Sourcery (original 1988; edition 2001)

by Terry Pratchett

Series: Discworld (5), Discworld: Rincewind (3)

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▾Book information

Member:	koalamom
Title:	Sourcery
Authors:	Terry Pratchett
Info:	HarperTorch (2001), Edition: Reissue, Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	Fiction, Fantasy, Discworld

Work details

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett (1988)

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

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Same series: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently)
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams (1984)
Same series: Life, the Universe and Everything, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
Better Than Life by Grant Naylor (1990)

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (1978)
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2005)
Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist (1985)
Same series: A Darkness at Sethanon (The Riftwar Saga)
Enchanters' End Game by David Eddings (1969)
Same series: Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry (The Belgariad)
The Unseen University Challenge: Terry Pratchett's Discworld Quizbook (Gollancz SF S.) by David Langford (1996)

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▾Member reviews

English (63) Polish (2) French (2) Spanish (1) All languages (68)

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I love Rincewind, I just wish he would stop trying to avoid magic. So far as fantasy books go I've never understood the "trying to avoid using magic" angle. Still, I love this series. (

)

hazysaffron | Apr 27, 2013 |

There's only one problem with Pratchett's Discworld series, namely; the fact that they're all almost universally great, and there's THIRTY-NINE OF THEM. OK, so I guess that's two problems. Or maybe one interconnected problem. (

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stewartfritz | Apr 4, 2013 |

Continuing with Pratchett's Discworld series after a hiatus of several months, I came to this one. The hapless not-quite-wizard Rincewind plays a large part in this tale which could be an allegory of Fascism. Or maybe not. Although not my favorite of the series, it's still worth reading. (

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auntieknickers | Apr 3, 2013 |

This, the 5th book in the Discworld series, is chock full of Pratchett's trademark silliness and satirical commentary on life. And I was happy to get to hang out with Rincewind and The Luggage, once again. But just as was the case with book 3, I simply didn't love this storyline.

So 3 stars for the storyline + 1 bonus star for The Librarian (that orangutan is really starting to grow on me) = 4 stars. (

)

KatLowe | Apr 3, 2013 |

This book was...ok. It was neither bad nor good.

I listen to audiobooks at work and some keep me occupied, but this one didn't. My attention kept slipping away. I didn't even make it to the end. I was half an hour from the end but I had lost the threads of all the plots. (

)

PizzaKarin | Apr 2, 2013 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Terry Pratchett	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Kidd, Tom	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Kirby, Josh	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Sweet, Darrell	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

Rincewind the Wizzard by Terry Pratchett

Schĳfwereld-omnibus. Dl. 2 by Terry Pratchett

The Rincewind Trilogy: Sourcery / Eric / Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett

Magický prazdroj ; Soudné sestry : [příběhy ze Zeměplochy] by Terry Pratchett

The Colour of Magic / Sourcery by Terry Pratchett

Has the adaptation

Terry Pratchett's Sourcery - The Illustrated Screenplay by Terry Pratchett

Is abridged in

Sourcery [Abridged Audio] by Terry Pratchett

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▾Common Knowledge

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Series (with order)

Discworld (5)

Discworld: Rincewind (3)

Canonical title

Sourcery

Original title

Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Sourcery

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1988

People/Characters

Rincewind

Nijel the destroyer

Conina the Hairdresser

Death

The Librarian of Unseen University

(show all 9 items)

Important places

Ankh-Morpork, Discworld

Klatch, Discworld

Discworld

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Epigraph

Dedication

Many years ago I saw, in Bath, a very large American lady towing a huge tartan suitcase very fast on little rattly wheels which caught in the pavement cracks and generally gave it a life of its own. At that moment the Luggage was born. Many thanks to that lady and everyone else in places like Power Cable, Neb., who don't get nearly enough encouragement.

First words

There was a man and he had eight sons.

Quotations

The subject of wizards and sex is a complicated one, but as has already been indicated it does, in essence, boil down to this: when it comes to wine, women and song, wizards are allowed to get drunk and croon as much as they like.

Two thousand years of peaceful magic had gone down with the drain, the towers were going up again, and with all this new raw magic floating around something was going to get very seriously hurt. Probably the universe.

Strangely enough, he wasn't particularly angry. Anger is an emotion, and for emotion you need glands, and Death didn't have much truck with glands and needed a good run at it to get angry. But he was mildly annoyed. He sighed again. People were always trying this sort of thing. On the other hand, it was quite interesting to watch, and at least this was a bit more original than the usual symbolic chess game, which Death always dreaded because he could never remember how the knight was supposed to move.

Last words

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Disambiguation notice

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▾References

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Wikipedia in English (2)

Sourcery

Terry Pratchett

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

There was an eighth son of an eighth son. He was, quite naturally a wizard. And there it should have ended. However (for reasons we had better not go into), he had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son...a wizard squared...a source of magic...a Sourcerer.

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0061020672, Mass Market Paperback)

When last seen, the singularly inept wizard Rincewind had fallen off the edge of the world. Now magically, he's turned up again, and this time he's brought the Luggage.

But that's not all....

Once upon a time, there was an eighth son of an eighth son who was, of course, a wizard. As if that wasn't complicated enough, said wizard then had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son -- a wizard squared (that's all the math, really). Who of course, was a source of magic -- a sorcerer.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:32:26 -0500)

(see all 4 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

Rincewind, the world's most inept wizard, magically returns after falling off the edge of the world, this time carrying the Luggage, in a humorous fantasy of magic and mayhem.

(summary from another edition)

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