Paul Kidby

This short Discworld fable is so much fun. Cohen and his Silver Horde are returning fire to the gods and the crew from Ankh Morpork are on a mission to stop them. The gorgeous illustrations absolutely make this book a delight on top of PTerry at the top of his form.
The cover calls this a Discworld fable. I loved it. Cohen and his Silver Horde are going to bring fire back to the gods, but doing so could cause the end of the world. The Ankh Morpork crew of wizards, Watch, and Leonard of Quirm show more leap to the rescue...
This fully illustrated book is full of the Pratchett sense of humor mixed with apt, wry observations on human nature. And gorgeous color illustrations!
I have owned this volume for over a decade and never read it until now. I have no idea what was wrong with me. I look forward to reading it again and again. show less

A Discworld oddity, this is basically a short story turned into a giant book with fantastic Paul Kidby illustrations. I especially liked the dragons one. Cohen and his gang are always good for a laugh and here we find them taking on the gods themselves. Technically they won, too. I hadn't read this since getting it for christmas the year it came out. I got rid of that book very quickly as it was too big for any shelf or even most boxes. So it was a pleasure to return to a book whose jokes I show more had long forgotten. This was an all star run-out, with Leonard of Quirn, Captain Carrot, and Rincewind all rushing together to save the world, a Discworld Universe mash-up that worked surprisingly well. I would love to see more of the Dark Lord Harry and his incredibly stupid minions, they should have gotten a book of their own! Final comments: I think this was intended to be a pivot around which the Discworld series changed direction. The Last Hero gave Cohen his send off, but also Rincewind (until Unseen Academicals, which was a terrible book and should never have been published). The witches had already had their last ensemble novel. These send-offs would have completed the Discworld's First Mission as pastiche of fantasy novels and it would now be fully into its Second Mission as exploration of the creation of the Modern World. Thus Vimes-as-politician continues, the Industrial novels begun, and Tiffany Aching takes over as the focus on witches and thus the place where the real and the supernatural clash in an early modern world. There are some great moments to come! show less

Lately, the Terry Pratchett books I've read have either been from his middle period, when he was acknowledged as a master of Important Satire; or from his later life, when the decline caused by his "embuggerance" was becoming more and more evident. So reading this turned into a delightful trip back to the times when Pratchett was a purveyor of comedy first and foremost. In this, he was helped by Paul Kidby's illustrations - more precise and all-encompassing than the late Josh Kirby's work show more for the earlier illustrated Discworld title, Eric, and a true enhancement to this story.

The story? Oh, if you insist: Cohen the Barbarian, feeling his age, brings together his Silver Horde to help wreak revenge on the Gods of the Discworld for old age, by returning fire to them - in the military sense, it seems - and going out in a blaze of glory. To prevent this, and the destruction of the Disc that would follow the concomitant disruption of its thaumaturgical field, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork enlists the aid of his captive mechanical and artistic genius, Leonard of Quirm, plus the wizards of the Unseen University. To reach Cori Celesti, the mountain at the Hub of the Disc and abode of the Gods, in time to thwart Cohen, Leonard designs a wooden spaceship, powered by captive dragons, and crewed by himself, Captain Carrot of the City Watch, and Rincewind. The rest may not be history, but it does threaten to become Legend.

Perhaps one of the greatest delights of this book is the number of Easter Eggs concealed within its pages. Kidby's illustrations of Leonard's spaceship and its crew are directly out of "Ye Right Stuffe", and Rincewind makes a passing reference to being a wizard who advocates running very fast in a straight line, which will make those of a certain age think about a classic short indie fantasy film (everyone else go and look up Mike Jittlov). And Mad Hamish of the Silver Horde appears to be channelling Father Jack Hackett from Father Ted...

This is well worth seeking out in its glorious large-format original. Avoid all other format reductions. show less

The Last Hero is the 27th in the Discworld series and the 7th in the Rincewind sub-series. Cohen the Barbarian and the Silver Horde embark on one final quest: to return to the gods what the first hero stole. Which could bring about the end of the world.

This was a different reading experience the book is an illustrated novel. I absolutely loved Paul Kidby's artwork. Even though it's short, the story takes its time to get going. Kind of like the previous book, Rincewind doesn't feature as show more prominently as equal time is given to all the side characters, which I think worked well. I was surprised at the touching ending and found myself enjoying the book more than I expected to. show less