Not as Fantastic as it used to be (The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: Pingu

Product:	The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett
Date:	25/09/01 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic imagination

Disadvantages: Not as refined as the later novels

I'm just in the process of re-reading all the Discworld novels for the umpteenth time, which is what I do whilst waiting for the next one. And although I am Terry Pratchett's biggest fan, and although I wouldn't ever let anyone else knock the books, I have to say that 'The Light Fantastic' isn't as hilarious as I remember it being, all those years ago when I discovered the Discworld.

Possibly I've got so familiar with the plot that the absurd incongruities no longer produce the same effect. But I think its more that I've become used to Pratchett's phenomenal style of the later novels, and this one is simply less refined. There is much more of a 'make it up as you go along' feeling to it, as though Terry never expected to be staying in the Discworld for another 20 something books.

The plot picks up immediately where the Colour of Magic left off, with Rincewind and Twoflower falling off the edge of the Discworld. The Great Spell which is lodged in Rincewind's mind comes to his aid in a roundabout way. It turns out that all eight spells must be said together to prevent the Discworld being destroyed, so the other seven spells alter reality, placing Rincewind back on the disc to save their fellow spell. A fairly weak device, but well written enough that you don't notice. From then on the book becomes a chase, with every order of magicians wanting to be the one to find Rincewind and save the world. Rincewind, needless to say prefers being lost.

I'm not going to ruin any more of the plot, so you can open your eyes now. The problem for me was that all my favourite characters are wrong. Like Death. He later gets fleshed out in several books of his own, but it's clear that at this stage he was just an extra, who Pratchett didn't expect to be using again, so he behaves in a way which is at odds with the later books. Similarly the order of Magicians at the Unseen University isn't pr
operly defined yet. There seem to be a whole bunch of 'orders' which all disappear later on in favour of the familiar bunch of Wizards we all love. And magic itself hasn't properly been thought out yet. In the later novels magic is made much more powerful by the economy of its use, and the difficulty of mastering just one spell. In the first two books, though, wizards blast each other with levitation spells, thunderballs and all manner of other pleasantries seemingly every other page.

Don't get me wrong. This is still a very funny book. But once you have read your way through the evolution of the Discworld series, this one will seem much less refined, and actually feels like a slightly foreign place.

It should definitely be read though.

Summary: