You can see, with the benefit of hindsight, what the world will become, but I doubt, at the time, you could have guessed it would evolve into a global phenomenon. The Color of Magic sees the formation of a proto-Discworld. Few characters in fiction are so revered as the Luggage. Its sapient pearwood existence is a testament to Pratchett’s genius. The Luggage probably deserves a whole blog post devoted to it. It introduces Rincewind, Ankh Morpork, and the Luggage – three things that are as quintessentially Discworld as the giant tortoise himself.
Through the mists of time, it is largely the first story that sticks with me. The stories are interconnected but are mostly complete within themselves, though the book ends on an almost literal cliffhanger.
The idea of a world that was completely flat was also completely insane and I loved that the sea just fell off the disc. Who doesn’t? Everybody remembers their first elephant-backed turtle.
I remember reading about Great A’Tuin for the first time. On reading the prologue, you immediately know you have something unusual in your hands. It’s worth noting that Kirby’s Twoflower literally has four eyes, whereas I think the four-eyed reference to Twoflower in the books is meant only to suggest that he wore glasses (a rather out-dated observation for modern readers). I used to love poring over them, particularly after having read the books as I tried to recognize the characters from the story. I loved these as a teenager they were unlike anything I had seen before. The first thing I’m struck by is the excellence of the Josh Kirby cover. I did buy it in 1987, so, all things considered, books still feel like a bargain today. The cover price is a staggeringly small, £1.95, which is roughly a fifth of the current cover price. Curiously, it’s in a much worse condition than my copy of The Light Fantastic, though I have no recollection as to why this might be. My copy of The Color of Magic is old and battered. Not just from Discworld, but from any book, ever. Let’s just say that if complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he’d be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting “All gods are bastards.” Lockdown and homeschooling have not been kind to my reviewing schedule but, at last, I have read The Color of Magic. At least I hope it does, otherwise, you won’t ever read this sentence, and I’m sitting up late at night typing into the void. I’ve read and reviewed one Discworld novel! Of course, as I write, I’ve only read a Discworld novel. More than one month into the year already but my rereading Discworld project is finally up and running.
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