The Last Continent (Discworld Novels)

There's nothing more dangerous than a god with too much time on its hands.

What a brilliant statement. Honestly, Pratchett continues to wow me with this series. I came for the funny, but I'm staying for the intelligence.

Though, to be fair, the funny is still amazing. Witness several high muck-a-mucks from the Unseen Academy attempting to explain sex to a clueless god. Hilarious.

But it's the seemingly casually tossed-off observations that spur comments that, while also meant to be funny, are also deeply intelligent observations.

Absolutely love this series.

In this final installment of the Rincewind Saga, the poor fellow finds himself washed up on the blasted hellscape of XXXX. Forever running from poisonous snakes, spiders, plants, drop bears, jellyfish and a thousand other unknown terrors he bumps into a talking Kangaroo named Scrappy. Something is not right in Fourecks. It doesn't rain there and Rincewind has been charged with bringing back the wet before it's too late.

Meanwhile, the ever curious faculty of UU have bumbled their way through a mysterious hole and find themselves sucked back in time to the creation of the Last Continent. Consulting with the local creator god, they must work out a way to return home before they ruin the future forever.

A hilarious and deeply satisfying romp.

Like all Terry Pratchett books, this one highlights the absurdity of life (and invents some where none existed before), but is set Down Under. There is the usual disdain of institutions, traditions, and bureaucracies of all kinds. Lots of pop culture references, especially culinary ones. I could hear the Australian accents as the Aussie characters spoke their dialogue, I could taste the dry desert sucking all moisture from my mouth, I could imagine the "facial" expressions on the Luggage -- it was all good. No worries!

The first half is more laugh-out-loud funny than the second half. This Discworld novel is all about the wizards from Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork (the Archchancellor, the Dean, the Bursar, the Librarian, various show more Lecturers, Ponder Stibbons, and of course, Rincewind) and the wizards from Unseen University in Bugarit (much the same cast). I don't enjoy the wizard-based novels of Discworld as much as I do the Watch-based novels, but I liked this one all right.

Pratchett's most singular skill is in depicting random absurdities and pulling them all together in a non-random tangled mass by the end of his story, but in this book the story felt forced, as if he had tied all the threads together into an artificial construction, not an organic one. I'm not sure I'm explaining my thoughts clearly, it's just that I can compare this novel to Thud! -- where everything that happens in the beginning of the novel is directly relevant to the climax -- well, the events of The Last Continent don't have that kind of relevance to the climax. Don't get me wrong, it's all very clever, but I could cut out long sections and it would have no effect on the story. It's a shame.

Still, it's well-written, just one or two minor continuity hiccups, and Pratchett is skilled at creating such distinctive voices for his characters that I can read through a conversation involving several people and yet always be sure that I know who is saying what. Some of the developments (particularly the culinary ones: vegemite, Peach Nellie/Melba, pea soup floaters, XXXX) as well as some of the pop culture references (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) are clever, and I'm sure I missed many more just because I'm not familiar with Australia, its cultures, and its history. No worries.

One final loose end: it seems like Pratchett didn't know what to do with Mrs. Whitlow (housekeeper of UU) at the end; she'd served her purpose in the story, so the character was just swept under the rug. May be a missed opportunity there, though I don't claim to know how to construct his books better than Pratchett.

The Discworld books can be read in any order, but from now on I'll put the books that focus on the wizards at the bottom of my TBR pile.

~bint show less

In this final installment of the Rincewind Saga, the poor fellow finds himself washed up on the blasted hellscape of XXXX. Forever running from poisonous snakes, spiders, plants, drop bears, jellyfish and a thousand other unknown terrors he bumps into a talking Kangaroo named Scrappy. Something is not right in Fourecks. It doesn't rain there and Rincewind has been charged with bringing back the wet before it's too late.

Meanwhile, the ever curious faculty of UU have bumbled their way through a mysterious hole and find themselves sucked back in time to the creation of the Last Continent. Consulting with the local creator god, they must work out a way to return home before they ruin the future forever.

A hilarious and deeply satisfying romp.

Pratchett tekur Ástralíu á beinið í þessari sögu ásamt góðum skammti af þróunarsögunni og óreiðu. Ekki verra að blanda kolrugluðum galdramönnum frá Ank-Morphok ásamt lélegasta galdramanninum í sögu Diskheims, Rincewind. Þrátt fyrir skemmtilegt rugl sem ávallt er til staðar eru klisjurnar um Ástralíu í forgrunni og sagan er fínasta skemmtun.

When last we saw Rincewind he was leaving the Counterweight Continent by force of magic. But the spell went wrong and this is where he went.
Terra Incognita. Ecks Ecks Ecks Ecks. The land of koalas and drop bears and Didjabringabeeralong. Where it never rains and Rincewind meets a shady kangaroo.
Meanwhile the faculty of Unseen University find a window propped open that leads to a sunny beach. It seems like the ideal idyll until the window shuts and there's no way home.
My favorite part is making beetles, but my second favorite part is Letitia, Darleen, and Nielette and their new acquisition Trunkie.
Very fun, highly funny, only recommended if you have a taste for Rincewind.