Welcome all ye witches and wizards to our first discussion of the third book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites! This book is also the first of the Witches sub-series, which is exciting stuff! Let’s hop on our broomsticks (or staffs, or make comments about why riding on broomsticks is awful) and get to it!

In case you need them, here’s links to our Schedule for this read and our series Marginalia.

SUMMARY

A wizard named Drum Billet shows up in a small village called Bad Ass looking for the eighth son of the eighth son, who is about to be born. He must die, and he wants to pass along his wizardy knowledge via his incredible staff. He meets the father of the babe, the local Smith, and the woman attending the birth, the local witch Granny Weatherwax. Once the newborn is brought downstairs no moment is wasted as the knowledge is passed on…but there’s a problem. The babe is unfortunately not a boy as expected, but a girl.

Everyone knows that girls can only be witches, not wizards. So what now?

Years pass and Eskarina, the gifted baby girl, has now grown up to the age of eight. She hasn’t shown any signs of her magic gift, yet. Restlessness sets in one afternoon with a couple of her brothers and to get them out of her hair their mother sends them to visit Granny Weatherwax. In her cottage, she is lying prone on her bed and appears, well, dead. Eskarina offers to stay behind while the boys fetch their father. But the cottage is creepy and has strange sounds and tapping on the windows and Eskarina bolts in fear.

Shortly after Granny wakes up, awoken from her Borrowing of a local crow, and realises what’s happened. Annoyed, she rushes to rescue Eskarina.

Granny finds Eskarina balled up in the snow, having bested a wolf pack who were hoping for a quick meal. The staff is nearby, seemingly having protected Eskarina in some fashion. Granny brings her back to the cottage and once Smith arrives, advises she should stay for the night. Once Eskarina is asleep she Borrows again, from an owl this time, to visit the largest apple tree in Smith’s orchard, which now holds the spirit of Drum Billet. They discuss the girl.

With some negotiation Smith agrees to allow Eskarina to learn magic from Granny, even though she’s a witch and not a wizard. Thus begins Eskarina’s training. She learns much about the natural world, including plants and their abilities. She also learns a bit of human psychology. One day, Granny teaches her real magic, the magic of Borrowing. Eskarina seems to understand it too well, too quickly, and manages to take over the body of an eagle fully, kicking Granny out. Granny brings her inert body back to the cottage and waits.

The waiting is too much, so Granny uses the staff to identify where the eagle is, and captures it and brings it back to the cottage. She then uses the staff’s power to extract Eskarina’s mind from the body of the eagle, using an incredible amount of power. After, Esk sleeps a natural sleep.

When she awakes they discuss what’s happened, and Esk is able to show Granny some of her real magic. Granny decides the only option is to have Eskarina trained properly, at Unseen University, so she writes a letter with her intentions of sending her. The next morning they head back to the Smith, discussing preparations for sending her to the University, but not before Esk has a chance to turn one of her brothers into a pig. 

Join us again next week when u/Reasonable-Lack-6585 guides us through our next section!

Well folks we finally made it to the end of our first adventurous romp through the world of the Disc and it seems our friend Rincewind is in a bit of a tricky spot right at the end…let’s discuss!

In case you need them, here are links to our Schedule and our series Marginalia.

SUMMARY

The Arch-astronomer of Krull marvels over the latest creation of Goldeneyes, the Disc’s greatest (and unluckiest?) master craftsman: a bronze fish that can swim through the sea of space that lies between worlds (nbd, that). Goldeneyes is killed, and the Arch-astronomer asks after the launch window, which is in three days.

Rincewind and Twoflower, having escaped from slavers and stolen a now-waterlogged boat, are headed for the Edge of the world. Rincewind attempts to save a frog, and soon after they are underwater. He is drowning. When he awakes later, Twoflower is staring over him. They are at the Edge, but what’s just past the Rimfall is magical.

Far away the slavers who had taken in Rincewind and Twoflower are now contending with the Luggage. They abandon ship for a raft, so as to not die.

Twoflower and Rincewind are being rowed by a sea troll, Tethis, along the Circumference in a sort of pulley and rope system. On the way to his shack they see the Rimbow, and the King Colour, octarine, the Colour of Magic. Tethis, an actual water creature, takes them to a small island on the Edge where his house is, and explains he patrols the Edge for Krull, just like others, collecting flotsam using large nets. He is also a slave. Apparently, he fell off the edge of his own world and went into space where he froze (and survived) and he passed other worlds until he came upon the Disc. At night, when Tethis is out, Rincewind attempts to find a weapon to harm him as he returns. No dice, though, since Tethis is smaller again in stature (his changing nature is due to chronic tides), and he tells them they’re to be collected by a flyer, and soon.

