No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away
With the passing of Sir Terry Pratchett and the publication of The Shepherd’s Crown, I embarked on an epic re-reading of all 41 official Discworld novels, with the goal of finishing by 31 December, 2016.
Famous for its wit and wisdom, the series offers countless quotable quotes on a variety of subjects. The quotes I share should not be considered the whole of Sir Terry’s excellent prose; indeed, they are the tasty appetizers to a succulent, nourishing meal.
About Eric
This is the 9th Discworld novel and the 4th in the Rince-cycle.
This stand-alone novel brings Rincewind back from the Dungeon Dimensions (see: Sourcery) with the unwitting aid of Eric, a would-be Faustian conjurer. Together, Eric and Rincewind travel through time and space (nothing like Dr Who) to see ancient battles and the dawn of the universe. Ultimately, they find themselves in Hell, ignorant pawns in a bureaucratic war.
Perhaps it is the lack of recurring characters (the Luggage and DEATH make brief appearances), but the story just doesn’t live up to what I’ve come to expect from a Discworld novel. All the elements are there, but it all seems a bit forced.
That said, don’t give it a pass; read it, but realize it comes in a bit under par for the course.
Or should that be over par?
I don’t golf.
I’m sorry.
The Goodreads Blurb:
Discworld’s only demonology hacker, Eric, is about to make life very difficult for the rest of Ankh-Morpork’s denizens. This would-be Faust is very bad…at his work, that is. All he wants is to fulfill three little wishes:to live forever, to be master of the universe, and to have a stylin’ hot babe.
But Eric isn’t even good at getting his own way. Instead of a powerful demon, he conjures, well, Rincewind, a wizard whose incompetence is matched only by Eric’s. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, that lovable travel accessory the Luggage has arrived, too. Accompanied by his best friends, there’s only one thing Eric wishes now — that he’d never been born!
To the Quotes!
The Librarian as he appears in The Discworld Companion, illustrated by Paul Kidby
Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It’s the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.
The whole affair was very embarrassing to wizards, as it always is to people who find they were on the wrong side all along.**
**ie, the one that lost.
The difference is basically the same as that between terrorists and freedom fighters.
“What are quantum mechanics?”
“I don’t know, people who repair quantums, I suppose.”
Multiple exclamation marks . . . are a sure sign of a diseased mind.
Rincewind had always liked boredom, treasuring it if only because of its rarity value. . . . The only time he could look back on with a certain amount of fondness was his brief spell as Assistant Librarian at Unseen University, when there wasn’t much to do except read books, make sure the Librarian’s banana supply wasn’t interrupted and, rarely, help him with a particularly recalcitrant grimoire.
One of the first rules of running away is, never look back.
If he didn’t actually invent original sin, he certainly made one of the first copies.
. . .
Running In My Head 