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The Last Hero 82

Posted by timothy from the not-the-last-action-hero dept.
For all the Terry Pratchett fans reading mblase contributed this review of the illustrated The Last Hero, writing: "There are only two things a Discworld fan can think when encountering an illustrated Discworld novel. He'll either love it for giving him a concrete visual idea of his favorite people, places and things, or he'll hate it for the very same reason. You probably already know which type you are." Read on for the rest of his review. Update: 11/19 21:30 GMT by T : Note: The reference to Jack Kirby should have been to Josh Kirby instead; apologies.
The Last Hero
author Terry Pratchett
pages 158
publisher HarperCollins
rating 8
reviewer mblase
ISBN 0061040967
summary A short but lavishly illustrated return to Terry Pratchett's Discworld and several of his most popular characters.

If you're the second type, though, be warned that the illustrations in this book are still incredibly, incredibly beautiful. If you're a comic book afficianado, then think of Alex Ross painting caricatures. This isn't the first time artist Paul Kidby (not to be confused with Josh Kirby, who illustrated Eric and most of the British Discworld covers) has tackled Terry Pratchett's Discworld characters, but it is the first time he's tackled an entire story. His art appears next to, above, below, and behind the story on every single page of this oversized book, and despite his habit of giving each character exactly one expression for the entire book, they're always a joy to look at. They're lavish, detailed, stylized, detailed, believable, real. You'll have to be hard-set against having your literary characters drawn for you to object to how Kidby renders them here.

Of course, as they say at Pixar, all the pretty pictures in the world won't rescue a bad story. Which brings us to Pratchett's half of the book. This is a short novel even by Discworld standards, about the same length as Eric, which is probably why the art is there (instead of vice versa). The plot goes something like this: Cohen the Barbarian and his octagenerian cohorts have decided to embark on one last heroic expedition, to return fire to the gods. Specifically, fire in the form of a very large explosive keg, which he intends to detonate inside the home of the Discworld gods atop the mountain at the center of the Disc.

Impossible, you say? Probably not -- after all, Cohen hasn't gotten as old as he is by failing to kill people. And the residents of Ankh-Morpork, magical and non-magical alike, all have reason to believe that his success will mean the end of the entire Disc. So the ingenious Leonard of Quirm is given the assignment of getting himself and a select team to the center of the Disc as quickly as possible in order to intercept Cohen before he gets what he wants.

That "select team," it turns out, consists of Carrot Ironfounderson, the six-foot-tall, red-headed, large-muscled captain of the City Watch, and Rincewind, the worst wizard the Disc has ever seen and the only citizen of Ankh-Morpork who has anything approaching a friendship with Cohen. (They spent half of The Colour of Magic and most of The Last Continent together.) It's the first "crossover" story Pratchett has written with these two major characters, and has probably been demanded by fans for years.

You'd expect the embodiments of perfect courage and perfect cowardice to have some pretty interesting dialogue in this story, but surprisingly, they don't seem to interact that much. Rincewind doesn't have much patience with brave heroes, and Carrot is too polite to force his views on Rincewind. On the other hand, Leonard's relentless imagination and total faith in his own radical inventions makes him a far, far more interesting companion for Rincewind. The two of them get along absolutely dreadfully.

There's also a new villain by the name of Evil Dark Lord Harry Dread, but he's really just a supporting role. Mostly this book is an exercise in giving Rincewind and Cohen another story together, with Leonard and Carrot thrown in to make it all possible. But as Pratchett himself has said in the past, Rincewind just isn't a compelling enough character. His gimmick is that he's a coward, and a very good one, and while it's certainly funny, it's hard to write great stories around a character that refuses to be developed. Both Eric and The Last Hero star him, and both are about half as long as Pratchett's usual novels; I doubt this is a coincidence.

So Cohen's character is really the only one that sees any interesting growth in this book, which is probably why it's named after him and why he's the only one illustrated on the cover. And while it's short, it's still plenty interesting and chock-full of the humor and insights Pratchett's fans have come to love. It's a little annoying that the two teams of characters spend almost the entire book not interacting with each other, because the lack of a united plot has wrecked a few Discworld novels for me. (Soul Music comes immediately to mind.) But this time, the ending redeems it.