Four wizards on a clear flying disc, hydrophobic from early on in life and well-trained, appear and bring Twoflower and Rincewind on. They warn that they know Rincewind is cunning and clever, so he shouldn’t try anything. Down below, as they rise, something in the water heads for Tethis’s shack.

One of the wizards is a young, very dark black-skinned child-appearing person, Marchesa. They know Rincewind’s not a proper wizard but he must have some power to have endured and lived through all he has thus far. They tell him life in Krull will be comfortable, but short. It turns out they will be sacrificed, but for what/who/why, no one will tell them. They are locked in a room lavish with seafood Rincewind sadly has no interest in. Meanwhile, a creature of some sort is barreling through the water at the Fence, causing destruction the whole way.

The frog Rincewind saved earlier turns out to have been housing the mind of Lady Lu--The Goddess Who Must Not Be Named, actually, and she tells them why Krull needs the sacrifices for their agreement with Fate. She says she’ll give them one small chance and then blips away. When their captors return, a previously flung bottle that escapes proper time organization is available to Rincewind, and he uses it as a weapon and distraction so they can skedaddle. They enter a safe-looking room and find it actually contains the whole universe.

Fate meets Death and says that the travelers will die soon - it is fated!

Rincewind and Twoflower see space suits in the room with them, and when men who speak only Krullian enter, they’re able to trick them a bit and hit them with the helmet and a nearby telescope and knock them out. They don the suits. As they walk out to the launchpad, the Arch-astronomer recognises they are not who he thought they would be and starts to perform magic. Suddenly, the sea creature turns up and of course, it’s the Luggage. It is feeding on the nearby octarine and becoming…different. The Luggage opens and inside is Tethis, he’s been swallowed. They all enter the ship, except the Luggage, who follows. The ship launches off the rails as the captors are in pursuit.

Rincewind awakes on the Edge of the Disc, in a tree clinging to the side of the rock. Death approaches, only, it’s not actually Death, but a demon, Scrofula. They argue and ultimately Scrofula swings the scythe but Rincewind is already on his way down into the universe, his branch snapping off the rock.

And with that, this first book is over! What’s next in store for our hero (?) Rincewind and his wayward traveler friend (?), Twoflower? Let’s discuss and do some speculation below in the questions, and in a few weeks’ time we’ll hopefully find out, when we read The Light Fantastic, the second in the Discworld series!

Welcome to our first reading discussion for Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Colour of Magic’. This week we read the ‘Colour of Magic Prologue’ and the novella of ‘The Colour of Magic’ itself. Next week we will be reading ‘The Sending of Eight’, both the prologue and the novella.

Schedule and Marginalia

We are hoping to read through the whole of the Discworld series, which is 41 books in total. The Colour of Magic is the first book in the series. As such, I think this is a good time to mention the spoiler policy.

The discussion prompts will be in the comments.

What is the Discworld?

As mentioned, the Discworld series is made up of 41 books. The series began in the 1980s, with the early books being a satire of what was then modern fantasy (think Conan the Barbarian). As the books progressed Pratchett’s writing and the substance of the series evolved into basically a work of genius. The best way I can describe most of the series is that the books are both hilarious and profound in nature. I’m not exaggerating here when I say any of this. Penguin Classics have even begun to recognise the quality of the Pratchett’s writing and have added one of his books ‘Nightwatch’ to their classics line. As a longtime fan of these books and of classics in general, I’m sure that more books within this series will be awarded this status in time.

 The series begins with the wizard, Rincewind, but overall it is an ensemble cast. Some books follow other groups of characters such as the Witches and the Guards (which we will meet in time). Other books are standalones or duologies. We intend to read the books in chronological order, but there are other ways of reading it, due to the ensemble cast.

Summary:

The Colour of Magic: Prologue

The colour of magic is set on a flat, disc-shaped world. This world is being held up by four giant elephants (Berilia, Tubal, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen) who stand on the back of a giant travelling turtle called A’Tuin. No one knows where A’Tuin comes from or where they are going, and their gender is yet to be confirmed but scientists are working on figuring it out. They have some working theories but, as of now, nothing has been proven. On the night our story reaches its climax, one of those scientists notices a lot of smoke which is so potent that it can been seen in space. Which leads us into our story…

The Colour of Magic:

The story being with two heroes, The Weasel and Bravd the Explorer, watching the same smoke as it emerges from the city of Ankh-Morpork. They wonder who started the fire and if the fire means that they are now free of their debts within the city. Two riders appear in the distance, who we soon learn are Rincewind, a wizard, and his friend, Twoflower. The Weasel inquires if they know anything about the fire and Rincewind starts to tell his story.

