The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett - an Unhinged Book Review
“Tourist, Rincewind had decided, meant ‘idiot’”
Back to the Discworld…AGAIN!
(Cue in Eminem’s Without Me…)
Guess who’s back? Back again! Discworld’s back! For the win!
I am absolutely buzzing with excitement to write this review! Honestly, any time I get back to the Discworld and its multitude of colourful, whimsical, and slightly hygiene-challenged denizens, I feel a nice warm tingle in the depths of my soul. And my left knee, but I think that’s mostly because the weather…
If you’ve been following my absolutely unhinged literary journey from the start of the year (or actually, from the end of July when I remembered that I also need to write about the books I’ve read), you’ll know that I challenged myself to read 30 books by the end of 2025. My mom always used to say I’m special, and until recently I thought she meant “the other kind of special”, but I finally have proof that she was right - I’ve completely obliterated my goal and am currently reading through book 59!
If I hit 60 books by years’ end, according to Google’s “very trustworthy AI system”, I will be in the top 1% of readers worldwide. So take that, 5th grade literature teacher, who told me I’ll never amount to anything!
But enough about my modest self. Back to the topic at hand!
On the road to joining the ranks of elite readers, I had to go through some pretty wild stories, that I’ve covered in previous posts. From giving the metaphorical middle finger to Poseidon, to partying with the Devil and his crew in 1930s Moscow, dealing with some breathtakingly toxic relationships, and even safeguarding humanity from unspeakable horrors - I’ve tried to read as many and as varying books as I could.
But every time I finished a new book, especially a taxing one, I always felt drawn back to the works of Pratchett. They almost felt like a palate cleanser, helping me refresh my brain and ready it for the next adventure.
So, having battled monsters and nightmares in The Luminaries, I couldn’t wait to dive back into something a bit more light-hearted. If you remember (or if you’ve somehow misclicked and checked a few of the previous blog posts by accident), the last time we caught up with the characters from Discworld we apprenticed somewhat successfully to Death himself, and the time before that we threw conventional book progression and saw the end of Sam Vimes’ story.
Both of these were fantastic books, but the one I’ll talk about today is one of my favourite works to ever come from the mind of Terry Pratchett: The Colour of Magic.
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett Book Review
Enter, the Discworld’s First Tourist!
The Discworld is home to various Gods, religions, nations, monsters, heroes, witches, and whatever Nobby Nobbs is. But now it’s about to welcome its scariest denizen yet - a tourist!
The Colour of Magic is where everything began. It’s the first book that Pratchett wrote from the Discworld series, but despite the phenomenal books that came after, this one always holds a special place in my heart. Pratchett was still very much finding his way around the concept he’d created, and he was still finding his sea legs as a writer, meaning that the book does not carry the same political undertones that some of his later works do, but it’s filled with ridiculous situations that set the stage beautifully for all things to come.
The Discworld’s Most (Un)skilled Wizard!
The Colour of Magic is our first introduction to Rincewind - a rather inept and cowardly (to put it mildly) wizard, whose chief academical achievement is learning one spell that he could never even use. But the brilliance of Rincewind is that he is fully aware of exactly who he is - he’s not the guy to jump to the rescue of maidens in distress, nor battle demons from the outer dimensions. He’s not a councillor of kings, nor is he a prominent expert in any field, unless you count 101 ways of running away. But he is an opportunist possessed of singular cunning, especially when his own behind is on the line.
The Start of an Epic Journey
So when opportunity knocks on his door in the face of the extraordinarily naive foreigner from the Agatean Empire, Rincewind immediately sees it as an opportunity to make a fortune without having to do much (or put himself in any risk). And, boy, does he get proven wrong…
For you see, the foreigner, known by name of Twoflower, is a creature the Discworld has never seen before - a tourist! Possessed of an unmatched curiosity, unbelievable lack of survival instinct, seemingly unlimited amounts of gold, and a walking semi-sentient chest that would literally follow him to the ends of time, Twoflower has only one goal in life - to see as much as he can of what the Discworld has to offer.
But as you can guess, they’re not simply going to walk around sightseeing. Because everywhere Twoflower goes, chaos ensues. And everywhere Rincewind goes… chaos ensues? And in this case, unfortunately, the two don’t cancel each other out, but somehow manage to make a bad situation worse, and a worse situation, absolutely bonkers!
Escaping Ankh Morpork
The two begin their touristic journey in the city of Ankh Morpork, where Twoflower ends up doing something no sane person should ever attempt - educating the citizens. You see, I’m convinced that Ankh Morpork is based somewhere on the Balkans, because after Twoflower introduces the concept of “fire insurance” I’m pretty sure you can guess what happens next. Yep. A fire. A big fire. A big fire that takes out a big chunk of the city and pisses off a lot of people. A lot of people who know exactly who to blame - Rincewind and that weird foreign guy!
