The Colour Of Magic by Terry Pratchett (The Discworld Series: Book 1)

Rate and review The Colour Of Magic! | What does everyone else think?

The Colour Of Magic book cover
Rating 8.0/10
A fantastic book that stops you from taking life to seriously.
Buy Now!

Terry Pratchett's first Discworld novel, The Colour Of Magic is set on a world sitting on the backs of four elephants hurtling through space. Rincewind, the wizard and Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist encounter DEATH and Hrun the Barbarian on their journey through the Discworld.

Twoflower, and his menacing luggage arrive in Ahnk Morpork as the first ever tourist and employ the failed wizard Rincewind as a guide. After Twoflower's wealth causes Ahnk Morpork to set on fire, they embark on an adventure that will involve visits to the Temple of Bel-Shamroth and encounters with trolls, dragons and Krullians.

Terry Pratchett takes the seriousness from the fantasy novel and replaces it with wicked humour. This is an excellent place to start for any reader yet to read a Pratchett novel as it gives the background history of the main characters. The action starts in Ahnk Morpork, a city that becomes firmly implanted in the memory.

This novel is very different from most fantasy novels and a breath of fresh air. A beautifully imagined world and wonderfully described characters, when added to the mix, make this a must read novel. This book can stop you from taking life too seriously.

By now the whole of downtown Morpork was alight, and the richer and worthier citizens of Ankh on the far bank were bravely responding to the situation by feverishly demolishing the bridges. But already the ships in the Morpork docks-laden with grain, cotton and timber, and coated with tar-were blazing merrily and, their moorings burnt to ashes, were breasting the river Ankh on the ebb tide, igniting riverside palaces and bowers as they drifted like drowning fireflies toward the sea. In any case, sparks were riding the breeze and touching down far across the river in hidden gardens and remote rickyards.
The Colour of Magic

Be careful! Once you have read and enjoyed one Discworld novel you may find yourself making your way through the whole series.

Reader's opinions about The Colour of Magic

The Colour Of Magic book cover image

The Colour Of Magic: A Discworld Novel (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Terry Pratchett
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 283
Publication date: 1985-01-18
Publisher: Corgi Books

RRP: £7.99
Lowest new price: £2.47
Lowest used price: £0.01

Buy now!

On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There's an avaricious buy inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course the edge of the planet.
Product Description

The Colour Of Magic book cover image

The colour of Magic (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Terry Pratchett
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 283
Publication date: 1985
Publisher: Corgi

RRP:
Lowest new price:
Lowest used price: $0.01

Buy now!


You Say

Billie from Leamington Spa

8-stars

Love it. love it, loved it! My older brother used to read fantasy books and I tried a few but never got into it. I saw this in his room one day and liked the cover and found the description on the back really funny so gave it a go. It's how fantasy books should be, full of laughter (for the reader) and wonderful characters. Although Mort and Reaper Man are still my favourites The Colour of Magic is where it all began and a great introduction to the Discworld and its strange and colourful inhabitants.

Submit your own mini-review

Let people know what you think about The Colour Of Magic. You can write your own mini-review and give the book the rating that you think it deserves. Your reviews will go towards giving The Colour Of Magic its overall rating that will decide where The Colour Of Magic finishes in the top 100 fantasy books of all time.

Your first name
Your mini review
Where you live
Book
Your rating (out of 10)

Fantasy books you may also enjoy...

/images/love-songs-for-the-shy-and-cynical-th.jpg book cover thumbnail imagelove songs for the shy and cynical
Robert Shearman

/images/shadow-forest-th.jpg book cover thumbnail imageShadow Forest
Matt Haig

/images/pretty-monsters-th.jpg book cover thumbnail imagePretty Monsters
Kelly Link

/images/lex-trent-versus-the-gods-th.jpg book cover thumbnail imageLex Trent Versus the Gods
Alex Bell

/images/hell-th.jpg book cover thumbnail imageHell
Robert Olen Butler

Image: Once Walked with Gods book cover   Image: Alden Bell, author   Image: Gardens of the Moon, by Steven Erikson, book cover   Image: X-Isle book cover
Book of the Month   Interviews   Books you must read...   Competition
Once Walked with Gods
James Barclay
James Barclay's ELVES trilogy will tell the whole story of his immortal elven race, and will appeal to all fans of Tolkien and fantasy - this is a uniquely entertaining take on a fantasy staple perfect to bring new readers to Barclay.

 

Alden Bell
Allison Brennan
Paul Kearney
Karen Brooks
JR Mitchell
NK Jemisin
Holly Black
Chris Dolley
Alex Bell
Alison Goodman
  The Amulet of Samarkand
The Spook's Apprentice
Gardens of the Moon
A Game of Thrones
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ship of Magic
Assassin's Apprentice
The Colour of Magic
Duncton Wood
Tigana
  September 2, 2010 will see the publication of Steve Augarde's wonderful X-Isle in paperback. To mark the occasion Random House have very kindly given us three copies to give away as prizes in our latest competition.
Previous winners   Interview archive   Josh's top 8 fantasy list   Click here to enter!

News

Notable future releases in the fantasy genre

It’s always nice to have something to look forward to. The fantasy genre is fortunate in that it always has great novels appearing at regular intervals, sometimes stand-alone but often continuations o...

Free copy of Terry Pratchett’s Unseen Academicals up for grabs!

*** COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED *** Congratulations to Georgina Ball of Cambridgeshire who will receive a free copy of Unseen Academicals I have been very fortunate and have ended up with two copies ...

The Terry Pratchett Anywhere but Here, Anywhen but Now First Novel Prize!

Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers are proud to launch a new award for aspiring debut novelists, The Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now Prize. Transworld will offer the winn...

Terry Pratchett’s I Shall Wear Midnight Coming September

Sir Terry Pratchett’s ‘I Shall Wear Midnight’, the fourth Tiffany Aching book is set for release in September of this year. My brother made sure that I knew about this and once again made it super eas...

Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter Team Up

Sir Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, a prolific hard science fiction author, are teaming up with Transworld to create a series of books based on an idea first posed by Pratchett in 1986 after writi...

The Discworld Cup is On!

If you want to show your love for Terry Pratchett, or a specific book by the legendary knighted British author, then head along to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Cup Finals 2010. Basically it’s a “vote...

Fantasy news round-up 26/04/2010

Hubble Telescope: NASA release dramatic space image to mark 20th birthday The new image, captured earlier this year by Hubble's brand-new Wide Field Camera 3, shows a cosmic pillar of gas an...

Alex Bell interview (February 2010)

Alex Bell was born in 1986 in Hampshire. She studied Law on and off for six long years before the boredom became so overwhelming that she had to throw down the textbooks and run madly from the buildi...

Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy to open this month

This month will see the launch of the new Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, a project which will explore the importance of fairy takes in literary and culture. Professor Bill Gray,...

Fantasy news round-up – January/February 2010

Fantasy authors donate towards the Haiti appeal Harry Potter author JK Rowling donated a full UK edition set of her books, as well as a handwritten card, to Helping Haiti Heal. These rare items j...