Hello, it's Reviewsday Tuesday it's time for a new episode of Discworld Discourses
And today I am reviewing Sourcery, the fifth book in the Discworld series
By Terry Pratchett, first published in 1988.
Wizard Ipslore the Red, who like all wizards is the eighth son of an eighth son,
Is banished from Unseen University and has eight sons himself.
This eighth son is a sourcerer, a source of magic,
The likes of whom have not been found on the Discworld for many generations.
Sourcery was quite an interesting book for me to read, to reread,
Because in many ways I think it's quite a weak book
But in a few ways I think it's the best so far in some specific areas.
I'll start with the bad. In terms of the humour, one of the characteristics of all Terry Pratchett's works,
I feel like this book lacks some humour or maybe I just find it more childish than in other books.
Also, although there are some great characters in this book,
Rincewind is back, the Luggage, the Librarian,
And we also have Nijel the Destroyer and Conina the Hairdresser,
It feels like they're less vividly painted, there's not quite so much characterisation,
Less of a character arc throughout the story.
Rincewind has a character arc but I feel like everyone else is a bit more stationary.
And with Coin as the focus of the book, the sourcerer of the title,
It makes the book feel a bit unbalanced because we see so little of him.
For reasons that become known when reading we don't get to know Coin very well,
We never really learn anything about him, we see the results of his actions,
We see how other characters react to him.
A lot of the things that are happening to Coin are happening away from us,
We are not privy to what is going on in his head.
So that's interesting but I did find it a bit frustrating at times,
And it just makes the book feel a little bit lopsided to me.
On the good side, I really rate how this book is structured.
It's complex without being overwhelming.
There's not quite the deluge of information that we get in the Colour of Magic.
There are lots of interesting plots and Pratchett weaves deftly between them.
And that's one of the things that I remember most as a Discworld trait
Across the whole series, Pratchett's mastery plot and of tying together stories.
And Sourcery is the first book in the series to me which shows this off really well.
I'd be very interested to know your thoughts on this book especially since I am a little ambivalent and confused.
I think some of my confusion is because I am constantly comparing all of the books to each other,
So if you are relatively new to the Discworld and Sourcery is one of the first Discworld books you've read
Then I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on it.
What do you think about this book generally,
But also specifically with regards to humour and character and plotting?
This is the Discworld book in this reread of the series of mine
That I read the quickest, it took me half the time to read this than the others.
So Sourcery has definitely been the easiest book for me to read so far.
Let's talk about characters a bit more because you know I love talking about fictional characters.
I really like Rincewind in this book, I wouldn't put him on my list of favourite characters but I really like him in this book.
It did help that I knew a lot about him and his story previously,
But I think this is a very good Rincewind book if you like Rincewind as a character.
I also loved the Librarian in this, it felt like he was more crucial to the plot.
And of the new characters I really like Nijel and Conina.
I like the idea of them, they're great concepts, they have a lot of potential I think.
Also this is the first a book with Patrician Vetinari,
Or at least it's the first book where the patrician is named as Vetinari,
I'm a little confused about when in the series he actually becomes the Patrician.
But this is the first book in which Vetinari is the character
Whereas previously it was the Patrician that was the character.
And Vetinari is one of my favorite Discworld characters so I was happy to see him even if just for a little while.
So some facts about Sourcery, I don't have many.
This was originally going to be one of the books adapted by Sky One, but that fell through.
And parts of this book were adapted into the play The Rince Cycle by Stephen Briggs,
Which combines the Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, and Sourcery, together.
And that's all I've got, that's all the fun facts I have.
So if you liked this book what should you read next?
Eric is the next Rincewind book so that's probably the best place to go if you fancy staying with him.
If you didn't get on as well with this book, Wyrd Sisters is the next book in this series
And we'll be returning to Granny Weatherwax.
Or Guards! Guards! might be a fun option, that's the first in the City Watch series
And it's also a return to Ankh-Morpork.
I will give Sourcery by Terry Pratchett 3.9 out of 5.0.
I'd really love to know your thoughts on this book and what you recommend reading next.
My next review will be of the Word Sisters which is the sixth book in the series
And that will be on Tuesday 2nd April 2019
I will as usual put a link to the full list of books & when I'm planning on reviewing them in the description below.
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I hope you have a fantastic day and I will see you later on in the week.