The Light Fantastic; Terry Pratchett (HarperTorch, ISBN 0-06-102070-2).
Given events of late, I wanted something light to read during my visit to my parent's. I started reading this book before traveling to the wilds of Pennsylvania and discovered two problems with it:
First, it is not a book to be read at night, when your wife is sleeping in the bed next to you. You might strangle if you keep trying to suppress the laughter that keeps bubbling up!
Second, there are no chapters. Yes, the scene changes every several pages, with obvious breaks, so I guess that is the equivalent. But when you are reading at night and keep saying "I'll stop at the end of the chapter", suddenly you find that you've read half the book without finding one of those chapters!
Light Fantastic is the second (according to one series order list that I had come across) installment in Pratchett's long-running series. I had read the first installment (again, according to that list) earlier this year. In it we continue the adventures of the wizard Rincewind and his charge Twoflower and his faithful Luggage on the disc-shaped world of...errrr...Discworld. Pratchett takes us to the Unseen University, where power struggles are coming to a head (or are they?). Death stalks several characters. A strange star is seen in the sky. Wizards are hunting Rincewind and Twoflower (and the Luggage!). We meet the world's most famous barbarian, Cohen. He's survived the longest, often has trouble with his joints (especially his back), but like John Wayne in The Shootist, he might be old, but he still has his skill. And let's not forget various secondary characters, including one hilarious depiction of a female assassin (I hope she appears in a later book) who, due to typecasting, wears leather even though it is uncomfortable, because it is what is expected of her.
Good stuff. Hilarious stuff. Why didn't I start reading these earlier? Two down, thirty-three novels (and various associational works) to go!
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