The Light Fantastic, Prachett's 2nd Discworld novel, picks up almost immediately where the first, The Color of Magic ended. Rincewind, the Discworld's most inept wizard finds himself saved from certain death, by being magically transported to a talking forest after falling off the edge of the Disc. It turns out that one of the eight great spells, the one trapped inside his head, has plans for him which luckily don't include his demise. Rincewind and Twoflower the tourist soon find themselves enraging some druids, meeting up with Cohen the "aged" barbarian (seriously, imagine Conan the Barbarian if he lived to the ripe old age of 87), and trying to save the Discworld from the clutches of a power hungry wizard and the mysterious red star which appears to be on a collision course with the Disc itself.

This is a great read, and an improvement over Pratchett's first Discworld novel, which is saying something. Pratchett's parody of barbarian heroes and sword-wielding wenches is especially hilarious. This is a great read, and one that I recommend for those who don't take their fantasy too seriously. Pratchett is especially fond of wordplay. I found myself sometimes reading lines a second or third time, just to relish the joke. This is definitely a read which rewards your full attention. It isn't especially necessary to read The Color of Magic first, but it will make things a bit easier to understand.

The Light Fantastic is fantasy lover's comical paradise. It is about an inept wizard, Rincewind, who is forced to save Discworld, the world, with the one thing he has never been able to do: magic. One main element is its comical and often different description. Terry Pratchett constantly uses a twist o say something simple in a complex way. Anti-fairytale references and beliefs are a prominent element in this book. The most recurring element is ll the randomness. The problem with this is it slows you down in the first half of the book. The Light Fantastic is full of fantasy, comedy and plainly a few messed up ideas and is definitely and interesting adult read.

Terry Pratchett's books are always great fun to listen to. His humor makes me laugh out loud at the most inopportune moments...

'The Light Fantastic' is a new offering (I stand corrected, a re-issue) of the 'Discworld' novels by Terry Prachett.

This is a fun, fantasy novel, featuring an unlikely hero by the name of Rincewind (who just happens to be a wizard, and a rather incompetent one at that). This book also 'stars' a character by the name of Twoflower (tourist and travelling companion to Rincewind) and the Luggage which is aptly named because 'it' is just that...luggage, but with a personified taste for adventure and also packing a bit (as well as many other surprises).

The writing is simple; the story totally unbelievable (yes, even unbelievable for fantasy). It abounds in off the cuff remarks and distinct sense of humor that could only be British. There were many laugh out loud moments in this short novel.

Conclusion. A short, fun read that makes for a wonderful diversion from some potentially more serious material that I/you may be reading.
A well deserved 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson

P.S.
Thanks to D. Blankenship (a good amazon friend) whose review tweaked me to this most interesting and entertaining book.

This was one of those works that I found difficult to put down once I read the first couple pages. The Light Fantastic is the second offering in Pratchett's Discworld Series and if anything, it is even better than the first. I first read this one as a stand alone, before I read any of the other books in this series, and found it held up well. I would suggest the first book in the series be read first, but it is certainly not necessary.

I am not going into the plot of this one at any depth as there are quite a number of very good reviews here that have done an outstand job of that already. Briefly though, this follows the adventures of a very inept wizard, Rincewind, the first fully evolved tourist on Disc World, Twoflower, and Luggage. Rincewind is a failed wizard, a coward and an actually rather likeable scoundrel. Twoflowers is the prototype tourist which can be found anywhere in our own world at any tourist destination and Luggage is Twoflower's, well...luggage; a loyal trunk that follows its owner everywhere, through think an thin. This book is an account of their adventures while saving Disc World, a world held up by a giant turtle with giant elephants standing on her back, from complete destruction by crashing into a wondering star.

The story line, as with all of Pratchett's work, is only the tip of the iceberg as far as reading pleasure goes. There were very few pages to this work that did not bring on a slight giggle, belly laugh or, at the very least, a smile. This author has humans pegged perfectly and through his humor, is able to make quite profound observations of the general overall human condition. The author has the ability to tell a rousing story while poking a bit of fun at just about everything. In this novel we meet Cohen the Barbarian, a wonderful take off on the original Conan, and a number of other very recognizable characters inhabiting our culture. I suppose the primary thrust of this work is to make light of the Conan type genre of literature, from The Hobbit to Conan to any number of other works of this order.

Read these books closely. The word play is a major part of the enchantment of this author's work and can easily be missed if you go too fast. It, the word play, is an absolute delight! Wit and satire are this authors greatest strengths and when you mix those with his imagination and story telling abilities, you have a wonderful entertaining and educational read.

I very much enjoyed Pratchett's humor, story telling ability and quirky outlook on life. I suppose these novels are not for everyone, but I certainly enjoyed this one. Like another reviewer here, Luggage was my favorite character, followed closely by Cohen.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks