The Light Fantastic: Discworld, Book 2 (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Although a direct sequel to The Colour Of Magic, The Light Fantastic can stand on it's own-and it certainly does.
I read this book with no previous knowledge of the discworld series, and I loved it to bits.
What makes this story so incredibly funny is the motley crew of characters; Rincewind the wizard-a self proclaimed coward with a deadpan sense of humour who'd rather sit down and have a beer than save the world; Twoflower-the endearlingly stereotypical tourist who unintentionally annoys the living hell out of every person he meets; and finally the infamous Luggage; an adorable little carry case with legs (and a mind) of it's own.
These three may cause more trouble than they prevent, but now it's up to them to save the Discworld from collison with a Red Star.
Don't you just know it's all going to go horribly wrong?
This was a truly fun read, and I can't wait to buy more in the discworld series.

For those of you that are not familiar with Discworld, let me give you a very brief introduction to this magnificent world, which has the shape of a disc, and stands on top of four elephants, which in turn are supported by a giant turtle named A'Thuin. Philosophers have asked themselves two questions throughout history: a) what is the turtle's sex? b) where is the turtle going? Pratchett assures us that we are very close to finding the answer to the second question.

Now, I have to tell you, if you have not read "The Color of Magic", you should get it and start your journey there. This second book stands on its own, but it is considerably more enjoyable if you have the prior book as background. Besides, "The Light Fantastic" picks up the action exactly where "The Color of Magic" ended. Rincewind, the most inept magician in Discworld, and Twoflower, the extravagant tourist, are in a spaceship in the space surrounding the Disc. But soon enough Rincewind is expelled from the ship and starts to roam through the cosmos.

Meanwhile, in the cellars of the Unseen University, the Octavo, a book left behind by the Creator of the Universe, is showing a disturbing behavior. The Octavo contained the eight most important spells (eight is a crucial number in Discworld) in the world until Rincewind had one of them accidentally transferred to into his head. Now, the eight spells are needed by Hogswatch night or Discworld will be destroyed. This places Rincewind in a very important role, but one that may be extremely dangerous too.

Pratchett's humor is sublime; the author presents cleverly crafted situations that show dazzling parallelisms with our world. One of the funniest comments I found in this book has to do with Christopher Columbus and the reason why ships look as if they are disappearing over the edge of the world. Another tool used by the author is choosing a known character and create a satire around it. In this case, we meet Cohen the Barbarian, who as you can imagine reminds us of Conan. Cohen is / was the greatest hero in Discworld, but now he is old and not even close to the prime of his life. You can certainly imagine how much fun Pratchett makes of this poor character. In some cases though, the satire is so complex that it is hard to notice all of the witty remarks.

Another big plus for this series are the characters. Besides Cohen the Barbarian and Rincewind, we are delighted with the presence of Death. This character shows up mostly unannounced of course, loves to party and tries to remain stress free. On the other hand, we have Twoflower, who clashes constantly with every other inhabitant of Discworld, is really weird, and shows striking similarities to the people in our own world! My recommendation for those of you that like unscripted spontaneous fun is that you should seriously consider picking up this series. On the other hand, those that like linear narrations and tidily created worlds, may want to pass this one up, since as Pratchett himself says "you can't map a sense of humor".

The Light Fantastic is the second book in Terry Pratchett's brilliantly funny Discworld series, continuing the tale related in the first book The Colour of Magic. The last we knew, Rincewind and Discworld's first tourist Twoflower had fallen off the rim of the world, which is an especially dangerous happenstance on a world that is totally flat and carried on the backs of four elephants who in turn stand atop the great cosmic turtle Great A'Tuin. While Rincewind is Discworld's most incompetent wizard and all-around unlucky fellow, he manages to evade the clutches of Death (although he does bump into him fairly often) time and again (27 times by Twoflower's count at the midpoint of this novel). Why this is so is, we discover, is because Rincewind carries one of the eight most powerful spells from the magical Octavo. Reality keeps having to reshape itself in order to keep rescuing the wizard. Although Rincewind, the eternally optimistic Twoflower, and the magical Luggage of sapient pearwood are once again on the disc, they face a number of obstacles in getting home to Ankh-Morpork. They are fortunate enough to join forces with Disworld's greatest hero Cohen the Barbarian; Cohen is an old man now, but he doesn't let that stop him from rescuing maidens, stealing treasures, and doing other heroic things. At this particular time, the Discworld itself is in danger, threatened with an imminent collision with a giant red star heading its way. The wizards of Unseen University believe that all eight powerful spells from the Octavo must be read in order to save the Discworld, so the missing Rincewind must be found in order to release the necessary eighth spell locked inside his brain. A series of adventures and misadventures ensue for our motley crew of characters, including a stopover at a vacated witch's house made of candy, a wild ride on a broomstick, a collision with a druid-steered cloud, and a trip to the home of Death himself before Rincewind manages to return home. Whether he can actually make use of the eighth spell and somehow manage to avert the Discworld's total destruction by the onrushing red star is, as is typical for this inept failed wizard, questionable at best.

The Light Fantastic builds upon the story of The Colour of Magic and breathes more life into the unique Discworld of Terry Pratchett's imaginative construction. More areas of the world are revealed to the reader, and we for the first time get a decent look at what goes on in the school of wizardry. Not only do we meet Cohen the Barbarian, we are also introduced to the ape librarian of Unseen University, who will become a significant character in later novels. You should certainly read the previous novel before this one because the two are closely connected in terms of plot, characterization, etc. It will also help you to recognize just how much more vibrant and real Pratchett's Discworld seems by the end of The Light Fantastic. The comedy quotient of both novels is about equal, but the storyline seems much stronger and flows much more naturally in this one. Pratchett was honing his already sharp scythe of quick wit and nascent satire in these first two Discworld novels, building a compellingly unique little world and populating it with unforgettable characters. This is high-brow comedy of the highest order, and we readers are privileged to be able to say we were there from the start with Rincewind, Twoflower, and the Luggage.