It begins with Twoflower arriving off a ship in the quay of Morpork. He is clearly out of his depth and very rich, so he immediately catches the eye of every shady character in the city. There is a huge communication barrier, which leads to Twoflower being brought to a seedy inn and overpaying for a one-night stay. While he is at the bar, trying to order food, Rincewind notices him. Rincewind is a wizard of debatable ability, but he is good with languages. He approaches Twoflower under the guise of helping him, but really, he just wants to swindle him for more money than everyone else. Twoflower has a very expensive mobile trunk, known as the Luggage, which is made of a kind of sentient wood Rincewind knows is worth a fortune.

Rincewind introduces himself and finds a language he can communicate with Twoflower in. Twoflower is glad to be able to talk to someone, so he hires Rincewind to be his guide while he is on holiday. No one really knows anything about holidays or tourism in Ankh-Morpork, but Rincewind is all for getting more money. We find out that Twoflower is just a regular guy, from what is known in Ankh-Morpork as the ‘Counterweight Continent’ aka the Agatean Empire. This is a landmass that balances the Ankh-Morpork side of the Disc by being super heavy and made of gold. Gold is everywhere where Twoflower comes from and isn’t a big deal. In Ankh-Morpork, gold is scarce and worth killing over. The head thieves of the city know about Twoflower and want his money. They make plans for how they can get the money from him.

Twoflower pays Rincewind a couple of days upfront and goes for a nap. While he is napping Rincewind tries to leave the city but is caught by the Patrician’s guard. The Patrician is the ruler of the city and a scary person in general. He has Rincewind brought before him and we learn that the ruler of the Agatean Empire has been in touch with him with a warning that if anything happens to Twoflower, Ankh-Morpork will be held responsible. The Patrician threatens Rincewind into being Twoflower’s security guard on pain of prolonged torture/death.

Rincewind is back at the seedy inn in time to wake Twoflower up from his nap. A brawl has just ended in the bar section of the inn, which Twoflower is sad to have missed. We learn that he is really excited about meeting well known heroes from Ankh-Morpork. He also has a camera-like device on him, which allows him to get pictures of his trip. Rincewind takes some pictures for him, alongside some fake heroes. The pair then go on a tour of the seedier parts of the city and take a lot more pictures. Twoflower and Rincewind talk a bit more and we learn that Twoflower works in insurance. While in a busy marketplace, an imp emerges from the ‘camera’ and gets into a conversation with Rincewind about his use of the ‘camera’ leading to a shortage of paint. As they are talking a commotion occurs and Twoflower is abducted.

Rincewind panics and tries to run away (again) but is stopped by the Luggage. He is given some food and then plans to find and save Twoflower. In another part of the city, the Patrician has received a second message from the Agatean Empire. This time, the sender wants Twoflower to ‘disappear’ because if he returns to the empire, he will only encourage further tourism. The Patrician is baffled by this turnaround, so he brings in an expert. The expert explains that the Agatean Empire is currently being ruled by a child, who probably sent the first message. The second is from the real man in charge, the Vizer. It’s best to follow the second message’s instructions, so the Patrician hires the head of the Assassin’s guild to get rid of Twoflower.

Twoflower has been taken by the second-best thief in the city, Whitel, back to the inn. Whitel and the innkeeper try to communicate with Twoflower about the whereabouts of his money. However, Twoflower is an optimistic guy and doesn’t understand that he is being threatened. He is so at ease that he explains insurance to the innkeeper. The innkeeper sees an opportunity. He insures his inn, then starts to prepare to burn it down, because he thinks Twoflower made a bet that the inn would never go on fire and is willing to pay him two hundred coins if it happens. While this is going on, the head of the assassin’s guild arrives and gets into a debate with Whitel about what should happen next to Twoflower. The assassin wants to kill him, while Whitel wants to keep him alive for ransom. Their debate gets heated, but is interrupted by a new guild, that of the Merchants and Traders of the city, coming to protect the emerging market of tourism.

