Review: Pyramids

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
eBook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




It is a terrible thing, having your believes destroyed by truth. Sometimes, it is even more terrible to see that you were right.

Pyramids, first published 1989, follows young Teppic, only son of king (Pharaoh) Teppicymon XXVII. He has decided to get his education outside of the small desert kingdom Djelibeybi, so he travels all the way to Ankh-Morpork to join the Assassins Guild. The book starts with his final examination, telling his story in flashbacks as he succeeds.
Shortly afterwards his father dies and the kingdom calls him back home. Suddenly, he has to get used to the old ways of the kingdom again, and he discovers that being king isn't at all as he expected. For example, he doesn't seem to have anything to say.
When the erection of the greatest pyramid ever build (for his father, even though he doesn't want one) tears the whole valley along the Djel out of reality, Teppic, who is not present then, has to make up his mind whether or not he is going to try to go back and save it. Meanwhile, in the kingdom's new reality, all that was ever believed there becomes true, and citizens and priests alike come to realise that it is much more comfortable believing in gods you cannot see (especially the ones with too many heads or legs).

Before I started with Pyramids I didn't know there was an Ancient Civilisation line in the discworld novels. I enjoyed the book immensely, the greatest mathematician of the world was good fun, and the criticism of religion and the unwillingness to let go of the old ways rings very true. Plus, the slow motion climax of the story would have been worth the special effects Oscar, if only it had been in a movie.
Even if you are not interested in diving into the whole discworld universe, you still should give this specific volume a try.


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Review: Wyrd Sisters

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
eBook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars





Wyrd Sisters is the second discworld book about witches, published (1988) only a year after Equal Rites, which first introduces Granny Weatherwax. Personally, I liked Wyrd Sisters a lot better than Equal Rites, and that's not only because it contains daggers, ghosts, kings and more, although all play a major role in the story.

Yes, the story. It goes as follows: King Verence of Lancre is killed by Duke Felmet, his cousin, via persuasion of his wife. A faithful servant manages to rescue crown and child of the king and bring both to the three witches that live in this country: Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat. They decide to become his godmothers (including good wishes for the child) and then give it away to travelling actors, in whose props-box they also hide the crown.
Duke Felmet, going crazy with the terrible deed he has done, not-so-secretly hates the country he now rules (as duke, for there is no crown to make him king), and the country hates him. It asks Granny for help, but witches don't meddle. The witch in question only changes her mind when Nanny Ogg is brought in for torture and the people lose their respect for witches. With a clever trick from a well-known fairy tale, she speeds up the whole story. But beware, not all things go as planned when the heir finally returns...

Wyrd Sisters is a whole book of fun, stories and headology, with an extra spicing of love and destiny. It is also a great reference in case you always wanted to learn more about how storms learn, think and listen.


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Review: Sourcery

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
eBook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






I must admit that I'm growing quite fond of Rincewind, the inept wizard. It's a pity he tends to disappear, or probably die, at the ends of his novels. I never know whether or not he will be back.

Anyway, Sourcery (first published 1988) is about the eighth son of an eighth son (wizard) of an eighth son: a sourcerer. They are very, very powerful, sourcerers (= sources of magic), and also very rare. There is a reason why wizards don't have much, or any, contact with women... And it can get worse when the sourcerer's father wants revenge for being banished from Unseen University for having fallen in love.
Rincewind, together with Conina (the daughter of Cohen the barbarian) and the Luggage sets out to save the Archchancellor's hat, symbol of wizardry, from the sourcerer, only to find that the hat has plans of its own, which could lead to the Apocralypse, the end of the world. In order to stop the oncoming mage war, Rincewind has to kill the sourcerer, a ten-year-old boy who is forced to help wizards rule the discworld.

As always, Rincewind goes about the business of being an involuntary hero using his rodent-like talent to escape death and arguing with his consciousness about what should be done in contrast to what would be sensible to do. To make matters worse, he (and the Luggage) both fall in love (symptoms: sweaty palms, hot sensation in stomach, skin of chest made of tight elastic, someone running hot steel into spine), which leads to the Luggage getting seriously drunk and lost.
In addition to Rincewind and the Luggage, the novel is populated with weird and funny characters. There's Conina, forced to be a heroine by genetics but wannabe hairdresser, Nijel the Destroyer, a wannabe hero, and Creosote, a rich wannabe poet. They all have their own to contribute to save the discworld from destruction when the Gods vanish and the Ice Giants return.

Sourcery was a lot of fun to read, finally making Rincewind one of my favourite Terry Pratchett characters. You shouldn't read it without having read the other Rincewind novels first, though.
Compared to the last discworld book I read, there was a lot less repetition this time, which made me all the more happy. I'm already looking forward to the next book (and regretting slightly that I'm going by publishing order, since I want to know how Rincewind gets back)!


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