Customer Reviews

The Last Continent (Discworld)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is undoubtedly one of the most hilarious and down right eccentric books in the Discworld series. This isn't the best place to start for newcomers to the series as it relies heavily on you liking books like The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Eric, Sourcery and any book that has the complexities of magic and Rincewind, and this book is an extreme. It asks about philosophical impossibilities and theories of time and matter fitting into itself!? It's definately a very plot filled book. It follows the adventures of the misplaced Rincewind(and the Luggage), the misplaced Unseen University seniors(who run into a deity who hasn't quite learnt about "the birds and the bees") who are looking for him, and the Librarian(who, god forbid, is sick). It's full of brand new and crazy characters, who all reside in Continentia Incognito, the Last Continent, which Rincewind has to save and is , as ever, running away from. If you thought some of the earlier Discworld books set around wizards were to eccentric this isn't for you, but give it a try anyway I'm usually wrong on peoples opinions.

Terry Pratchett has finally taken us to the far side of Discworld. At the end of Interesting
Times, Rincewind found himself on a red-soiled beach, confronting four black-skinned blokes
who offered him a gift - a painted, strangely bent, stick. Disgusted with such a tainted
offering, the failed wizard threw it away . . .

We never find out if the boomerang actually returns to bash our hero, but he's obviously in a
land new to his experience. The Four Ecks continent could be described as the world upside-
down. Except that's impossible on the Discworld and hemisphere-centric on ours. The trees
shed their bark instead of their leaves and an amazing number of animals have pockets. The
place is dry, dry, dry. In fact, it's Rincewind's destiny to bring the current drought to an end.
He's informed of this by a animal with a face like a rabbit, but with legs that can disembowel
you. The kangaroo talks, but he's a hopping thesaurus of body language. Rincewind, of
course, flees. There are many places he can go, such as Dijabringabeeralong. The Last
Continent "isn't about Australia, it's just vaguely Australian."

Pratchett's knowledge of the model for Four Ecks is astonishing in its breadth. We share it
through his captivating prose and engaging wit. Our first encounter with Rincewind is while
he's seeking a meal. "Grubbing for grub" in "the Bush" can only mean one thing. Rincewind's
soliloquy dances around the identity of a major Outback protein source without ever actually
naming it. Later, Rincewind encounters the memory of Tinhead Ned, meets someone named
Clancy who's a wealth of Four Ecks homilies, and brews up a foodstuff known in the UK by
another name. But any school child in the model for Four Ecks knows it intimately, because
Vegemite is a staple there.

While Rincewind is fleeing from a destiny he fails to understand, the Wizards have an
adventure of their own. This lightly attached second plot provides Pratchett with an
opportunity for more serious matters. Having disrupted the flow of time, the Wizards find
themselves on an isolated island. Strange events occur - the emergence of cigarette trees, an
inordinate number of beetles crawl and flit about. The most bizarre of all is the toga'd figure
who appears and seems to be the cause of all these manifestations. And well he might, he's a
god. Unlike all other gods, he urges his followers to ask questions, to challenge whatever is
"established" and to see change as normal. He uses the world's smallest screwdriver in
tinkering with his creations. He's the god of evolution.

Pratchett's research in this area shows him at his best. He knows that for millions of years life
on this world multiplied without sex. When evolution produced sex, life changed forever. A
recent spate of books on the evolution of sex shows how challenging the research can be.
Pratchett's hilarious presentation in this book could lead you to believe he's read every one of
them. It's a superb effort of scholarship, delivered in a way that only PTerry can provide. It
would be enlightening to wander into his study and view his reading collection.

Those who grizzle about this book are either unaware of the models he uses or are challenged
by the fact that Terry is not always "just funny". Many of his books relate the tale with some
deep, serious undertones. Pratchett's one-liners are among literature's best. His characters
are stunning outtakes on people we encounter daily, sometimes to our distress. But he's a
wise, caring man who, as a clever writer, deals with a full range of issues. That the Discworld
"is a mirror of worlds" should be taken seriously. If you're looking in that mirror and don't
like what you see, you'd better look a little harder. Perhaps something in the image needs
adjustment.

The Last Continent is another humerous Rincewind adventure by Terry Pratchett.In the Last Continent Rincewind,the Disc's most inept and cowardly wizard,and his untrustworthy travel accessory the Luggage have to save the lost continent of xxxx from a terrible drought and rescue the seven senior wizards from a desert island with some very unusual but highly edible wildlife!If you like reading sci-fi,fantasy or books on Australia then read the Last Continent.If you enjoy this book then read books 1,2,5,9 and 17

this was the fourth discworld book I read and it was better than i expected. The plot jumps around a bit but I expect that in a fantasy book. The obvious parodies of things like Mad Max and skippy the kangaroo just make it better.

I found this book absolutely helarious and have read it about 3 times so far and still laugh.

Being an Aussie I guess I am a bit biased towards this book being one of the best of the whole series.

Of all the books, this one has quite a few more local references than most. It helps to have seen Rolf Harris' cartoon club, and Neighbours, but it is not essential. The story is very well done, and the local references just make it better.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

The number of issues dealt with in this book with wit and a deft touch is amazing, from evolution to transsexuality to racism. Things are always seen from a new, unexpected angle - a different world from ours but strangely familiar. There are some very funny sequences in the book. My favourite is possibly the discovery of 'talking' by the native birds ('Who's a prettyboyden?') and the utter cheerfulness later of the guards as Rincewind (inevitably) faces death. This is one of my favourite discworld novels surpassed only by Hogfather. I hate to say it,Terry but later generations may just see some of your books as 'literature'.

This is the Pratchett book that kept making me laugh out loud. At times I came close to having an accident. Aside from that there are even more plentiful giggling moments - enough to get things thrown at you in the office, or to get stern looks from fellow train passengers...

There is a pre-requisite to reading this book. You must know something of the culture (!)(?) and geography and wildlife of Oz. With this fulfilled, you are treated to the fullest pastiche of a nation.

Whats that at the back? Has it got a plot? Well, sort of. But you can safely ignore it and concentrate on the hilarious travelogue.

One thing I love about the Discworld novels is that you don't have to read them in the order they were published - I think The Last Continent was eiher no.3 or 4 or 5 for me, Sourcery being the first.

Don't give up the day job Terry.

I only began reading the discworld novels a year ago and so far the best one from the series that i have read would have to be 'The Last Continent'. Jam packed of humour, witty remarks and of course those comical wizards, makes this the funniest book Terry Pratchett has ever written. I have read the book many times and yet still laugh at the same bits. One book that I would choose if i was to be stuck on a desert island with some mad wizards.

This and Reaper Man are the only two books to have a double-plot. While with Reaper Man it is instantly clear what the connection is, with The Last Continent it is unclear what the two plots have to do with each other until the very end. All we know is that they have SOME connection, and this teases the imagination no end.
The plot is complex, but if the reader spares a moment to think about it they will see that it really is excellent.
As always, the set pieces are great. XXXX is truly a breathtaking creation, and the scenes set in the past are a joy from beginning to end.
Like all of Pratchett's work, this is guaranteed to turn your perception of fantasy upside down and inside out.

The Last Continent is the 22nd novel in the Discworld series, and the 6th to ‘star’ inept wizard Rincewind. The novel follows quite closely in the footsteps of Interesting Times, not only by the fact that it follows on directly from that books climax but that once again Pratchett uses the Discworld as a mirror to satirize our own world. Where Interesting Times had Rincewind adventuring in the Discworld’s equivalent of the Orient, in the Last Continent it’s the turn of Australia to takes some good natured jibes. Ever single cultural cliché you can think of about Australia gets a turn here – sheep shearing; surfing; the Sydney Opera House; Rolf Harris; ‘Waltzing Matilda’; Rincewind even invents Vegemite at one point – and while the comedy material is very obvious one has to admire Pratchett’s ability to cram so many in one book. Plot-wise The Last Continent is one of the slimmest Discworld novels ever, with the narrative evenly split between Rincewind’s adventures in the Outback and the rest of the regular Unseen University wizards travelling backwards in time to an island where evolution has gone mad. Rincewind’s travels are particularly aimless, with the novels main story of the continent’s drought taking a backseat to Pratchett’s humorous take on Australian culture, but this is such an enjoyable romp it doesn’t seem to matter. One of the shallower Discworld novels, but a good fun read.