Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Good. Very good., Dec 10 2002
By A Customer
Not only is The Color of Magic the beginning of an amazing series, there is something about the book that you can't put your finger on that makes it one of the best I have ever read. Rincewind and Twoflower are good characters and the sheer randomness and hilarity of the books makes them excellent aside from everything else.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Where the laffs emerged., Jan 31 2002
Having started reading Discworld books further into the series, I was worried that the first two stories would be lacking in quality. I needn't have worried that standards or style would be inferior, in fact the first two books are now my favourite in the series.Pratchett begins his exploration of the Disc with parody of the fantasy genre. Later on in the series he focuses more on developing the mechanisms and realism of the Discworld, but here there are more laughs, and more subversion of the genre. The relationship between Rincewind the cowardly student wizard and Twoflower the naive, good natured tourist is always amusing and compelling. The plot is perhaps slightly less complicated than later books, but still strange and magical, while firmly rooted in the cynical common sense of the English. Also the books feature my favourite Discworld character, the tenacious, slightly sinister Luggage! It's an easy read that flows well and has some spot-on humour.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Opening To Discworld Marred By Poor Publishing, Jan 7 2001
I have reviewed the two opening books to Discworld separately elsewhere. Needless to say both works begin one of the most imaginative and original series ever to grace the world of fantasy fiction, and, because of their inseparable relationship in terms of story, their republication as one work makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, Pratchett's new publisher, Collins, has not presented these gems in a manner for which the work is deserving. The text is riddled with punctuation and spelling errors, at times forcing the reader to reread the text for sense, a problem that was equally in evidence in "The Fifth Elephant." Collins is fortunate to have this author now in their stable of fantasy writers---they certainly have no other fantasy author of his stature---and should feel a responsibility---to the work, to the author, and to the readers---to present Mr. Pratchett's marvelous fiction in a manner equal to the riches of its contents. For this reason, don't waste your money on an inferior packaged product. There are still good hardbound copies of the original publications around, if you desire these works in cloth, as I do, that justify their expense, both in terms of presentation and text. This is merely a shoddy reprint, undeserving of purchase, and it is for this reason I have given it only three stars. Pratchett's work deserves far better.
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