77-540: Rincewind ( / ˈ r ɪ n s . w ɪ n d / RINSE -winn'd ) is a fictional character who appears in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett . He was a failed student at Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork , often described as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spent most of his time running away from people who wanted to kill him for various reasons. The reason that he
154-804: A Macmillan subsidiary, in Amstrad/CDC, Commodore and Spectrum formats. Dave Langford reviewed The Colour of Magic for White Dwarf #64, and stated that "It's one of those horrible, antisocial books which impel the reader to buttonhole friends and quote bits at them. My ceiling is covered with brown spots from when I tried to read Pratchett's jokes and drink beer at the same time. Only native sadism makes me recommend this disgraceful work." Colin Greenland reviewed The Colour of Magic for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Terry Pratchett does for sword and sorcery what Douglas Adams did for science fiction." In 2015, Sam Jordison at The Guardian gave
231-435: A dangerous mission. When asked to explain, he said he merely refused for appearances, because someone was bound to nominate him because of his knowledge of the geography of Cori Celesti or his friendship with Cohen, so even if he refused, somehow events would conspire against him and he would end up going on the mission anyway as he attempted to escape. Raising Steam mentions Rincewind in footnotes, which refer to him as
308-461: A day during the entire year. Pratchett said that Rincewind's job is "to meet more interesting people", saying that there is not much he can do with a character who's a coward and doesn't care who knows it. Pratchett noted that one of his major problems was that he has a "lack of an inner monologue". The Luggage is a large chest that follows Rincewind literally wherever he goes—even onto Roundworld, which Rincewind initially only visited virtually. It
385-554: A full-time writer). Rincewind speculated on the nature of science, expressing hope in The Colour of Magic that there was something "better than magic" in the world, and speculated on the possibility of harnessing lightning, for which he was mocked by "sensible" Discworld citizens. Rincewind is also fairly streetwise. He is often depicted as a harsh critic of the selected stupidities surrounding him, even though he can't help but comply with whatever absurdity that arises. For example, in
462-566: A golem who develops a strange crush on Lipwig; Stanley Howler , an obsessive young man who was raised by peas and becomes the Discworld's first stamp collector ; and the very old Junior Postman Groat, who never got promoted to Senior Postman because there was never a Postmaster alive long enough to promote him. Several other books can be grouped together as "Other cultures of Discworld" books. They may contain characters or locations from other arcs, typically not as protagonist or antagonist but as
539-469: A hole through them—including a wall to a magic shop that had since relocated to another city by magical means. In her review of Night Watch , A. S. Byatt noted the lack of recent appearances of Rincewind and the grimmer presentation of the Witches and Ankh-Morpork as signs of Pratchett's imagination getting darker. While the current release (version 3.0.0) of VLC media player is named Vetinari ,
616-563: A magical portal. The pair are reunited when Rincewind escapes into the temple through the portal, and they encounter Hrun the Barbarian, a parody of heroes in the Swords and Sorcery genre. The trio are attacked and nearly killed by Bel-Shamharoth, but escape when Rincewind accidentally blinds the creature with Twoflower's magical picture box. Hrun agrees to travel with and protect Twoflower and Rincewind in exchange for heroic pictures of him from
693-459: A number of novels and stories form novel sequences with distinct story arcs : Rincewind was the first protagonist of Discworld . He is a wizard with no skill, no wizardly qualifications, and no interest in heroics. He is extremely cowardly but is constantly thrust into dangerous adventures. He saves Discworld on several occasions, and has an instrumental role in the emergence of life on Roundworld ( Science of Discworld ). Other characters in
770-454: A positive review of The Colour of Magic . He discussed the arguments that it may not be the best introduction to the series: later books are more highly regarded; it does little to develop its characters and ideas; and modern readers may not be familiar with the "pre-1990s fantasy conventions" it lampoons. However, he argued that the book is "still more than worth reading in and of itself", praising its gags and satire. "Indeed, The Colour of Magic
