When You Wish Upon A Star ... (Eric - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: Nomad

Product:	Eric - Terry Pratchett
Date:	23/09/04 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very, very funny.

Disadvantages: Too Short

It is a hot afternoon in late summer in Ankh Morpork and something is not right. The librarian at Unseen University (the Discworlds premier college of wizardry) can feel it and, when footsteps suddenly come out of nowhere and race across the floor accompanied by a distant scream, he can hear it as well. In fact all through the town strange things are happening.

Usually it’s a fairly safe bet to blame the wizards for any strange events but this time they are not the cause. In order to find out just what is going on they summon Death who, of course, knows everything.

Meanwhile Eric Thursley, the Discworlds most accomplished* demonologist, is attempting to summon forth a demon who, Eric is convinced, will be able to grant him his every wish. Or failing that the top few at least. Protective amulets. Check. Magic circle drawn on the floor to contain the demon. Check. Table to hide behind. Check. Eric takes a breath and casts his summons.
* i.e. only

Meanwhile in the dungeon dimensions… The incompetent wizard, Rincewind, is once more trying (and failing miserably) to stay out of trouble which is not surprising considering where he is. How he got here is another story* Once again he’s in a tight spot but, just as he thinks he is about to meet his maker, he find himself on a floor, in a chalk circle, in a room. And there is a table talking to him.
* specifically called ‘Sourcery’, entry five in the Discworld series.

That his summons actually worked comes as something of a surprise to Eric, but not as much of a surprise as the demon itself. For some strange reason the demon keeps saying its name is Rincewind, it’s not actually a demon and that it just happened to be passing through the demon dimensions when Eric cast his summons. A likely story. Still, Eric gains the courage to step out from behind the table and command the demon to grant his wishes. Namely he wants mastery of the kingdoms of the world, to meet the most beautiful woman who has ever lived and to be immortal. Oh and perhaps a chest of gold to be going on with.

Rincewind seems to be having a little trouble convincing Eric that he is not, in fact, a demon. To try and demonstrate his inability to disappear in a puff of smoke Rincewind clicks his fingers. Unfortunately there is a puff of smoke and Rincewind and Eric both disappear. So begins a series of adventures that sees Eric get his wishes granted but not perhaps in exactly the manner he was expecting.

Yes it can only be another Terry Pratchett book. Everyday tales of very human characters set in the distinctly unusual magical Discworld universe. ‘Eric’ is book eight in the comic fantasy series which currently numbers almost thirty titles. It’s a series that has so far had very few misfires.

By now Discworld fans will all have their own favourite characters and although Death is mine Rincewind comes a very close second. Each book tells a different tale of life on the Discworld and Mr P has crafted a number of regular groups of characters to populate his stories. Other than the very first book you don’t tend to get cliffhangers linking the series. That said, the last time we saw Rincewind he was being drawn into the dungeon dimension. That was three books ago and I have to say I’ve been very keen to find out what happened to him next. Fortunately all is about to be revealed.

This book takes it’s inspiration from the tale of Faust. I established this by recognising many clever similarities to the classic story of Johann Faust, a demonologist who summons the devil and offers to sell him his soul if the devil will serve him. Well … that, and the fact the book has FAUST printed in big red letters on the front and then crossed out and replaced with the name Eric.

After the title the second thing you’ll notice about ‘Eric’ is … well … the lack of it. Running at only 155 pages* this is the shortest (yet) of Mr P’s Discworld novels. The next thing you may, or may not notice** is that it’s published by Gollancz rather than Corgi although it’s nice to see the artist Josh Kirby still supplies the cover artwork.
* and the story doesn’t even start until page 5
** or, indeed, care about

But, as they say, it’s what’s on the inside that counts and if you like your Rincewind stories you’re going to love this one. On the whole those books starring Rincewind do tend to be a little more slapstick and knockabout than some of the other entries and this is no exception. Fortunately ‘Eric’ does retain that page-turning addictiveness that I’ve encountered in most of the previous eight books.

Fans of the series will of course recognize hapless wizard Rincewind, who continues to do a sterling job of failing to keep out of trouble, and welcome the return of his Luggage, a travelling chest with hundreds of little legs, a mind of its own and a ferocious loyalty to its master. New on the scene is Eric Thursley, Demonologist, who is about to get more than he bargained for and his thingy .. um .. parrot, who has a very limited wossname.. er … vocabulary.

En route, as well as encountering a number of famous Discworld figures, we also get to meet Astfgl, King of the Demons, who is having a hell of a time. Not only has the air-conditioning broken down again but his plans for the human Eric Thursley have been screwed up by this Rincewind character and he is not at all pleased about it. Add to these the obligatory cameo appearance of Death and could you seriously want for anything more?

To go into any more detail about the story would give too much away, especially considering the length of the book, but what I can say is that the tale is more a collection of sub adventures as each wish provides the basis for a separate story. In that respect it’s very similar to the structure of the very first book, ‘The Colour Of Magic’ which not only introduced the Discworld but also Rincewind himself.

While the plot may very well just be a convenient hook upon which to hang a few spare ideas Mr P had lying around it doesn’t stop this being an absolutely hysterical read from start to finish. It’s true that the series has developed an ability to add genuine drama and excitement to the mix of clever jokes and well written adventures but while the humour here may be a little on the silly side do not, under any circumstances, let that put you off.

There are still some clever observations about our history tucked into the tale and, despite being based on the Faust story, a detailed knowledge of it is not required. I only know the basics about that story but ‘Eric’ certainly doesn’t suffer in the way that your appreciation of ‘Wyrd Sisters’ largely depends on your knowledge of Shakespeare and Macbeth.

There’s not much to dislike here* but the one criticism I do have is that the book is simply too short. Other than that it’s a perfect example of a Discworld novel, as fresh with ideas as anything that’s gone before it**. It’s constantly funny, with a generous supply of very humorous exchanges between characters and some very silly situations skilfully written with just enough detail to bring everything to life.
* literally, being only 155 pages long.
** which is just as well because I’ve got another twenty to get through yet.

Although you wouldn’t struggle too much by making this your first Discworld experience I’d have to recommend reading at least a couple of the previous books before this. Namely the first two (‘The Colour Of Magic’ and ‘The Light Fantastic’) because they introduce Rincewind and the Luggage, and book five (Sourcery) because it explains how Rincewind finds himself in this situation to begin with.

Oh and if you’re wondering what all these little footnotes* are about then you had better get used to them because you’re going to see them a lot. Mr P likes to add these little nuggets of information as he goes along**. You’ll also notice a distinct lack of chapters which tends to pose a bit of a problem if, like me, you ever find yourself unable to put down a good book late at night despite the fact you know you have an early start for work the next morning. That just-one-more-chapter excuse doesn’t work here.
* like these
** and I’ve got to say that although I only use them when writing Discworld opinions they are damn addictive once you get started.

So there you have it. Another highly recommended entry in a consistently funny series. The story is a perfect excuse for some short but perfectly formed adventures. It may be more light-hearted than some of the previous books but there is a much higher laughs per page ratio. To put it bluntly, if you can’t enjoy this book then there is simply no hope for you.

Thanks for reading.
© Nomad 2004



Book information
----------------------
“Eric” by Terry Pratchett
155 pages, published by Gollancz, £4.99
ISBN : 1-85798-954-6


Some Discworld related websites worth a look
------------------------------------------------- ------------
The L Space Web - http://www.ie.lspace.org/
Discworld monthly - http://www.ufbs.co.uk/dwm/
Terry Pratchett Books - http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/


Other Discworld book reviews by me
-------------------------------------------------
'Destination Discworld' an opinion on Book 1 - 'The Colour Of Magic'
'Fantastical Magical' an opinion on Book 2 - 'The Light Fantastic'
'Men Only' an opinion on Book 3 - 'Equal Rites'
'A Life Of Death' an opinion on Book 4 - 'Mort'
'It's A Kind Of Magic' an opinion on Book 5 - 'Sourcery'
'Is This A Discworld Novel I See Before Me?' an opinion on Book 6 - 'Wyrd Sisters'
'Time After Time' an opinion on Book 7 - 'Pyramids'

Summary: Discworld - Book 8