hard to stick to my personal rating system.

http://flipside.kintiko.net/2008/01/3... ( )

I read this second book of the Discworld series directly after The Color of Magic,, and -- as had been foretold, I found it much tighter and funnier than the first book. Many LT reviewers and most Pratchett enthusiasts suggest that more recent books in the series get much, much better. Based on what I've read, I concur with the many Pratchett fans on LT that Pratchett's use of language and humor high, low and middle is absolutely brilliant. I can hardly wait for more. ( )

The second Discworld book. The Unseen University isn't quite itself, yet, and the trolls aren't what they become. It suffers in comparison with later books. Also, Rincewind is a one note character, and there isn't a lot to be done with him. But it is stronger than The Color of Magic, and Pratchett is beginning to find his voice. Full of interesting word use, and clever description. ( )