Diehard Pratchett fans will buy this regardless of how it's reviewed, of course. But the non-diehards and even non-fans should enjoy it, too -- it's a solid story that gives a quick, fun look at several recurring Discworld characters, and the artwork is so lavish it's almost impossible to say "no" to. The price tag is a bit higher than an ordinary Discworld hardcover, though, so it's really not for first-timers. Give them a paperback copy of Wyrd Sisters or The Light Fantastic instead, to get them hooked on the early stuff. The Last Hero isn't a literary main course, but it's an excellent dessert.

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The Last Hero More

The Last Hero

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  • Don't quote me on it, but... (Score:4, Informative)

    by L41N14L ( 205602 ) on Monday November 19, 2001 @12:07PM (#2585292)
    I'm fairly sure that it was Interesting Times, not The Last Continent that Cohen and Rincewind spent together.

  • Designed for kids (Score:2, Informative)

    by denubis ( 105145 )
    This books was specificially targeted at a younger diskworld audience, and so (while what we know and love is still there) everything is a little lower key. This is also why it is shorter. If you have a younger sibling, I would definetly recommend purchasing the book for them. It is worth it.
    • The 'kids' discworld book is "The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents", a psuedo-pied piper story. TThis one, "the Last Hero", is a 'Discword fable', a story rather than a novel, but not for kids, for everybody. Especially as some of the underlying concepts are quite hard to understand
      • I bought both and liked both, but I found Amazing Maurice to be both a more fun and a more well-developed story. It was classic pterry, really - I hardly even noticed that it was for kids! :)

    • Are you sure? I was pretty sure that it was the other recent Pratchett book, _The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents_ that was aimed at a younger audience? _The Last Hero_ is short and, as you say, lower key, however, it's aimed at the same audience as the rest of the books.

      That said, did anyone else who has read _The Amazing Maurice_ find that, in some ways, it's about as dark as anything Pratchett's ever written?
      • Dark, yes. Dead rats, cannibalism (well rat cannibalism anyway), psychopathic rat catchers, the dark force behind the scenes... I think Terry has this idea that kids like dark themes, and I think he has a point.

        • You ever read the Brothers Grimm? Or any non-Disney version of Snow White? I don't know about children's preference, but there is certainly a _tradition_ of dark themes in childrens' books.
    • ...there's one illustration featuring a rather attractive topless Egyptian goddess, and another depicting Death's horse as discretely but clearly anatomically correct. Perhaps those were "cleaned up" in the American version, or perhaps British children aren't quite as Puritanical. But I doubt Pratchett has ever written Discworld books with a children's audience in mind.
      • it's possible people are getting confused. fair enough, The Last Hero isn't a children's book, but Terry Pratchett has written a discworld book with a childrens audience in mind. it's called 'Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents' (ISBN: 0385601239). it's just been published (hardcover) in the UK, and while it's arguable that most discworld books could be read by children and young adults, this new book is deliberately written with children in mind, (it states as much on the jacket).
    • I can't speak to that, but Pterry's novels aimed towards kids (the Nome books and the Johnny books) are excellent. And far from being dumbed down or simplistic, they are as rich and deep and subtle as any of his other work, just written to subjects that children would identify with more (also both series are set in the modern world).

      Although I found "Thief of Time" to be a little tedious in places, I am still amazed at how after 26 or Discworld books, he can still pull exciting and new stories out of his hat.

      The main reason, is that like Tolkien, Frank Herbert, David Eddings and very, very few others, the Discworld stories feel like they take place in a real world that exists beyond what is talked about in the stories. It's like he doesn't have to make up anything new, he just needs to describe something we haven't seen yet, and as silly or parodic as it can be, to me, the Discworld is one of the "realest" places in literature.