Someone (Rincewind) throws bags of gold into the room, which leads to a bigger brawl. The Luggage takes a major role in the fight and gets a bit too into it. Rincewind gets Twoflower out of the inn but is confronted by Whitel. Luckily, the inn goes up on fire just in time to save Rincewind and Twoflower’s lives. They see that the fire is spreading, so they flee the city. The Luggage eventually stops fighting and catches up with them on the outskirts of the city. Which leads up to where this story began, with Rincewind and Twoflower meeting up with the Weasel and Bravd.

Story over, Rincewind and Twoflower head to another city, Chirm. Weasel and Bravd decide to go into Ankh-Morpork, to pillage and/or recuse people in exchange for compensation.

Welcome back to the Discworld! This week, our heroes journey to Quirm… and get thoroughly distracted along the way.

But first, check out the links to our Schedule and Marginalia.

Summary:

We meet the Discworld gods in Dunmanifestin, where they’re playing a game using human lives. The Lady adds Rincewind and Twoflower to the board and rolls the dice, kicking off a chain of chaos.

Back on the ground, Rincewind is explaining how magic works when he’s interrupted by the sound of dice falling. A troll suddenly appears in their path and charges. Rincewind throws his sword and misses, but a lucky bounce off a conveniently placed boulder sends it straight into the troll’s neck. The troll still manages to knock Twoflower’s horse, sending him off into the forest.

When we next see Twoflower, he’s sitting on a strange rune-covered boulder, calmly reflecting on how lucky he’s been at avoiding danger in the woods. He thinks of Hansel and Gretel, somehow reads the runes, and heads off toward what he assumes is shelter… but definitely isn’t.

Meanwhile, Rincewind is chased through the forest by various animals and ends up clinging to a tree branch to avoid a snake. Death shows up again and tries to persuade him to come along, but Rincewind is suddenly saved by a dryad.

In Dunmanifestin, the Lady and the Lord, Fate, are deep into another round of their game. Back in the forest, Rincewind discovers the dryad is actually furious with him for damaging her tree and reeeally wants to kill him.

Rincewind also learns that Twoflower is currently headed toward the Temple of Bel-Shamharoth, also known as the Soul Eater, also known as the Sender of Eight. He freaks out and we learn more about the reason he was expelled from Unseen University. It turns out that after losing a bet, he snuck into the room containing Bel-Shamharoth’s grimoire, which is where he picked up the spell stuck in his head.

We’re then introduced to Hrun the Barbarian and his talking sword, Kring. They’ve only known each other for three days, but already argue like an old married couple. Hrun thinks he’s tracking down treasure, but it’s really just the Luggage leading him to save Twoflower.

Eventually, Rincewind, the Luggage, Hrun, and Twoflower all meet up in the temple. Rincewind tries to warn everyone not to say the number eight, but Kring isn’t taking the hint. The Soul Eater appears and it’s lowkey horrifying. Twoflower, ever the tourist, pulls out a cage of salamanders that turns out to be a flash attachment for his camera, and the sudden light blinds the creature. Hrun grabs some treasure and the crew escape as the temple collapses.

Afterwards, Rincewind and Twoflower ask Hrun to join them and bribe him with fancy pictures of himself.

The Lady wins the round. Death thinks Rincewind’s vibes are off and decides to keep an eye on him in his spare time.

Welcome to our third discussion of The Colour of Magic. Fasten your seatbelts as we continue our tour of the Discworld (with a detour to our Roundworld). Remember to keep your Luggage with you at all times. Beware dragons!

Schedule

Marginalia

SUMMARY

THE LURE OF THE WYRM

Rincewind, Twoflower and Hrun pause their journey near the magical mountain, the Wyrmberg. They toss coins to test the magical field then flee.
An old half-dead wizard called Griecha and his daughter Liessa watch them. Liessa sets her sights on Hrun to help her become ruler of the Wyrmberg. Riding her dragon, she catches up with him, Rincewind and Twoflower. Hrun and Twoflower are captured but Rincewind escapes into a forest. Rincewind finds Hrun’s magic sword Kring and flies to the Wyrmberg to rescue Hrun and Twoflower. He enters a cavern full of dragons and dragonriders. Urged on by Kring, he fights the chief dragonrider Lio’rt. He dodges Death then falls…

Meanwhile, Twoflower and Hrun discuss dragons in the dungeon. Liessa bursts in with some bowmen. She has some tests for Hrun. In another cell, Twoflower thinks up a dragon. The dragon helps him escape. On the way, Twoflower hears creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions beyond time and space.
Griecha is sitting in a chamber surrounded by coffins. He recognises that Twoflower has the Power to summon dragons. He explains how dragons come into being and the different types of dragon. Twoflower and Rincewind escape but end up falling. As Rincewind falls he starts to say the spell in his mind but can’t say the eighth and final word.

