The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic is the second in the Discworld series and follows the adventures of Rincewind—a failed wizard expelled from the Unseen University—and a tourist by the name of Twoflower.

This book begins where the first in the series left off, namely with Rincewind and Twoflower falling to their deaths over the edge of the Discworld. However, due to the fact that Rincewind has one of the eight great Spells of the Octavo lodged inside his brain—spells that must be read together in order to avert an impending disaster—the book saves him from his fate and plops him back on the Disc once more with his peculiar companions. And so begins yet another trouble-filled adventure involving a lot of running, panicking, flailing, a trunk of sapient pearwood, a toothless legend, a druid on a floating rock, Death, more running and panicking, trolls and mobs of zealots with stars on their foreheads.

I am a recent convert of Terry Pratchett’s work (thank you, Mel!) and it’s a definite case of ‘better late than never’. The Light Fantastic is a great mix of traditional fantasy, comedy, adventure, social commentary and self-consciousness, something that Pratchett has crafted to a fine art. His characters are diverse, amusing, full of life and, above all, endearing. I am a very slow reader but I just could not put this book down!

I would recommend anyone who enjoys a good read to check out Terry Pratchett’s work. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air after reading something like The Lord of the Rings, I can tell you!

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