847-592: A previous release (version 2.1.0) was named Rincewind. Other releases of VLC media player have been named "The Luggage" (version 1.1.0), and release 2.0.0 was named " Twoflower ", the character that gave The Luggage to Rincewind (in The Light Fantastic ). Rincewind and Discworld witch Nanny Ogg appeared on first-class Royal Mail stamps in March 2011. The issue included wizards, witches and enchanters from British fiction, and also included characters from
SECTION 10
#1732780089757924-468: A professor at the university, studying the effects of different flowers on the nervous system. Rincewind is the main character of the text adventure The Colour of Magic , based on the book of the same name. Rincewind is also the player character of the 1995 Discworld video game . After a dragon is spotted in Ankh-Morpork, Unseen University's archchancellor sends Rincewind to find the source of
1001-421: A pulsating tongue, red as mahogany". The inside area of The Luggage does not appear to be constrained by its external dimensions , and contains many conveniences: even after it has just devoured a monster, the next time it opens the owner will find his underwear, neatly pressed and smelling slightly of lavender. It is unknown exactly what happens to anyone it 'eats'. One of the most notable features of The Luggage
1078-605: A room together in The Last Hero , but they do not interact. After Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease , he said that he would be happy for his daughter Rhianna to continue the series. Pratchett co-founded Narrativia in 2012 along with Rob Wilkins to serve as a production company for adaptations of his works, with Rhianna as a member of its writing team. Rhianna Pratchett said that she would be involved in spin-offs, adaptations and tie-ins, but there would be no more novels. The first such spin-off by Rhianna
1155-529: A sound. Death guides souls from this world to the next. Over millennia he has developed a fascination with humanity to a point and feels protective of it. He adopted a human daughter and took on a human apprentice Eventually the daughter and apprentice had a daughter, Susan Sto Helit , a primary character in Soul Music , Hogfather , and Thief of Time . Characters that often appear with Death include his butler Albert , his granddaughter Susan Sto Helit,
1232-472: A supporting character or even a throwaway reference. These include Pyramids (Djelibeybi), Small Gods (Omnia), and Monstrous Regiment (Zlobenia and Borogravia). Short descriptions of many of the notable characters: Short stories by Pratchett based in the Discworld, including published miscellanea such as the fictional game origins of Thud , were reprinted in Pratchett's collection A Blink of
1309-538: A taciturn, bitter old crone from the small mountain country of Lancre , largely despises people but acts as their healer and protector because no one else can do this as well as she can. Her closest friend is Nanny Ogg , a jolly, personable witch with the "common touch" who enjoys a smoke and a pint of beer, and often sings bawdy folk songs like the notorious "Hedgehog Song". The two take on apprentice witches: first Magrat Garlick , then Agnes Nitt , then Tiffany Aching , who become accomplished witches. Other characters in
1386-589: A traditional, magically-run fantasy world coming into contact with modern technology. They revolve around the growth of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch from a hopeless gang of three to a fully-equipped and efficient police force. The stories are largely police procedurals , featuring crimes with heavy political or societal overtones. The main character Sam Vimes is a haggard, cynical, working-class street copper. When introduced in Guards! Guards! , he
1463-489: A travelling witch who discovers Tiffany; Nac Mac Feegle chieftain Rob Anybody; and the other young witches Annagramma Hawkin and Petulia Gristle. Both Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg also appear in her stories. Moist von Lipwig is a professional criminal and con man to whom Havelock Vetinari gives a "second chance" after staging his execution, recognising the advantages his jack-of-all-trades abilities will give to
1540-514: A young girl maturing into a responsible woman. She is aided in her task by the Nac Mac Feegle , a gang of blue-tattooed, 6-inch tall, hard-drinking, loud-mouthed pictsie creatures also called "The Wee Free Men" who serve as her guardians. She is the protagonist of five novels, The Wee Free Men , A Hat Full of Sky , Wintersmith , I Shall Wear Midnight , and The Shepherd's Crown . Major characters in this series include Miss Tick,
