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The Last Hero
If you're the second type, though, be warned that the illustrations in this book are still incredibly, incredibly beautiful. If you're a comic book afficianado, then think of Alex Ross painting caricatures. This isn't the first time artist Paul Kidby (not to be confused with Josh Kirby, who illustrated Eric and most of the British Discworld covers) has tackled Terry Pratchett's Discworld characters, but it is the first time he's tackled an entire story. His art appears next to, above, below, and behind the story on every single page of this oversized book, and despite his habit of giving each character exactly one expression for the entire book, they're always a joy to look at. They're lavish, detailed, stylized, detailed, believable, real. You'll have to be hard-set against having your literary characters drawn for you to object to how Kidby renders them here.
Of course, as they say at Pixar, all the pretty pictures in the world won't rescue a bad story. Which brings us to Pratchett's half of the book. This is a short novel even by Discworld standards, about the same length as Eric, which is probably why the art is there (instead of vice versa). The plot goes something like this: Cohen the Barbarian and his octagenerian cohorts have decided to embark on one last heroic expedition, to return fire to the gods. Specifically, fire in the form of a very large explosive keg, which he intends to detonate inside the home of the Discworld gods atop the mountain at the center of the Disc.
Impossible, you say? Probably not -- after all, Cohen hasn't gotten as old as he is by failing to kill people. And the residents of Ankh-Morpork, magical and non-magical alike, all have reason to believe that his success will mean the end of the entire Disc. So the ingenious Leonard of Quirm is given the assignment of getting himself and a select team to the center of the Disc as quickly as possible in order to intercept Cohen before he gets what he wants.
That "select team," it turns out, consists of Carrot Ironfounderson, the six-foot-tall, red-headed, large-muscled captain of the City Watch, and Rincewind, the worst wizard the Disc has ever seen and the only citizen of Ankh-Morpork who has anything approaching a friendship with Cohen. (They spent half of The Colour of Magic and most of The Last Continent together.) It's the first "crossover" story Pratchett has written with these two major characters, and has probably been demanded by fans for years.
You'd expect the embodiments of perfect courage and perfect cowardice to have some pretty interesting dialogue in this story, but surprisingly, they don't seem to interact that much. Rincewind doesn't have much patience with brave heroes, and Carrot is too polite to force his views on Rincewind. On the other hand, Leonard's relentless imagination and total faith in his own radical inventions makes him a far, far more interesting companion for Rincewind. The two of them get along absolutely dreadfully.
There's also a new villain by the name of Evil Dark Lord Harry Dread, but he's really just a supporting role. Mostly this book is an exercise in giving Rincewind and Cohen another story together, with Leonard and Carrot thrown in to make it all possible. But as Pratchett himself has said in the past, Rincewind just isn't a compelling enough character. His gimmick is that he's a coward, and a very good one, and while it's certainly funny, it's hard to write great stories around a character that refuses to be developed. Both Eric and The Last Hero star him, and both are about half as long as Pratchett's usual novels; I doubt this is a coincidence.
So Cohen's character is really the only one that sees any interesting growth in this book, which is probably why it's named after him and why he's the only one illustrated on the cover. And while it's short, it's still plenty interesting and chock-full of the humor and insights Pratchett's fans have come to love. It's a little annoying that the two teams of characters spend almost the entire book not interacting with each other, because the lack of a united plot has wrecked a few Discworld novels for me. (Soul Music comes immediately to mind.) But this time, the ending redeems it.
Diehard Pratchett fans will buy this regardless of how it's reviewed, of course. But the non-diehards and even non-fans should enjoy it, too -- it's a solid story that gives a quick, fun look at several recurring Discworld characters, and the artwork is so lavish it's almost impossible to say "no" to. The price tag is a bit higher than an ordinary Discworld hardcover, though, so it's really not for first-timers. Give them a paperback copy of Wyrd Sisters or The Light Fantastic instead, to get them hooked on the early stuff. The Last Hero isn't a literary main course, but it's an excellent dessert.
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I'm fairly sure that it was Interesting Times, not The Last Continent that Cohen and Rincewind spent together.
This books was specificially targeted at a younger diskworld audience, and so (while what we know and love is still there) everything is a little lower key. This is also why it is shorter. If you have a younger sibling, I would definetly recommend purchasing the book for them. It is worth it.
... (and films?)
:) I pity anyone who watches the Lord of The Rings and then decided to read the book for the first time! That said, I'm really looking forward to it. :)
It's kind of a question of imagination, and how much you like to be told about the authors vision before creating your own.
I am one of the latter[1] non-graphical novel fans, though I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate them. I read a book to enjoy imagining the characters and setting, what they look and sound like etc. It's one of the reasons I never spent much time playing either of the Discworld games, the voices particularly clashed with my own imagined versions, and I didn't think that they did them justice.
It also applies particularly to films: I abhor seeing the film of a good book and then reading it afterward - at least when you read it beforehand and are then disappointed with the film you can also bring out the old cliques, and can re-read the book without fear of being disappointed
1. Latter, as in the 2nd type mentioned in his review.
Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
It is Josh Kirby who does the UK Discworld covers, and I think reports of his death are greatly exaggerated...
Engage Nitpick!
I think Rincewind and Cohen spent most of Interesting Times together, though.
-- IANAEG - I am not an elder god.
This book is, while different, magic.
Any hardcore discworld fan has seen so many pictures of the disc that they learn to treat and particular illustration as a suggestion, and it's no different here. Nevertheless, the art really brings this particular story to life, with some stunning pictures.
Pratchett essentially runs 2 sub-plots in "The Last Hero". The heroes destroying a world that grew up and stopped believing in them inspire real pathos, albeit in a humorous way. On the other hand, the story of the Ankh-Morporker's attempt to save the world is one of exploration and generally much lighter. Both are woven together to create an end that doesn't make you think but makes you sigh.
A must for Discworld fans
These people look deep within my soul and assign me a number based on the order in which I joined. -- Homer Simpson
there is a sweepstakes over at harpercollins where you can win copies of several pratchett books and (!?) a clock autographed by him.
also, there is a scan of a few pages from the book.
...there's one illustration featuring a rather attractive topless Egyptian goddess, and another depicting Death's horse as discretely but clearly anatomically correct. Perhaps those were "cleaned up" in the American version, or perhaps British children aren't quite as Puritanical. But I doubt Pratchett has ever written Discworld books with a children's audience in mind.
he went through a slow patch, but I enjoyed The Fifth Elephant, thought the The Truth was ok and Thief of Time was easily one of his best.
Last Hero is readable (but I like Cohen) and the latest one (about the cat and rats) was fun (although appeared to be aimed more at children)
So basically, don't dump an author because of 3-4 bad books out of 30.
~Cederic
Illustrated or not; as long as it's not kirby.... (he's good, but i don't like his discworld art at all)
See, what I love about Pratchett's work, Discworld and otherwise, is his masterful command of language. Sure, the slapstick is fun, and the ideas are amusing, but he wields the English language with such skill that that is what I love about Pratchett.
This is why I object so strongly to other-media conversions, like movies and plays. They capture the plot, the ideas, the goofy basic humor, but he has so many other layers and such a talented writing ability that is totally missed by these media.
As for this new one, it's on my hanukkah list. The illustrations, to me, will be an added delight. But I won't be looking at the pictures as much as I will be reading the words.
Karma: T-rexcellent.
"Sucked big time"? Can't be having with that!