Relatively unknown in America, Terry Pratchett was the number one best-selling author in Great Britain during the 1990\’s, and only J. K. Rowling has sold more books than Pratchett in the UK since 2000. The Light Fantastic is the classic second novel in his Discworld series from back in the 1980\’s when it all began.
Even though Pratchett\’s novels take place in an alternate universe, on a \”planet\” known as the Discworld, his books are really parodies on the peculiarities of our own world. The Light Fantastic pokes fun at the myths of Armageddon and the religious zeal it engenders in some people. Consequently, entranced, mindless throngs coalesce into book burning frenzies and fanatical lynch mobs.
Moving through all of this, we follow the (mis-)adventures of a \”failed\” wizard named Rincewind as he travels around the Discworld, trying to get away from anything that seems threatening, which covers just about everything.
Everything, that is, except the one thing that causes everyone else to panic: The new Red Star that has been showing up on the sky and keeps growing in intensity and heat. As Rincewind\’s friend Twoflower so aptly puts it: \”If there was anything at all to be frightened about, he\’d be frightened. But he\’s not. The star is just about the only thing I\’ve ever seen him not frightened of. If he\’s not worried, then take if it from me, there\’s nothing to worry about.\”
And naturally, Twoflower is correct in his assessment of the fate of the world by way of observing Rincewind, the Discworld\’s foremost expert on when to panic.
Rincewind and Twoflower\’s adventurous journey includes saving an unappreciative sacrificial virgin, visiting a forest of talking trees and a lair of friendly trolls, flying through the sky on a rock levitated by druid magic and through the universe in a magic gift store, and narrowly escaping the scythe of Death in the netherworlds: Things that are the stuff of myths and legends in our reality but almost commonplace on the Discworld.
However, what the story is really about is a \”lost\” magic spell that every wizard on Discworld is searching for. Together with the seven other spells from the magic book Octavo, it needs to be read at the appointed time in order to turn the tide of events, save the Discworld from destruction, and veer Great A\’Tuin away from the Red Star.
Great A\’Tuin, needless to say, is the enormous sea turtle carrying the Discworld on its back through the Universe. Just in case you were of the mistaken impression that all planets were spherical and revolved around stars.
The Light Fantastic is a great read and highly recommended, though I must caution, it requires great discipline in order to not laugh out loud if read in quiet public spaces such as libraries. It can be read as a standalone book or as part of the series.
Britt Hellman resides in Western North Carolina with her husband and three children. A professional copywriter, she writes and publishes book reviews as a hobby. In the late 1980\’s, her husband turned her onto the books by Terry Pratchett. Visit her website the-light-fantastic.info for a complete list of Terry Pratchett\’s Discworld novels, from The Color of Magic (1983) to Unseen Academicals (2009).
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