Begone, foul Demon!!! Oh... it's YOU.... (Eric - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: CaptainD

Product:	Eric - Terry Pratchett
Date:	06/10/05 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, light reading...

Disadvantages: ... lacks subtlety, not one of the best Discworld novels

Eric is one of the earlier Discworld novels (8th in the sequence, in fact), and deals with the trials and tribulations of an adolescent Demonologist. He tries to perform a tricky demon-summoning rite and ends up with... well, not exactly a demon as such...

For those uninitiated into the world of Discworld, it's Terry Pratchett's comedic fantasy fiction creation, inhabited by Wiazards, Witches, trolls, dwarves, zombies, and all manner of fantastical creatures. Oh and humans of course. The characters on the disc try to make sense of what's going on around them, managing (usually quite by accident) to actually do so on rare occasions. But the Disc, despite many similarities to earth, is unlike our own world in many ways...

This being one of the earlier Discworld novels, Eric is on the short side (155 pages in the paperback edition), and is heavy on the irony but light on the satire. (Later books, especially "The Truth", are absolutely loaded with the stuff.) In fact this is more or less a straight a straight parody of the old Peter Cook movie "Bedazzled" (remade a few years ago with Brendan Fraser and Liz Hurley) – although Eric only gets 3 wishes not 7. The basic idea is the same though – the wishes are fulfilled, but being from a diabolical source the fulfilment of these wishes comes with a heavy price. Pratchett also takes a few pot shots at the Trojan War and assorted Greek mythology and the Aztecs for good measure.

The book also features the inept wizard Rincewind and his amazing travelling Luggage. Rincewind once again feels that the universe is against him, especially when he gets caught up in the Tsortian wars (featuring a large wooden horse and a very non-heroic sort of military hero in the form of Lavaeolus) and finds himself on the wrong side of Astfgl, the Demon King. The Luggage, being made of sapient pearwood, has legs – and a mind – of its own and since it now belongs to Rincewind it follows him everywhere. He never really seems to develop any fondness for the luggage but it ends up saving his life on several occasions. Death makes a few appearances, and has one of the best lines in the book. (He's just been summoned by the Wizards of Unseen University via the Rite of AshkEnte".)

I HOPE WE ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY OF THIS "FOUL FIEND" BUSINESS AGAIN.

There's also a sentient but cranky parrot who can never remember the right words and a Creator (not The Creator, though) to be met along the way before a thrilling showdown and lots of paperwork... There's also a Demon working at the gets of Hell, wearing a badge. The badge says:

"My name is Urglefloggah, Spawn of the Pit and Loathly Guardian of the Dread Portal: How May I Help You?"

With enemies like them, who needs their own insecurities? (Rincewind has plenty of those, of course...)

Overall Eric is a light read with plenty of laughs along the way, that all Discworld fans will enjoy. It isn't one of the best in the Discworld series by any means, but the plot bounces along merrily and quickly enough to make up for a certain lack of substance. The burgeoning relationship between Eric and Rincewind, which gets off to a rather bad start, is nicely written and very humorous. There;s not much in the way of subtlety but it's not a huge loss.

I would recommend it to all Discworld fans, but I'm not too sure if non-fans will like it. Pratchett's style seems to be something people either love or hate, and there's not much in this one to make you persevere if you happen not to like his writing style. A little knowledge of earlier Discworld novels is not essential but certainly helps in a couple of places, you will perhaps appreciate some things more if you've read "The Light Fantastic" and "Sourcery" before this.

I got mine for the princely sum of 20p at a charity shop in Mablethorpe, but I suppose at a push you could try a normal bookshop or Amazon.co.uk (who have it for £4.99 new and from £1.70 used). If you could get it for 20p from a charity shop and review it on Dooyoo, you never know, you might even be able to make a profit! :-D

Summary: If you're a Discworld fan you'll enjoy it, but it's far from the best of the series.