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Eric: A Discworld Novel
 
 
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Eric: A Discworld Novel (Paperback)

by Terry Pratchett (Author) "The bees of Death are big and black, they buzz low and sombre, they keep their honey in combs of wax as white as altar..." (more)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 155 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (11 May 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857989546
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857989540
  • Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,621 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #24 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > P > Complete List
    #24 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > P > Pratchett, Terry > Maps, Calendars and Diaries
    #24 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > P > Pratchett, Terry > Childrens Books

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Product Description

Product Description

Eric is the Discworld's only demonology hacker. The trouble is, he's not very good at it. All he wants is the usual three wishes: to be immortal, rule the world and have the most beautiful woman fall madly in love with him. The usual stuff. But what he gets is Rincewind, the Disc's most incompetent wizard, and Rincewind's Luggage (the world's most dangerous travel accessory) into the bargain. Terry Pratchett's hilarious take on the Faust legend stars many of the Discworld's most popular characters in an outrageous adventure that will leave Eric wishing once more - this time, quite fervently, that he'd never been born .


From the Back Cover

Eric is Discworld's only demonology hacker.

Pity he's not very good at it.

All he wants is his three wishes granted. Nothing fancy - to be immortal, rule the world, have the most beautiful woman in the world fall madly in love with him. The usual stuff.

But instead of a tractable demon, he calls up Rincewind, probably the most incompetent wizard in the universe, and the extremely intractable and hostile form of travel known as the Luggage.

With them on his side, Eric's in for a ride through space and time that is bound to make him wish (quite fervently) again - this time - that he'd never been born. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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The bees of Death are big and black, they buzz low and sombre, they keep their honey in combs of wax as white as altar candles. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What? This is excellent!, 2 April 2001
By l.w.thomas@talk21.co.uk (Liverpool Uni, UK) - See all my reviews
It has really really shocked me that so many reviewers don't appreciate this book! 'Too short', 'too childish' you say. Sorry!? Maybe the humorous parodying of the Trojan war was lost on you or the parodying of creation, in fact this book is a fine example of brilliant parodying by a very clever author. In my opinion this ranks easily alongside some of Pratchett's best. It's a nice easy to read short story, with the excellent sardonic wit of Rincewind shining through once again. This is a book i will read again and again when I want a good laugh. Keep going Terry......
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The devil may hath power, 15 Sep 2005
By Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
to assume a pleasing shape according to Hamlet but only on Discworld could the devil or any demon assume the shape of Rincewind. But that is exactly what Terry Pratchett calls up in "Eric", Pratchett's Discworld homage to Faust.

Eric, the protagonist, is a teenaged `demonologist' from Pseuodopolis. Eric is also a spoiled brat according to Eric's parrot. Eric is first seen trying to summon a demon in order to have the demon grant Eric's wish for power, women, and eternal life. Instead, through a series of Discworldian circumstances Eric calls up Rincewind, last seen locked in the Dungeon Dimensions (Sourcery).

What follows is a Discworld version of a Hope and Crosby Road movie that parallels Faust. Eric and Rincewind travel to the ends of time (actually the beginning of time among other places) and Rincewind faces adversity and the threat of death in his own inimitable fashion (feet don't fail me now).

There are some great set pieces in Eric. DEATH makes two brief, but very funny appearances. First, when the Wizards determine something strange is going on they summon DEATH and demand answer. Of course, they realize quickly that perhaps they should speak to him in the same manner that people in Ankh Morpork speak to the Patrician. Later in the book, DEATH patiently awaits the moment for life to begin is priceless Pratchett fashion. Having the universe start with a paper clip and not a big bang was a very appealing concept.

Similarly hilarious is Rincewind's trip to the new and improved version of hell. Physical torture has been replaced by endless viewings of someone else's holiday slides, elevator music, and the recitation of thousands of pages of regulations only a hellish bureaucrat could construct. Interestingly, Rincewind's conversation with a creator of universes who takes special pride in the creation of trees had a nice resemblance to Slartibartfast from Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who award for creating the jigsaw like coastline of the fjords of Norway.

