Eric

Terry Pratchett

Summary – Somewhere in Hell, the demons aren’t having a good time. Their ruler is an officious prig busying himself with creating rules and regulations and trying to turn their domain into an efficient, soul-destroying operation.

Somewhere in the city of Morpork, Eric, a fourteen year old, dreams of three things: He wants to be a mighty ruler, he wants to possess the most beautiful girl in the world, and he wants to be fantastically right. To that end, he magically summons a demon to grant him his three wishes. But instead of a might, otherworldly creature, he gets Rincewind, the most cowardly and inept magician in the world. But other eyes are upon Eric and using Rincewind as a medium, the ruler of Hell decides to give the boy his wishes, in the most unpleasant way possible.

What follows is a hilarious series of adventures that are guaranteed to make the author laugh non-stop until the final, ridiculous end. Eric, who’s a bit thick, finally realizes what life is about and Rincewind gets a chance to run in fear from horrible evils. Everyone ends up satisfied.

Review – Anyone can write satire. It takes a genius to do it well. Terry Pratchett is that genius and I will read all his books when I have the time to (it might be in a few decades, mind you).

Unlike most fantasy novels where the milieu serves as an interactive background, in the Discworld series, the milieu is the main character. The various stories focus on characters who rise or fall in prominence with the occasion. Rincewind is important in this story. He doesn’t appear in some others. The city of Morpork features strongly and is as important as any living creature.

But what is best is the non-stop wit and humour. At one point, for example, Rincewind tells Eric that a certain ancient culture was steeped in horology. Eric becomes excited, only to have his face wall when Rincewind clarifies that horology is the study of time. This brilliance is just typical of the book. Page after page will make you laugh. I can’t recommend it enough!