      Take "Star Wars" for instance. To me the "Star Wars" movies never feel like they're taking place in a real world. It always feels to me like nothing exists other than what we see, and despite its aspirations to grand and epic proportions, always comes across as a story about very few people. That doesn't stop me from enjoying them, but it makes it seem less "real" to me. I think the Star Trek movies suffer from it even more, which is interesting because the show (TOS, TNG, and DS9 anyway) generally did not.
      Around about ST3, it seems that each story was contrived to get the major characters off on some wild or interesting (or stupid in the case of 5) adventures completely on their own (often against orders), when in the TV shows, they always operated with a crew and under the auspices of Star Fleet.

      I think the Hitchhiker's Guide books feel the same way. They occur on a vast scale of space and time (and probability) but never feel like anything really exists other than the few main characters (don't get me wrong, they're some of my favorite books ever).

      Anyhow, I seem to have strayed a bit from my original topic. I can only say that sex is more fun than logic. This cannot be proved, but it is. Just like Mount Everest is and Alma Kogen isn't.
  • I have only read a few of the books, but have enjoyed each of them. I would agree that Rincewind would be a tough character to "star" in a novel, as there are only so many different ways that he can respond in a cowardly way that ends up working out. But I am glad to hear that Cohen hasn't ridden off into the sunset yet, in over the edge of the disc in the case. :)

  • Books vs Graphical novels ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Alrocket ( 191107 ) on Monday November 19, 2001 @12:20PM (#2585377) Homepage
    ... (and films?)

    It's kind of a question of imagination, and how much you like to be told about the authors vision before creating your own.

    I am one of the latter[1] non-graphical novel fans, though I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate them. I read a book to enjoy imagining the characters and setting, what they look and sound like etc. It's one of the reasons I never spent much time playing either of the Discworld games, the voices particularly clashed with my own imagined versions, and I didn't think that they did them justice.

    It also applies particularly to films: I abhor seeing the film of a good book and then reading it afterward - at least when you read it beforehand and are then disappointed with the film you can also bring out the old cliques, and can re-read the book without fear of being disappointed :) I pity anyone who watches the Lord of The Rings and then decided to read the book for the first time! That said, I'm really looking forward to it. :)

    1. Latter, as in the 2nd type mentioned in his review.
  • I recently got a copy of GURPS Discworld [warehouse23.com] from Steve Jackson Games. [sjgames.com] Even if you aren't a gamer, this is a great resource for any Prachett fan, and it contains some really great art by Paul Kidby -- there's an illustration of just about every recurring character in the novels. IMHO, Kidby does a great job of visualizing Prachett's characters. His illustrations (almost) always match my mental picture of any particular character.

  • Josh not Jack (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It is Josh Kirby who does the UK Discworld covers, and I think reports of his death are greatly exaggerated...
    • Unfortunately I believe this isn't the case, and Josh Kirby passed away in his sleep on 23/10/2001.

      You might like to check out announcement on lspace [lspace.org] and an obituary in a paper [independent.co.uk]

      Taffyd.
    • And, as other /.ers have pointed out, I munged two of the other book titles. /me promises to double-check his facts better before submitting a review next time.
    • Of course the great Jack Kirby co-created (some debate on his level of involvement still) much of the modern Marvel Comics Universe. He shuffled off in 1994 unfortunately.
    • no, unfortunately, they're not (exagerrated, that is.)
      I got an e-mail from the Collector's Guild Official Fan Club about his death, including an obituary. very depressing.
      on the other hand, I must say I prefer kidby to kirby, so as sad as it is, I'm glad that the future artwork will be kidby.
    • I must be the only person here who actually likes the covers that Josh Kirby draws.

      I've bought a few other authors over the years, just on the fact that I recognised Josh's work while browsing, and then enjoyed the books.

      Seeing as I'm at work, I can't remember any of their names. Neither can I check the shelves. :(

      Australia must get the UK versions I guess.
  • Engage Nitpick!

    I think Rincewind and Cohen spent most of Interesting Times together, though.
  • I used to be a big fan of Terry Pratchet, hey I even ran a Discworld MUD in Oz circa 1991 but I gave up reading his books when he ran out of jokes and started recycling too much! Dunno when that happened exactly but "Carpe Jugulum" sucked big time.

