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bloodygranuaileOver on Mark Reads, I just caught up with his finishing reading Sir Terry Pratchett’s Eric, which… I don’t feel like I have a lot to say about. It’s a bit awkward that Sir Pterry died while we were reading what I’m pretty sure is the weakest Discworld book.
Of course, a weak Discworld book is still a hell of a lot funnier than many other comic novels. The power plays between the “traditionalists” in Hell and the newer “corporate boredom” faction—basically just one demon, but he’s the King—is pretty hilarious. Rincewind and the Luggage are both back, although Rincewind is not as well-characterized as he is in some of his more robust books. And the parrot is pretty funny. It’s extremely episodic, at least as much as the first two books, and it tends to be straight parody rather than satire (it’d be satire if there was any sort of genre of writing where someone gets three wishes and they go right—but there isn’t). A lot of the stuff he’s parodying is classic literature more than 80s fantasy this time around, which is great if you were an English major, but it doesn’t hold up to sustained discussion as much as most of the rest of the series—it’s pretty much just puns and references.
At least Rincewind is out of the Dungeon Dimensions now, which is really the point.
Of course, a weak Discworld book is still a hell of a lot funnier than many other comic novels. The power plays between the “traditionalists” in Hell and the newer “corporate boredom” faction—basically just one demon, but he’s the King—is pretty hilarious. Rincewind and the Luggage are both back, although Rincewind is not as well-characterized as he is in some of his more robust books. And the parrot is pretty funny. It’s extremely episodic, at least as much as the first two books, and it tends to be straight parody rather than satire (it’d be satire if there was any sort of genre of writing where someone gets three wishes and they go right—but there isn’t). A lot of the stuff he’s parodying is classic literature more than 80s fantasy this time around, which is great if you were an English major, but it doesn’t hold up to sustained discussion as much as most of the rest of the series—it’s pretty much just puns and references.
At least Rincewind is out of the Dungeon Dimensions now, which is really the point.