CBR Bingo: Red (Eric)
CBR Bingo: Arts (Moving Pictures)
I’m continuing my (almost) in-order read of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series with the ninth and tenth books, Eric and Moving Pictures. Eric is the fourth book in the subseries focusing on the Wizards of Unseen University (it’s got some slight references to the events of Sourcery, but it can likely be read without having read that one previously). Moving Pictures is technically a standalone but does feature quite a few reoccurring characters (with Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, an enterprising sausage-in-a-bun merchant being one of my personal favourites).
Eric is Pratchett’s take on a Faustian bargain. The titular Eric is a preteen demonologist, who attempts to summon a demon for the usual reasons (love, money, power, more wishes, etc.), but instead ends up summoning Rincewind, an incompetent wizard who doesn’t really have the magical ability to provide Eric with any of his wishes. Hijinks ensue and some stuff happens (yes, there’s a bit of a gap in between me having read the book and me reviewing it—most of it wasn’t that memorable, except for a subplot where Rincewind and Eric take part in a pseudo-Trojan war and meet Pseudo-Odysseus, which was kinda cool). This is a pretty short book (I don’t know if it’s the shortest book in the series, but it’s definitely the shortest I’ve read so far), and it was …okay. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that (at least so far) the books focusing on Rincewind aren’t my favourites. They’re not bad exactly, there’s just a particular formula that they follow that isn’t as interesting to me as the other books (Rincewind meets up with quirky character(s) and reluctantly gets dragged along on wacky adventures before everything goes back sort of to normal).
Moving Pictures is a Discworldian take on the origins of Hollywood and the motion picture industry. A group of alchemists discover a new technology that will allow them to capture images and play them back as projections in the sky. A strange magic draws them (and others) to the remote area known as Holy Wood. My favourite book in the series that I’ve read so far is Soul Music, and this one is kind of similar in plot and tone, so it’s definitely up there in terms of my enjoyment. The jokes in this one referencing classic Hollywood films and studios are great, and don’t feel dated for being thirty-plus years old. It’s not my favourite of the first quarter(ish) of the Discworld books (that honour goes to Guards! Guards!), but it is pretty close.
I’m skipping over Reaper Man as I’ve read it semi-recently, so next up is Witches Abroad. I’ve actually read this one already (and quite a few beyond it), but due to wanting to start a new square for bingo I’ve held off on posting reviews until my first square was completed.