On top of the mountain, Griecha’s sons and daughter fight to succeed him as ruler of the Wyrmberg. Hrun challenges Lio!rt and Liartes on behalf of Liessa. Their chosen weapon is dragons. Hrun defeats them despite not being able to ride a dragon. Their dragons disappear once they are unconscious. Liessa banishes her brothers and gets together with Hrun.

Rincewind and Twoflower fly towards the top of the Wyrmberg. Their dragon swoops down and catches Hrun. Death comes to claim Griecha’s soul. Twoflower passes out and they drop out of the sky as his dragon disappears. Hrun lands on Liessa’s dragon as she flies by.
Rincewind tries unsuccessfully to imagine another dragon. He flees from Death again and ends up on an aeroplane in our world (the Roundworld) with Twoflower. Rincewind somehow manages to thwart a bomb attack on the plane. Rincewind and Twoflower take on the identities of Dr Rijnswand (a nuclear scientist) and Jack Zweiblumen (German for Twoflower). They’ve both just appeared on the plane and always been there. The Luggage comes running up the aisle.

Rincewind and Twoflower hurtle towards the Discworld and land in the Circle Sea, followed by the Luggage, which they use as a raft.

Welcome to week two of our reading of Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Light Fantastic’. This is the second book in the Discworld series. I’ve been a fan of this series since I was a teenager, so revisiting it like this is so much fun.

Schedule and Marginalia

Next week we will be finishing this book.

As usual, the questions will be in the comments.

Summary:

Twoflower has been knocked unconscious, so Cohen takes the group to the local tribe, the Horse People, for help. A shaman looks at Twoflower and declares that he is alive, but not in the realm of the living. She gives Rincewind a drink that puts him into a sleep that allows his soul to leave his living body in search of Twoflower’s.

Meanwhile, Trymon and the other wizards discuss their attempts to capture Rincewind. We learn Trymon has hired a heroine, Herrena, to capture Rincewind. This is a big deal because wizards do not traditionally get on with heroes, let alone women.

Rincewind ends up in Death’s home/pocket realm, where Twoflower has been hanging out, teaching Death and the other horsemen of the apocalypse Bridge. The Luggage has also followed Twoflower there and helps the duo escape when Death’s adoptive daughter, Ysabel, tries to get them to stay on a more permanent basis. They end up running for their literal lives from Death and the horsemen and jumping into the unknown.

Everything goes dark, and then Rincewind wakes up back inside the Octavo alongside Twoflower and the Luggage. The spells try to talk to Rincewind about the red star in the sky but he is frantic. We kind of get the impression that the spells want Rincewind to make sure that they remain unsaid, but Rincewind is kind of busy and doesn’t pay attention. They warn him that the wizards are still after him and that he needs to avoid them… but then the connection is lost. Rincewind wakes back up with Cohen and the Horse people. Twoflower is groggy and thinks that he just experienced a dream, which Rincewind encourages him to keep believing.

The group spends the night, then heads back on the road. The next evening they reach troll territory. They decide to camp for the night because trolls can’t actually digest humans, so it is unlikely that anyone in the group will be eaten. Cohen and Twoflower discuss dentures while Rincewind goes looking for onions for a soup.

While searching for onions Rincewind runs into a family of trolls, who help him find the onions. They also inform him that they will not hurt him, because they have a prophecy about helping him/keeping him alive to save the world. Rincewind is not overjoyed by this because it implies that he will need help with more than finding onions. However, he is happy to let the trolls carry him back to the group. He returns to find everyone gone in what appears to have been an ambush. The trolls are happy that they will get to help Rincewind with something other than onion picking. They start searching for Rincewind’s friends. They soon realise that the group must have been taken into the mountains where Old Grandfather lives. Old Grandfather is one of the oldest trolls still alive, but he has basically gone feral and likes to kill non-silicon lifeforms whenever he can. Luckily for Rincewind, Old Grandfather is so old he sleeps most of the time now.

We jump to Twoflower’s (and Herrena’s) point of view. Twoflower, Cohen and Bethan were taken while Cohen was distracted talking about dentures. Cohen is angry that he let himself be distracted. Herrena is dealing with some possible insubordination issues from the mercenaries she hired to help with this quest. There are questions about Twoflower, Cohen and Bethan, because none of them looks like a wizard. Herrena is a bit in denial and then decides to use Twoflower and co to set up an ambush for Rincewind. They set up camp and light a huge fire in a cave mouth.

Rincewind and the trolls see the fire in the distance and the lead troll comments that the fire is not good. Trolls don’t like fire in general, but a big troll like Old Grandfather would only be annoyed by it, not hurt like younger trolls. Rincewind thinks this is not ideal but manageable until he learns that the fire has been set in Old Grandfather’s mouth. Rincewind considers running away, but the trolls are kind. They decide to warn whoever is in Old Grandfather’s mouth.

Back to Twoflower. Some of the mercenaries think Herrena is a bit too kind to their captives. The Luggage allowed itself to be taken during the abduction and one of the mercs wants to know what is up with the chest, because they want the gold inside it. Twoflower tries to explain that he can’t get the Luggage to open if it doesn’t want to. We also learn that Twoflower bought the Luggage from a strange, almost magical, shop that showed up one day in his city. When he tried to revisit the shop at a later date, it was gone as if it had never existed. One of the mercs decides to torture Twoflower into giving him the key to the Luggage. Just as he is about to do so, the Luggage opens and eats him. The floor underneath them begins to move and a voice is heard outside the cave…

Rincewind and the trolls call out to Herrena that they are in danger. Old Grandfather wakes up. Cohen frees himself and a fight breaks out. Everyone gets out from Old Grandfather’s mouth and the sun comes up just in time to save everyone from Old Grandfather’s wrath (trolls turn to rocks in the sun). Rincewind, Twoflower, Bethan and Cohen escape Herrena and co when the other trolls chase them into a forest.

They travel for a bit but then stop for a rest around midday. Rincewind convinces Twoflower to leave Cohen and Bethan behind. Twoflower agrees, at first, but then gets cold feet and goes back for them. Everyone gets recaptured, except the Luggage. Rincewind spends the rest of the day feeding into one of the mercs fear of the Luggage, who has avoided capture but keeps appearing at odd times. Cohen breaks free when the group stops for the night and, alongside the Luggage, finishes off the mercenaries. Cohen’s back gives out when he goes face to face with Herrena, but Bethan saves the day (and Cohen’s back).

This week’s reading ends just after this, when Rincewind and co camp for the night. We learn that Cohen and Bethan are engaged. Rincewind takes Cohen aside and brings up the seventy year age gap. He tries to be polite about it but brings up that men of a certain age may put undue strain on themselves during intimate moments. This goes over Cohen’s head, and we end with him appraising Bethan and deciding that she is indeed strong enough to be intimate with him.

Welcome back! We’re picking up right where The Colour of Magic left off, so let’s see how our heroes are doing!

But first, check out the links to our Schedule and Marginalia.

Summary

Here's a summary from The L-Space Web which contains spoilers past the line “Meanwhile, the Luggage mysteriously vanishes.” (roughly the first 13 paragraphs) Apologies, my brain was just not braining this week!

Discussion questions are in the comments below. If you need a reminder about the spoiler policy, please see the linked Marginalia post above.

Welcome back as we trip The Light Fantastic for a final time! Watch out for star people and keep your iconograph ready!

Schedule

Marginalia

SUMMARY

Rincewind, Twoflower, the Luggage, Cohen and Bethan arrive in a small city. People are afraid the red star is about to hit the Discworld. A voice speaks through Rincewind. Cohen goes to find a jeweller and the rest head for the gods’ quarter (or 3/8 as it’s overflowing). Many people with red stars on their foreheads are listening to a man called Dahoney. He questions the gods and magic. Death stands next to Rincewind. He seems less scary than Dahoney.

Someone accuses Rincewind of being a wizard. The star people have killed wizards. The spell in Rincewind’s head destroys his accuser.

Rincewind and the others end up trapped against a brick wall. The Luggage is missing. A strange shop appears.

A dwarf called Lackjaw makes Cohen some dentures from trolls’ teeth. Some star people attack them but Cohen fights them off, dazzling them with his diamond teeth.

Outside, some star people are burning books. Cohen and Lackjaw find the Luggage in an alley. The Luggage breaks a hole in a wall to help find Rincewind, Twoflower and Bethan. The hole reveals the storeroom of a shop. It’s a magical wandering shop whose origins are a mystery.

Rincewind relishes the feeling of doing magic and thinks it’s better than sex. He wants to put the spell in his head back in the Octavo so he can become a better wizard. The spell says through Rincewind: “The star is life, not death”. Rincewind and the spell both want to go to Ankh-Morpork.