Despite these typically brilliant bits Eric lacked some of the cohesion found in most of the other Discworld books I have read. Apparently, Eric was originally published as a graphic novel and the illustrations went a long way towards fleshing out the story line. In a sense this version seems to be akin to reading a comic (a very good comic book) without the comic art. There does seem to be something a bit lacking.

However, even if Eric is not Pratchett's finest Discworld book it is still very much worth reading. There is an old cliché that a bad day of fishing is better than the best day of work. In this instance I think it fair to say that a good but the best Discworld book is better than the best that many other authors can put out. I recommend this book to any Discworld fan. I would not recommend this to anyone new to Discworld. Eric works best once one has got to know a bit about Discworld generally and Rincewind specifically.

Eric, despite any flaws, is still very much worth reading.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant!, 7 Oct 2006
By Laevalus (Ephebe) - See all my reviews
Eric is a hilarious novel by Terry Pratchett. It begins in Ankh- Morpork, where the University wizards are performing the Rite of AshKente, which summons Death, when they find out that Rincewind, a cowardly wizard ,is stuck in the Dungeon Dimensions, due to the events of Sourcery. As he was there, he was summoned as a demon by Eric, a demonologist, and his parrot, who has a limited vocabulary, so keeps saying " wossname". He must grant Eric 3 wishes. So Eric, parrot and Rincewind (and his Luggage ,a fearsome walking chest, who attacks enemies of its owner), set off on a journey through time which includes such horrors as wheels being used as headgear, cleaners being bribed, and small rat faced men with sandwiches. I loved this book, and you will want to read it again and again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Just 3 small wishes, whats the harm??!
Take one naive and inexperienced student of the art of "Demonology" and a gateway to the Pits of Hell filled with tortured souls and legions of devils. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Mr. J. A. Owen

5.0 out of 5 stars Eric Review
Discworld. Pseudopolis. The basement of an apartment.
A thirteen-year old boy is crouched on the floor in anticipation, watching closely the man lying unconscious on the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by discmythnut

3.0 out of 5 stars Diverting, but really needs its illustrations back
Eric is a demonology hacker who is trying to summon a demon to answer his worldly desires. Unfortunately, due to a slight malfunction, the demon he summons turns out to be a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. Whitehead

1.0 out of 5 stars By far the least enjoyable of the Discworld series
Well, I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett, and have been since the original publication of The Colour of Magic. However, I cannot in all fairness recommend this book. Read more
Published 5 months ago by The Crusader

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Hilarious Romp on the Discworld

Terry Pratchett has become one of the most popular authors alive today and his popularity is richly deserved. Read more
Published 22 months ago by J. Chippindale

5.0 out of 5 stars Good as ever
There is little in this world as dependable as Pratchett. Though one of his shortest, and with a story line unashamedly borrowed (riped of in technical speak) it's a joy to read... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2006 by Mr. J. J. Percival

5.0 out of 5 stars Eric review.
Eric is an intriguing classic.In Eric,an amateur demonologist inadvertently thinks that he has summoned a powerful demon but instead he has summoned Rincewind,the Disc's most... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2006

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Faust
The edition I read was the original "Discworld story" illustrated by Josh Kirby, only published in Great Britain (I purchased it on-line). Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2005 by Matt Graubner

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-out-loud funny!
This is the ninth book in Terry Pratchett's series on the Discworld - a flat world, supported on the backs of four massive elephants riding on the back of a planet-sized turtle... Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2005 by Kurt A. Johnson

3.0 out of 5 stars Half the story
At the end of Sourcery Rincewind was left stranded in the Dungeon Dimensions, but he is summoned back to the Discworld in this novel by Eric, a very young demonologist, who... Read more
Published on 21 April 2005 by dogbarkssome

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