daniy's review against another edition
3.0
Such a short book, but felt longer than needed???
nothing too funny or too interesting happening
nothing too funny or too interesting happening
yak_attak's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
Oddly just 'fine' after the excellent Mort and Equal Rites - In fact, this feels like a hearty re-tread of the first three books (Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, Equal Rites). Lots of plot points, ideas, and even jokes seem like they were done there. Sometimes Sourcery is an improvement, sometimes not. But overall it's not the powerhouse Pratchett is capable of.
Oddly just 'fine' after the excellent Mort and Equal Rites - In fact, this feels like a hearty re-tread of the first three books (Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, Equal Rites). Lots of plot points, ideas, and even jokes seem like they were done there. Sometimes Sourcery is an improvement, sometimes not. But overall it's not the powerhouse Pratchett is capable of.
sophiewilliams's review against another edition
3.0
The return of a sourcer nearly spells the end of the world
tristan_lince's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It's Terry Pratchett! Of course it's going to be funny and entertaining. But I found this to be my least favorite Discworld book so far. I guess it just seemed like too much of a retread of the first two.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
mimosaeyes's review
3.0
I love our incompetent-wizard, reluctant-hero Rincewind, and his arc is nicely developed here, and there's lots of trademark Pratchett zingers in here... but somehow the story didn't engage me as much as the previous Rincewind books.
It comes down to this: I enjoyed the dynamic between Rincewind and Twoflower more because they were opposites in terms of, well, sense of self-preservation. That made for good humour consistently. Whereas Conina, Nijel, and Creosote are built on a similar mould as Rincewind: who they want to be is set against what nature has dictated they are (respectively, hairdresser/barbarian, wimp/hero, poet/aesthete). Perhaps that was in service of the theme, since, but it did dampen the shenanigans for me.
It comes down to this: I enjoyed the dynamic between Rincewind and Twoflower more because they were opposites in terms of, well, sense of self-preservation. That made for good humour consistently. Whereas Conina, Nijel, and Creosote are built on a similar mould as Rincewind: who they want to be is set against what nature has dictated they are (respectively, hairdresser/barbarian, wimp/hero, poet/aesthete). Perhaps that was in service of the theme, since
Spoiler
Rincewind urges Coin to "remember who you really are" (p. 310)kemendraugh's review against another edition
3.0
This is like a worse Colour of Magic/Light Fantastic. Some great lines and scenes that still made me laugh out loud, because, I mean it's still Terry. But easily my least favourite Discworld I've read.
celise_winter's review against another edition
4.0
“This book does not contain a map. Please feel free to draw your own.”
I couldn’t have found a better quote to describe what I’ve read of the Discworld series thus far. Rules that seem to be established don’t seem to hold up from one book to another, character traits and appearances seem to inexplicably change and there isn’t much of a structure to speak of. One shouldn’t expect anything different from Pratchett. If you think too hard about how and why things happen in his stories, you’ll give yourself a headache. So feel free to “draw your own map”, as it was said, and don’t be surprised when you have to change the details of it.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have quite as much fun reading this one as I did some of the others, but Terry Pratchett is still something of a genius.
I couldn’t have found a better quote to describe what I’ve read of the Discworld series thus far. Rules that seem to be established don’t seem to hold up from one book to another, character traits and appearances seem to inexplicably change and there isn’t much of a structure to speak of. One shouldn’t expect anything different from Pratchett. If you think too hard about how and why things happen in his stories, you’ll give yourself a headache. So feel free to “draw your own map”, as it was said, and don’t be surprised when you have to change the details of it.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have quite as much fun reading this one as I did some of the others, but Terry Pratchett is still something of a genius.
themessyreader's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I admit, I liked it even less than the first two books in the subseries. Or maybe I read too many discworld/Rincewind books back to back.
ellie_kate's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25