1617-809: Is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett , set on the Discworld , a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. The series began in 1983 with The Colour of Magic and continued until the final novel The Shepherd's Crown , which was published in 2015, following Pratchett's death. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, as well as mythology , folklore and fairy tales , and often use them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues. Forty-one Discworld novels were published. Apart from
SECTION 20
#17327800897571694-501: Is a book by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs , and illustrated by Paul Kidby . It is the fourth in the Mapp series. It was first published in paperback by Corgi in 1999. It was the second in the series to be illustrated by Kidby. As with the other "mapps", the basic design and booklet were compiled by Pratchett and Briggs. The Mapp shows the parasite universe of Death's Domain. The accompanying booklet provides various details of
1771-633: Is able to summon one greater than those of the Wyrmberg riders, whom he names Ninereeds, allowing him to escape captivity and save Rincewind from being killed in a duel with one of the three heirs of the Wyrmburg. Twoflower, Rincewind and Ninereeds snatch Hrun, but as they attempt to escape into the skies, Twoflower passes out from the lack of oxygen, causing Ninereeds to disappear. Hrun is saved by Liessa, but Rincewind and Twoflower find themselves falling to their deaths. In desperation, Rincewind manages to use
1848-641: Is captured by the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, who forces him to protect Twoflower, lest the tourist's death provoke the Agatean Emperor into invading Ankh-Morpork. After Twoflower is kidnapped by a gang of thieves and taken to the Broken Drum tavern, Rincewind stages a rescue alongside the Luggage, an indestructible, enchanted and sentient chest belonging to Twoflower. Before this, Twoflower convinces
1925-428: Is integral to certain storylines. Inspector A E Pessimal was recruited by Vimes as his adjutant after Havelock Vetinari , the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, sent him as an auditor. The City Watch feature in eight Discworld stories, and cameoed in a number of others, including Making Money , the children's book Where's My Cow? , and the short story " Theatre of Cruelty ". Pratchett stated on numerous occasions that
2002-574: Is its ability to follow its current owner anywhere, including places like inside its owner's mind, off the edge of the Disc , Death's Domain , inside the Octavo , the Dungeon Dimensions, and even (literally) to Hell and back. Like all luggage, it's constantly getting lost and having to track its owner down. It has only one way of overcoming obstacles, and that is to simply ignore them and smash
2079-746: Is made of sapient pearwood, a magical, intelligent plant that is nearly extinct, impervious to magic, and only grows in a few places outside the Agatean Empire , generally on sites of very old magic. As such, whilst considered oddities on the Hubland continent, such chests were commonplace in the Agatean Empire. It can produce hundreds of little legs and move very fast if the need arises. It has been described as "half suitcase, half homicidal maniac". Interesting Times demonstrated that Luggages were capable of reproducing, which Twoflower suggested
2156-656: Is the alcoholic captain of the three-person Night Watch, which also includes the lazy, cowardly, and none-too-bright sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs , a petty thief in his own right. Then Carrot Ironfoundersson , a 6-foot-6-inch-tall (1.98 m) dwarf-by-adoption, joins the Watch. Other main characters include Cheery Littlebottom , the Watch's forensics expert and one of the first openly female dwarves, tried to rename herself "Cheri" without success. Constable Visit-the-infidel-with-explanatory-pamphlets appears in some novels, and Sam's wife, Lady Sybil Vimes (née Ramkin)
2233-568: The Daily Express . In The Colour of Magic , Rincewind acted as a guide for the tourist Twoflower, who hailed from the Agatean Empire in the Counterweight Continent , across the disc from the 'hub' continent where Ankh-Morpork is situated. He was recruited for this because only he can communicate with Twoflower (they use Be-Trobi as a lingua franca ), Twoflower agreed to pay him in rhinu (large gold coins), and because
2310-540: The Arthurian Legend , from J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series, and from the Narnia series of C. S. Lewis . Paul Whitelaw, writing for The Scotsman , felt that David Jason was "clearly several decades too old" to be Rincewind in the film adaptation of The Colour of Magic . The Cretaceous gymnosperm species Phoenicopsis rincewindii is named after Rincewind. Discworld Discworld