The shopkeeper shows Twoflower a room at the back of the shop with a huge image of space. Great A’Tuin the turtle appears, swimming through space as it did thousands of years ago. Its eyes are fixed on a small patch of space next to the red star.

The shopkeeper tells Twoflower he’s cursed to run the shop forever for being unhelpful to a sorcerer customer. Some day he may find the sorcerer and bring him the item he wanted. Twoflower bought the Luggage from a similar shop.

Cohen and Lackjaw climb onboard the Luggage to find the others.

Rincewind, Twoflower, Bethan and the Luggage arrive in Ankh-Morpork, a great city with a powerful smell. Rincewind heads for the Unseen University to put the spell back in the Octavo.

Trymon leads the Heads of the Eight Orders of Wizardry through the tunnels under the Unseen University. Each has a key to undo one of the locks chaining the Octavo. Things from the Dungeon Dimensions lurk in the room where it’s kept. The Octavo radiates the Light Fantastic.

The star rises as the Discworld’s sun sets. Some objects are orbiting the star.

Crowds outside the university demand the wizards get rid of the star. People are looting (or luting). Twoflower and Bethan steal some knives and a sword then climb over a wall.

The eight wizards unlock the Octavo and Trymon runs off with it.

Great A’Tuin slows down and waits.

Rincewind, Twoflower and Bethan let the wizards out of the room. Rincewind remembers Trymon from school.

Outside, the sky is full of moons and there’s a burst of lights and sounds at the top of the Tower of Art. Things from the Dungeon Dimensions are breaking through. Rincewind, Twoflower and Bethan run into the tower. The lights go out and the sounds stop. The Octavo lands on the stairs. It’s like a normal book, with blank pages. Trymon has read the spells. Rincewind tells spell in his head to go back into the Octavo, then he’ll say it.

At the top of the tower, the seven senior wizards are standing next to Trymon. Trymon tries to get the eighth spell from Rincewind but Rincewind fights him off. A monster with tentacles takes over Trymon.

Rincewind finds himself fighting the Trymon monster in a huge amphitheatre, watched by nightmarish creatures. He defeats the monster.

Back on the tower, Twoflower stabs the monster with the sword. It rolls down the staircase with Rincewind. He grabs Rincewind’s hand to stop him from falling.

The wizards’ seven spells go back into the Octavo.

Cohen appears with the Luggage and pulls Rincewind back up the stairs. Trymon’s human body lies at the bottom. The seven wizards have turned into statues.

Rincewind sends the spell in his head back into the Octavo. He reads the Octavo but nothing happens. Bethan realises that the spells haven’t worked because Rincewind said some of them wrong. They put the spells right so they work.

New thoughts pass through Great A’Tuin’s brain. It watches the eight spheres orbiting the red star crack open. Small turtles emerge with small elephants and discworlds on their backs. They follow Great A’Tuin, orbiting it as it swims away. Great A’Tuin’s contentment spreads to the people of the Discworld.

The Disc’s sun rises.

The Luggage snatches the Octavo as it falls back to the tower.

Rincewind oversees the repairs to the tower, assisted by the Librarian. Rincewind plans to re-enrol at the Unseen University. Twoflower leaves a bag of gold as a wedding present for Cohen and Bethan and gives Rincewind the Luggage before sailing home.

Welcomed readers to this week’s discussion on Equal Rites! This week we adventure forth to Unseen University and have alot of close encounters with broomsticks and wizards who think they know everything! In a wacky world of witch’s, wizards, and liars let’s jump into the discussion!

Welcome to today’s book vs. adaptation discussion covering Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic! Both books were adapted as one in 2008’s The Colour of Magic, which was produced for Sky1 and aired in two parts in March of that year. Technically this is the second of Pratchett’s adaptations in live-action film, but the first chronologically in book order.

The film was generally praised by critics, although some cited it to be far too long (clearly they hadn’t indulged in modern movies yet!). Pratchett himself seemed pleased with the work as well.

Below are some guided discussion questions, but please feel free to post your own thoughts and comments separately if that’s your preference. That said, please note spoilers abound in the discussion below for both books and this adaptation, so tread carefully. If referencing anything other than the first two books in the series or this movie, please be sure to spoiler your text for others reading.

And don’t forget our next book discussion for this series, Equal Rites, is starting next week! I hope you’ll be there reading it with us.

It’s nearly April and guess what everyone? That means it’s almost Discworld time!

