Out of Ideas

Good grief. Along with The Road, World War Z, Lost in a Good Book, and A Canticle for Leibowitz... my latest read, Terry Pratchett's The Light Fantastic, is the FIFTH apocalypse novel I've read (or tried to read) this year! Admittedly, I got what I deserved from The Road and World War Z, but I tripped over the rest of them on my way to a good fantasy or science fiction yarn. Have we really run out of ideas?

Furthermore, The Light Fantastic is the second apocalpyse novel I've read this year that is also a sequel. We saw how well that worked with Lost in a Good Book, now, didn't we? And this one should have been even worse, because its prequel, The Color of Magic, was one of the most disappointing reads for me recently.

But I had to return to the Discworld. It's enormously popular at my high school, so when I was looking for good books to read, the second Discworld novel inevitably appeared on my list. I had to at least try it.

Well, here's a bit of good news-- not only is The Light Fantastic a large improvement over its predecessor, it's also one of the funniest books I've read all year. I'd even deem it one of the better apocalypse novels this year-- for one thing, it's not focusing on the end of days for the whole time, and it has some interesting things to say on the subject.

I think this book is superior to The Color of Magic partly because it isn't trying to do so many things. Color introduced Rincewind, the hapless wizard, and Twoflower, an inexplicable tourist. It was a series of four short stories, introducing us (and Twoflower) to the Discworld. As such, the stories never felt like they had room to breathe. In this one, Terry Pratchett relaxes his guard and plays around with puns on wordplay, characters, and fantasy tropes.

Moreover, The Light Fantastic reminded me what a funny book is supposed to be like. I was laughing alound at several sections. The ending is also much more satisfying than recent reads.

It's Christmas, so I'm not thinking as well and I'm a little distracted, ready to dive into my other books. But know this: I was pleasantly surprised by the Discworld in The Light Fantastic. It's definitely a must-read.

Novels that could show up here soon, received on Christmas, are:
The City of Ember (Jeanne DuPrau)
Leviathan (Scott Westerfield)
Naughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman)
Tales from Outer Suburbia (Shaun Tan)
Under the Dome (Stephen King)

and perhaps also Scat (Carl Hiaasen). My sister got that book, and I've admired that author's works for a while now.