2387-553: The Carnegie Medal . In the BBC 's Big Read , four Discworld novels were in the top 100, and a total of fourteen in the top 200. More than 80 million Discworld books have been sold in 37 languages. Very few of the Discworld novels have chapter divisions. Instead, they feature interweaving storylines. Pratchett was quoted as saying that he "just never got into the habit of chapters", later adding that "I have to shove them in
Rincewind - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-642: The Death of Rats , in charge of gathering the souls of rodents, Quoth , and the Auditors of Reality, the closest thing Death has to a nemesis. Five Discworld novels feature either Death or Susan with Death appearing. He also appears in the short stories Witches in Pratchett's universe act as herbalists , nurses, adjudicators and wise women who can use magic but generally prefer not to, finding simple but cunningly applied psychology (called "headology") far more effective. The principal witch, Granny Weatherwax ,
2541-494: The Innovative Corporation , of Wheeling, WV and then published as a single volume by Corgi on 12 November 1992. Part 1 was originally announced for publication by Innovative on 10 December 1990, but it was delayed as Terry Pratchett had not been shown the artwork for approval as contractually required and disliked it, so the first issue had to be redrawn. The graphic novel is split up into several chapters like
2618-430: The Broken Drum's landlord to take out a fire insurance policy at an inflated valuation (Twoflower having a poor grasp of local prices). When the landlord inevitably burns down the tavern to claim the money, the fire spreads and destroys the whole of Ankh-Morpork. Rincewind and Twoflower escape in the chaos. Rincewind and Twoflower travel towards the city of Quirm, unaware that their adventures on this journey are actually
2695-445: The Discworld series and the novels Unseen Academicals and The Last Continent . In the early books, the faculty of UU changed frequently; promotion usually involved assassination. However, after the ascension of the bombastic Mustrum Ridcully to the position of Archchancellor , the hierarchy settled down and characters had the chance to develop. Earlier books featured the wizards in possible invasions of Discworld by creatures from
2772-436: The Discworld to illuminate popular science topics. Each book alternates chapters of a Discworld story and notes on real science related to it. The books are: David Langford has compiled two Discworld quiz books: Most years see the release of a Discworld Diary and Discworld Calendar, both usually following a particular theme. The diaries feature background information about their themes. Some topics are later used in
2849-579: The Discworld), four popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. The series has been adapted for graphic novels, theatre, computer and board games, and television. Discworld books regularly topped Sunday Times best-sellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and
2926-627: The Domain, both as portrayed in the Discworld books and newly revealed. In Death's Domain , the concept of steam locomotives on Discworld is introduced, which became the main theme of Pratchett's Discworld novel Raising Steam fourteen years later. In the live-action adaptations of Hogfather and The Colour of Magic , Dorney Court is the real-life location used for the exterior of Mon Repos , Death's house. Pratchett also collaborated with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen on four books, using
3003-606: The Dungeon Dimensions, Lovecraftian monsters that hungered for magic. The wizards of UU employ the traditional "whizz-bang" type of magic seen in Dungeons & Dragons games, but also investigate the rules and structure of magic in terms highly reminiscent of particle physics . Prominent members include In later novels, Rincewind joins their group, while the Dean leaves to become the Archchancellor of Brazeneck College in
3080-454: The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork wished to prevent an Agatean attack on Ankh-Morpork sparked by Twoflower's death. He and Twoflower wandered around for quite a while, and were chased by everything from the personification of Death to a Lovecraftian creature named Bel-Shamharoth. Rincewind and Twoflower parted ways at the end of The Light Fantastic and Twoflower gave Rincewind his sapient-pearwood Luggage. Rincewind's adventures continued, and he
3157-732: The Pen: The Lost Stories (2023) constitute the first known works by Pratchett that include early versions of places and characters that would later become parts of Discworld. Pratchett authored most of them under a pseudonym that remained unlinked to him for decades, until posthumously discovered in 2022. Although Terry Pratchett said, "There are no maps. You can't map a sense of humour," there are four "Mapps": The Streets of Ankh-Morpork (1993), The Discworld Mapp (1995), A Tourist Guide to Lancre (1998), and Death's Domain (1999). The first two were drawn by Stephen Player, based on plans by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs ,