    • he went through a slow patch, but I enjoyed The Fifth Elephant, thought the The Truth was ok and Thief of Time was easily one of his best.

      Last Hero is readable (but I like Cohen) and the latest one (about the cat and rats) was fun (although appeared to be aimed more at children)

      So basically, don't dump an author because of 3-4 bad books out of 30.

      ~Cederic
    • Carpe Jugulum really grew on me upon rereading it- possibly because I am a Witches fan, particularly Granny Weatherwax. Guess it's in the blood ;)

      "Sucked big time"? Can't be having with that!

  • heroes (Score:2, Informative)

    by ariehk ( 215517 )
    This book is, while different, magic.
    Any hardcore discworld fan has seen so many pictures of the disc that they learn to treat and particular illustration as a suggestion, and it's no different here. Nevertheless, the art really brings this particular story to life, with some stunning pictures.
    Pratchett essentially runs 2 sub-plots in "The Last Hero". The heroes destroying a world that grew up and stopped believing in them inspire real pathos, albeit in a humorous way. On the other hand, the story of the Ankh-Morporker's attempt to save the world is one of exploration and generally much lighter. Both are woven together to create an end that doesn't make you think but makes you sigh.
    A must for Discworld fans
  • I can't wait to read this, I am a very visual kind of person, when I read a book I have a difficult time imagining things (must be that damn scientific mind ;-).

    on another note,

    timothy!!! what the hell is this?

    For all the Terry Pratchett fans reading mblase contributed this review of the illustrated...

    dude, ever hear of a comma?
  • The other Discworld artist is NOT Jack Kirby who was the famour comic book artist from X-Men and Spider-Man and whatnot... the artist is JOSH Kirby .
  • I'm definitely of the second type, but I still bought it. A good story and some great artwork, even those that didn't fit "my idea" of the characters.

    The picture of Rincewind wearing the dragon-powered jetpack alone made the book worthwhile.

  • harpercollins.com (Score:2, Informative)

    by dirtdirt ( 105755 )
    there is a sweepstakes [harpercollins.com] over at harpercollins where you can win copies of several pratchett books and (!?) a clock autographed by him.

    also, there is a scan [harpercollins.com] of a few pages from the book.
  • Ye gods, someone get this man a thesaurus.
  • I've read the book and in fact any other Discworld novel except the 'Thief of Time'. I loved the book. Maybe I know the characters a bit too well, because I think the stoy was somewhat stale. However, the illustrations are brilliant and you should really have a look at them.

    The Discworld is one of the largest book seriers and Terry still manages to positively surprise me in some of the books. The last one that achieved this was the 'Fifth Elephant'.

  • Feh (Score:2)

    by Ravagin ( 100668 )
    Illustrated or not; as long as it's not kirby.... (he's good, but i don't like his discworld art at all)

    See, what I love about Pratchett's work, Discworld and otherwise, is his masterful command of language. Sure, the slapstick is fun, and the ideas are amusing, but he wields the English language with such skill that that is what I love about Pratchett.
    This is why I object so strongly to other-media conversions, like movies and plays. They capture the plot, the ideas, the goofy basic humor, but he has so many other layers and such a talented writing ability that is totally missed by these media.

    As for this new one, it's on my hanukkah list. The illustrations, to me, will be an added delight. But I won't be looking at the pictures as much as I will be reading the words.
  • I've read all the other Discworld novels, so I'm sure I'll get around to this one too(he sure kicks 'em out fast...). Not sure how I'll like about the art, though; I usually have mixed feelings about graphic novels for some reason. And I have to say that Soul Music (which the reviewer didn't care for) is probably my favorite Pratchett novel: I mean how can you beat Death riding to battle on a skeletal motorcycle with a black rose in his teeth?!
  • go to amazon.co.uk and purchase the special edition version.
    hardbound cloth covered foil inlaid with one of those nifty ribbon things. absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I'm actually considering waiting until the paperback comes out to read it so I can leave this one in pristine condition.
  • Since I'm also a genius and named Leonard I definitely know that (well at least the second statement is true :-).
    So it's not OF Quirm but DA Quirm.

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