Pawns of the Gods
After escaping from the mobs of Ankh Morpork, and despite Rincewind’s best efforts, the duo (and their trusted walking chest, that definitely does NOT have homicidal tendencies) make their way towards the realm of Quirm. Unfortunately for both, they’re not aware that their entire journey is essentially a betting game between the gods of the Discworld, who are bored out of their minds.
Within the spam of what seems like moments, Twoflower runs off to visit a temple belonging to the Discworld’s token represntative of the Lovecraftian cosmic horror pantheon and Rincewind gets imprisoned within a tree. Just as the cosmic entity is about to make a Rincewind-Flower sandwich for lunch, the unlucky duo are saved by Hrun the Barbarian - the Discworld’s mightiest and most famous hero, whose bravery is matched only by the strength of his arthritis.
Imagine Dragons
Managing to escape the temple by blanding the creature inside using a demon-operated photo camera, the trio accidentally end up in Wyrmberg, an upside-down mountain who can summon dragons with the power of imagination. Needless to say, absolute chaos ensues, and somehow Twoflower imagines the biggest dragon ever, Rincewind almost loses his head in an upside-down duel, and Hrun finds love.
But things are rarely so easy, and despite their best efforts Twoflower and Rincewind end up plumetting towards certain doom. In the final moment before certain death, Rincewind manages to use the power of the Wyrmberg to teleport the duo across the space-time continuum and into the real world that you and I inhabit. They take a quick ride on a passenger jet before the Discworld pulls them back in and they end up in the middle of the ocean.
At World’s End
The two end up almost falling from the Rim of the Discworld but are caught up by the Circumference - a giant net built by nation of Krull to catch any flotsam that washes up there. After befriending an alien sea troll (yes, because why not?), they are taken to Krull’s capital city where the nation’s top scientific minds have spent years preparing an exploratory vessel that could sail under the edge of the Discworld and confirm once and for all the greatest mystery of our time - the sex of the the Great Turtle A’Tuin, upon whose back the entire world floats through space.
Oh, and our lads are “forcefully volunteered” as sacrifices to Fate, who is rather pissed at them for making him lose the game the Gods were playing.
In true Rincewind fashion though, mistakes are made, disasters happen, mayhem occurs, and the two end up escaping to the room housing the exploratory vessel and manage to board it. Well, Twoflower boards it. Rincewind manages to mess up yet again and falls off the edge of the Discworld, getting miraculously stuck on a branch, while the Discworld’s first and only tourist sails away into space to explore what other worlds have to offer.
Is The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett Worth Reading?
That’s the main question you’re probably wondering about, right? I can just imagine you there, sitting in front of your laptop or scrolling on your phone, wondering whether starting a 40+ book series is worth it.
The answer is, a resounding YES. Not only is it worth it, I can guarantee that if you start this journey and somehow make it to the end, you will not be the same.
As Lao Tzu once famously wrote, “The Journey of Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step”. And that first step, my dear readers, is called “The Colour of Magic”.
Who will love reading The Colour of Magic?
Readers that enjoy light-hearted reads, filled with satire and sarcasm
Readers that enjoy a more episodic style of storytelling
Readers that have enjoyed other Discworld novels
Readers who enjoy well-done parody of famous literary tropes
Who will probably not like The Colour of Magic?
Readers that enjoy more stereotypical fantasy adventures
People suffering from a severe lack of sense of humour
Bel-Shamharoth, The Soul Eater
Don’t Miss Our Latest Reviews From the Discworld
If you’ve enjoyed this review of The Colour of Magic, and don’t mind my unhinged rambling, be sure to check out some of the other reviews we’ve done on books from the Discworld:
Final Thoughts on The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Colour of Magic is where it all began for the Discworld. It’s our first introduction, as readers, to Ankh-Morpork, to the Gods, to Death, and to characters like Rincewind and Twoflower, whose adventure is only just beginning.
While The Colour of Magic doesn’t have the same style of writing, or even depth as the novels that follow, and die-hard Pratchett fans often have mixed-feelings about it (even going as far as recommending people NOT start their Discworld journey with it), I find it even better because of its flaws.
Pratchett was still very much finding his way as a writer, testing out his style and just starting to build the lore of a world that would hold the imagination of millions for decades to come. It’s a window into the mind of a young(ish) writer, trying to put thoughts to paper, and I always find it fascinating comparing it to his later prose: it feels that as he steadily grows and evolves as a writer, so do we too steadily grow and evolve as readers. And much like with Rincewind and Twoflower, once we go through the journey together with him, we don’t come out the same people on the other side, as those that first picked up The Colour of Magic!
Having jumped off the edge of the Discworld, it’s time to take a short break from Rincewind and crew once more, and teleport ourselves to the dystopian vision of the future in George Orwell’s 1984. And what a journey that will be!
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Enjoy these 25 book quotes taken from famous works of fiction, which have had a profound impact on us as readers!