The Light Fantastic

by Terry Pratchett

Book Overview

As it moves towards a seemingly inevitable collision with a malevolent red star, the Discworld has only one possible saviour. Unfortunately, this happens to be the singularly inept and cowardly wizard called Rincewind, who was last seen falling off the edge of the world...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451152972
• ISBN13: 9780451152978
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Roc
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Humor and magic

"The Light Fantastic," the second book in the Discworld series, starts where the first book left off, almost to the second. Bumbling wizard college dropout Rincewind, along with his tourist companion Twoflower, get a reprieve from their fall through the void of space. In the meanwhile, Discworld is moving steadily towards collision with an ominous red star that threatens the existence of life, the universe, and everything. Only the eight great magic spells can save the world, and since one of those spells is lodged in Rincewind's mind, he reluctantly must play an important role in the race to save Discworld.Even funnier than the first in the series, this book introduces Cohen the barbarian, a geriatric anti-Rambo hero who is far fiercer than he looks. The reader is treated to the Keystone Kops antics of the senior wizards as they try to track down Rincewind and save the universe. There is a hilarious scene where Twoflower teaches Death how to play bridge. The story is full of gnomes, dwarves, trolls, and talking trees, as well as a gingerbread cottage. The reader is enlightened on the power of persuasion and the danger of flowery metaphors, and even gets a peek into the mind of the great turtle A'Tuin to learn its current destination.Slapstick, parody, biting satire, word play, and philosophy are all here to enjoy. The plot is neatly tied up at the end, so at this point you can move forward to another book in the wizardry series, or switch to one of the other Discworld tracks. But in either case, there is much more to explore in the wacky and magical world of Terry Pratchett. Eileen Rieback

Brings the Discworld into sharp focus

The Light Fantastic is the second book in Terry Pratchett's brilliantly funny Discworld series, continuing the tale related in the first book The Colour of Magic. The last we knew, Rincewind and Discworld's first tourist Twoflower had fallen off the rim of the world, which is an especially dangerous happenstance on a world that is totally flat and carried on the backs of four elephants who in turn stand atop the great cosmic turtle Great A'Tuin. While Rincewind is Discworld's most incompetent wizard and all-around unlucky fellow, he manages to evade the clutches of Death (although he does bump into him fairly often) time and again (27 times by Twoflower's count at the midpoint of this novel). Why this is so is, we discover, is because Rincewind carries one of the eight most powerful spells from the magical Octavo. Reality keeps having to reshape itself in order to keep rescuing the wizard. Although Rincewind, the eternally optimistic Twoflower, and the magical Luggage of sapient pearwood are once again on the disc, they face a number of obstacles in getting home to Ankh-Morpork. They are fortunate enough to join forces with Disworld's greatest hero Cohen the Barbarian; Cohen is an old man now, but he doesn't let that stop him from rescuing maidens, stealing treasures, and doing other heroic things. At this particular time, the Discworld itself is in danger, threatened with an imminent collision with a giant red star heading its way. The wizards of Unseen University believe that all eight powerful spells from the Octavo must be read in order to save the Discworld, so the missing Rincewind must be found in order to release the necessary eighth spell locked inside his brain. A series of adventures and misadventures ensue for our motley crew of characters, including a stopover at a vacated witch's house made of candy, a wild ride on a broomstick, a collision with a druid-steered cloud, and a trip to the home of Death himself before Rincewind manages to return home. Whether he can actually make use of the eighth spell and somehow manage to avert the Discworld's total destruction by the onrushing red star is, as is typical for this inept failed wizard, questionable at best. The Light Fantastic builds upon the story of The Colour of Magic and breathes more life into the unique Discworld of Terry Pratchett's imaginative construction. More areas of the world are revealed to the reader, and we for the first time get a decent look at what goes on in the school of wizardry. Not only do we meet Cohen the Barbarian, we are also introduced to the ape librarian of Unseen University, who will become a significant character in later novels. You should certainly read the previous novel before this one because the two are closely connected in terms of plot, characterization, etc. It will also help you to recognize just how much more vibrant and real Pratchett's Discworld seems by the end of The Light Fantastic. The comedy quotient of both novels is a

The Light Fantastic really is fantastic!

Even better than the Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic takes the reader from the edge of the world to the unimaginable Wyrmberg, from a gingerbreadhouse to the deepest cellars of the Unseen University. A red star is threatening to destroy our beloved Discworld, and who can save it but Twoflower, Rincewind (last seen dropping off the end of the world), an old barbaric geezer, a luggage with more legs than one can count and one of the 8 great spells plus a wonderful array of silly, funny, innovative and original characters.Still as intriguing as The Colour of Magic, this book is even funnier, but still (luckily) not as ravishingly mad as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, to which many draw unfair and impossible paralells. This story is very different and holds more suspence wrapped in good fun than any other book I've ever read. Will Rincewind and co. stop the malevolent red star from destroying the Disc? An ingenious ending awaits you, so what are you waiting for! This book is so cheap, you can't afford to miss it.<

A Fantastic Book

The Light Fantastic is the sequel to Pratchett's first Discworld book (The Color of Magic), and I definitely think it's better. The plot is (unlike in The Color of Magic) concentrated on one thing, and the thing is a bright red star that's approaching the disc. The two main characters are Rincewind and Twoflower, the two fellas that fell off the Disc in the previous book, and Twoflower's luggage, a box with weird temper. They experience many things that can only happen on the Disc, and some regular things, like meeting the Disc's greatest hero, the 70 year-old, Cohen the Barbarian, but the main idea of the book is them saving the Discworld from the red star.Rincewind, an UU (Unseen University) dropout, has one of the 8 great spells the Creator left. The only problem with the spell is, it seems to have a mind of its own, and it tries to talk to him. And whenever Rincewind is in trouble, or a near-death situation (believe me, there's lots of them) the spell tries to say itself. He spends most of his time to save Twoflower from himself and the other part of the time running from people who want to get their hands on the eighth spell.Twoflower is the Disc's first, and probably last tourist. He used to be an insurance (in-sewer-ants) agent back in his continent. He has quite a lot of money with him, and he keeps them in a box called the luggage. The one thing Rincewind hates about him the most is the fact that Twoflower believes that he can buy anything from anybody, even Death's living room clock.Another thing pretty much everybody asks is "Should I read The Color of Magic first?" Well, I myself read The Light Fantastic first and still understood everything and got all the jokes. Pratchett does a great job explaining what happened in CoM. But no matter whether you read it first or even last, you're gonna have a great time reading THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, by Terry Pratchett.