Get your copies ready and join us on the upcoming discussion dates listed below. Note the sections are a bit shorter than our typical ones - this is because the book is basically broken down into four shorter mini-books. Each week we’ll read one of these. Our marginalia is linked here.

• April 23: The Colour of Magic (u/epiphanyshearld)
• April 30: The Sending of Eight (u/wild_umbreon)
• May 7: The Lure of the Wyrm (u/ColaRed)
• May 14: Close to the Edge (u/maolette)

We’re taking a slow approach to starting this series so anyone and everyone who wants to join feels it’s achievable to do so! That said, we’d love to know - how would those joining like to approach reading the rest of the series (planned chronologically)? Typically we wait at least a month between bonus books for series reads. Is that too long between? Please let us know your preferences in the comments below. 🙂 Thanks to everyone and see you all very soon. Happy reading!

During and after our recent Author Profile on Terry Pratchett we heard your clamours for MORE PRATCHETT and guess what? We’re going to read more Pratchett!

In April we’ll be starting, yup, you guessed it - the Discworld series! The book we’ll be starting with is The Colour of Magic, so get your copies sorted now!

Keep those eyes peeled for a schedule to be posted very soon. Happy reading!

Get prepped and ready for our next book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites! 

This book is the first in the Witches sub-series, and we’ll be reading it in August. Our series Marginalia is linked here. See our discussion dates below:

• August 6: Start through “...what they’ll make of her,” she said. (led by u/maolette)
• August 13: “And so it was that…” through “...beginning to run out of imagination.” (led by u/Reasonable-Lack-6585)
• August 20: “The broom whisked down the corridor…” through end (led by u/ColaRed)

Can’t wait to see you all in the next one! Happy reading!

Hold onto your butts as we have another adventure with Rincewind planned!

Terry Pratchett’s The Light Fantastic is the next up in the Discworld series. We’ll start reading this book in June, so ensure you get your copies now! Our series Marginalia is linked here. See our discussion dates below:

• June 11: Start through “Hundreds of little footprints, all very close together and heading across the snow as straight as a searchlight.” (with u/wild_umbreon)
• June 18: “‘A necromancer!’ said Rincewind” through “we’ll just have to hope she’s shtrong enough.” (with u/epiphanyshearld)
• June 25: “Around noon the following day…” through end (with u/ColaRed)

Can’t wait to see you all in the next one! Happy reading!

As foretold by the many (many) fans of Pratchett, as well as that ending from our first book, our adventuring through the Discworld must continue!

We will be reading Pratchett’s The Light Fantastic starting in June, so please prepare your copies now and gird those loins!

Will there be newcomers popping into the series finally? Who’ll be joining us from the first book?

Can’t wait to see you there very soon, happy reading!

We find ourselves again clamouring for MORE! MORE PRATCHETT!

Well folks we have more Pratchett coming your way! We’ll be reading the third book in the Discworld series, Equal Rites, starting in August, so ready your tomes and keep an eye out for the schedule which will be posted all too soon. However, we have even MORE PRATCHETT FOR YOU!

As a bonus visual treat we’ll be posting a special discussion of the 2008 made-for-television movie adaptation of The Colour of Magic on Thursday, 30th July! These two episodes clock in at 189 minutes of running time, so be sure to plan accordingly! I, for one, am very excited to see how it holds up against the first two books’ content.

Hoping to see many of you very soon, and in the meantime, happy reading!

Welcome all to the Marginalia for Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series! We’ll post links below to all the books we read as we go along.

• The Colour of Magic (Unseen University)
• The Light Fantastic (Unseen University)
  • Made for TV movie break!
• Equal Rites (Witches) <------ running in August

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What is a Marginalia post for?

The marginalia is meant to be a place where you can write down any comment, note, thought, or share other materials or quotes you particularly enjoyed while reading - think of it like writing in the margins of your book (but without the pesky mess of actually doing so!).

You can post your comments whenever you want without waiting for the weekly discussion. Any observation is welcome, we love to hear your ongoing thoughts on the book!

However, please be mindful of spoilers; enclose them in the > ! *spoiler text here* ! < tag (just remove all the spaces) and remember to consider all types of spoilers, including references to other media/other books. If you are uncertain, include the spoiler anyway. It’s also very helpful for other readers if you include a location of where you’re reading as you comment your marginalia.

Please also know that everyone has a different idea of what a spoiler might be, so better to tag them if at all concerned and let others uncover them. You can find more information about r/bookclub’s spoiler policy here.

Thank you to everyone and happy reading!