 | The Last Continent Terry Pratchett Date: 26 October, 2004 — $6.99 — Book Rating: |
Fiction, Satire/Fantasy
The last time I'd read this book, I'd recently read up on Ned Kelly, which makes the book much, much funnier, due to Pratchett's gift for riffing on popular culture. Rincewind has ended up on the continent of FourEcks (not Australia, honest) and is trying desperately to not be a hero. Again. And like his previous efforts, he's failing miserably. Especially since the local Creator type seems to want him to be a hero somehow, and keeps helping him along those ends.
To make things more confused, the wizards at Unseen University are looking for Rincewind because he might know the Librarian's true name, because the bibliophiliac orangutan is sick to the point where his morphic field keeps collapsing and he's turning into different things every time he sneezes. And while seeking out the Egregious Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography, they've discovered a window onto summer... and as wizards, can't resist sticking their hands in. This, of couse, makes ripples all throughout the Disc's history, leading to Rincewind needing to be a hero in true FourEcks style - which means he's going to have to be an outlaw first.
Unlike many of Pratchett's novels, this is more a travelogue than a commentary on the human condition (except for the bit that pushes the big red button while saying "I wonder what this does?") It is probably best, however, if you read about Ned Kelly first. Trust me on this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment