Reviews Week 5

 Reviews Week 5

January 31st- February 6th

Book 16: The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy

 by Leonard S. Marcus (Editor), Lloyd Alexander (Contributor), Franny Billingsley (Contributor), Susan Cooper (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Nancy Farmer (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Brian Jacques (Contributor), Diana Wynne Jones (Contributor), Madeleine L'Engle (Contributor),  and Ursula K. Le Guin (Contributor)

Read February 1st

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Interviews from greats of Fantasy. 

This was a great little book with interviews from some of the best fantasy writers of all time. Including Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones, some of my favorites. I liked reading about their pasts and what got them into writing. This also has me interested in picking up some of the other authors that I have never picked up before. Definitely, glad that I picked this one up.

Book 17: The Book of Three

by Lloyd Alexander

Read February 3rd

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Loved listening to the audiobook narration of this book. I definitely, recommend listening to it if you are going to read this book. 

This is my second read of this book and I have got to say that I did enjoy it a lot better this second time around. It might be because of the audiobook's narration, which brought more life into each of the characters.

The world that Lloyd Alexander created is quite interesting. It is based on Welsh tales and definitely draws heavily on The Lord of the Rings. There are many similarities. Gurgi reminded me a bit of Gollum except he was not evil. He especially reminded me of Gollum when he speaks in the third person and is only thinking about food. He does prove to be loyal and help his friends in times of need. The character that I liked the most was Fflewddur Fflam, the bard that has a harp that breaks every time he lies. I wanted to know more about him.

I am looking forward to finally finishing the series this year.

Book 18: Thief of Time

by Terry Pratchett

Read February 3rd- 4th

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This is now in my top three favorite Discworld novels along with Hogfather and Witches Abroad. Not that I'm surprised in the slightest, I love Death and Susan. They are some of my favorite characters in all of literature. I am sad though that this is the last Death book in the series.

In Thief of Time, we follow Susan as she is trying to yet again save all of humanity after her grandfather (Death) tells her what is going on. He obviously cannot help because he has a job to do in the apocalypse, as one of the four horsemen. Susan is just trying to be normal, this time around as a teacher. Some of the best scenes in the Death subseries to date and in the Discworld series. I loved the scenes with Miss Susan in the school teaching her class of seven-year-olds. She's a strict teacher in some aspects but uses her powers in ways that make her class one of the most interesting ever. Her class is so popular that parents are fighting to get their kids in it. I would have loved to have just a book of her teaching. It made me think of the Magic School Bus also when she took the kids on their "fields trips." This had such a great Discworld twist to it that I absolutely adored.

We also follow the History monks Lu Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd as they try to save time. I really liked the dynamic between "The Sweeper" and his young companion. Lu Tze is known as one of the most powerful monks in all existence but lets everyone see him as just a sweeper. He is told to take on his apprentice Lobsang who is causing problems for the other monks because he has unexplained powers. The duo play so well off of each other throughout the story and I loved reading the scenes between them. I also really enjoyed seeing Lu Tze again after his part in Small Gods.

Our other main character in the story is Jeremy who is tasked to create a perfect glass clock. Along with the help of an Igor, he creates the clock which ultimately is meant to destroy the world. Even though Jeremy does not know it. This is all a plan of the Auditors who want human unpredictability to end. I loved the scenes with the Auditors here more than I have ever in a Discworld novel. I will not spoil it but they were great. This also had some of the best scenes with an Igor in the series, especially with his inner thoughts. It was very entertaining.

Finally, I want to talk about Death's part in the novel a little. Death lets Susan deal with trying to save the world because he is not supposed to meddle with the universe. His scenes were great as he tried to gather in the other horsemen of the apocalypse. Loved his scenes so much throughout the novel.

Overall, this was another great addition to the Discworld series and the Death subseries. I loved following some of my favorite characters again like Susan and Death and also Quoth the Raven and the Death of Rats.

Here are some of the quotes that I loved from the book. Some of the best from the series:

“Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.”

“Sometimes I really think people ought to have to pass a proper exam before they're allowed to be parents. Not just the practical, I mean.”

"He tried to read Grim Fairy Tales. They had titles like 'How the Wicked Queen Dance in Red Hot Shoes!' and 'The Old Lady in the Oven.'"

Book 19: The Last Hero

by Terry Pratchett 

Read February 4th- 5th 

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A great shorter Discworld book with beautiful illustrations and a very funny story. 

This was definitely my favorite book dealing with Rincewind so far also with Cohen. I loved the whole plot with Cohen and the Silver Horde trying to return fire to the gods and what they actually mean by that. It was so funny. All the scenes with the Horde and the minstrel were great. Also, I really liked the dynamic between Carrot and Rincewind. They actually played off of each other very well. I wasn't expecting them to work so well as a duo but they did along with Leonard of Quirm.

My favorite scenes were the ones once the Horde finally make it to Cori Celesti with the gods. These scenes were very funny. I loved how Terry played with the character of the dark lord and the trope that goes along with that. His books are so clever.

The Last Hero was a shorter book by Terry but it was very good. Loved the illustrations also by Paul Kidby. He is one of the best illustrators I have ever seen and his Discworld ones are absolute perfection.