The Color of Magic

The first entry into the Discworld series is a must-read for the Pratchett enthusiast, but is not in itself a great book. The seeds of ideas are planted here, and the tone is roughly set for the rest of the series, but they have not fully sprouted yet, much less grown into fruiting plants. We meet A Patrician, but not the Patrician. We meet a version of death, but not Death. It reads as almost purely fantasy comedy, without much of the satire or commentary of later books. In the first pages is an enormous footnote, the style of which I love in future stories, but it is the only one in this book. It's meandering story wanders the Disc, with the reader as Twoflower and Pratchett as our guide Rincewind, setting the stage and whetting the appetite for adventures. It goes on for too long, and the last section feels like a slog to finish it.

But looking back on it is not entirely fair to the book; the series had to start somewhere, and its so outlandish and unique, finding the winning formula and style is not automatic. It is so different from other traditional fantasy novels, with intriguing characters and places and such a creative spin on story telling that it's no wonder it captured an audience on first release. It is only with the benefit of having read his other works to which I can compare it less favorably.

If it's your first book of the series, don't judge it too harshly and look forward to a more honed craft. If it's not, look for nuggets of ideas and changes in future works.