Rincewind - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-504: The Rincewind story arc include Cohen the Barbarian , an aging hero of the old fantasy tradition, out of touch with the modern world and still fighting despite his advanced age; Twoflower , a naive tourist from the Agatean Empire (inspired by cultures of East Asia, particularly Japan and China); and The Luggage , a magical, semi-sentient and aggressive multi-legged travelling accessory. Rincewind appears in eight Discworld novels as well as
3311-596: The Screen (2012), and elsewhere. Seven of the short stories or short writings were also collected in a compilation of the majority of Pratchett's known short work named Once More* With Footnotes (2004). Additionally, another short story " Turntables of the Night " (1989) is set in England but features Death as a character; it is available online and in both anthologies. Five short stories republished in A Stroke of
3388-507: The Unseen University; some of them because nobody else wants them, others to keep him busy doing work unrelated to magic. These titles and their accompanying tenure include the condition that he cannot have any salary, influence, or opinions. They do, however, include meals, his laundry done, and (as a result of all the impressive-sounding but essentially meaningless titles that have been bestowed upon him) up to eight buckets of coal
3465-547: The Witches series include: The witches appear in many Discworld books, and are protagonists in seven. They also appeared in the short story " The Sea and Little Fishes ". Their stories frequently draw on ancient European folklore and fairy tales, and parody famous works of literature, particularly by Shakespeare . The stories featuring the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are urban fantasy , and frequently depict
3542-467: The Wyrmberg's power to temporarily summon a passenger jet from the real world, before he and Twoflower fall into the ocean. The two of them are taken to the edge of the Discworld by the ocean currents and nearly carried over, but they are caught by the Circumfence, a huge net built by the nation of Krull to catch sea life and flotsam washed in from the rest of the Discworld. They are rescued by Tethis
3619-428: The basis for both trivial and key events ( Jingo , Eric , and Pyramids ), as are trends in science, technology, pop culture and modern art ( Moving Pictures , Men at Arms , Thud ). There are also humanist themes in many Discworld novels, and a focus on critical thinking skills in the Witches and Tiffany Aching series. The Discworld novels and stories are, in principle, stand-alone works. However,
3696-623: The beginning of The Light Fantastic . The Colour of Magic is one of the few Discworld novels to be divided into sections or chapters, the others being Pyramids , Going Postal , and Making Money , along with the Discworld novels for younger readers, which consist of the five Tiffany Aching books ( The Wee Free Men , A Hat Full of Sky , Wintersmith , I Shall Wear Midnight , and The Shepherd's Crown ) and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents . The sections are: The four main parts are lengthy, and have been likened to short stories or novellas rather than chapters. In
3773-478: The biggest city on the Discworld. The main character is an incompetent and cynical wizard named Rincewind , who is hired as a guide to naive Twoflower , an insurance clerk from the Agatean Empire who has come to visit Ankh-Morpork. Thanks to the abundance of gold in his homeland, Twoflower, though only a clerk, is immensely rich compared to inhabitants of Ankh-Morpork. Initially attempting to flee with his advance payment for agreeing to be Twoflower's guide, Rincewind
3850-476: The book, and is faithful to the source material in that it is built up like classic barbarian stories (in this case comics à la Red Sonja ). Crucial differences between the book and comic include the cutting-out of some of the adventures in Ankh-Morpork and Krull, along with combining the characters of Galder Weatherwax and Ymper Trymon. Also, in the book, the female Dragonriders are described as being topless, as barbarian women in fiction tend to be. However, in
3927-482: The classical fantasy universe what Blazing Saddles did for Westerns ." The story takes place on the Discworld, a planet-sized flat disc carried through space on the backs of four gargantuan elephants – Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon and Jerakeen – who themselves stand on the shell of Great A'Tuin, a gigantic star turtle. The surface of the disc contains oceans and continents, and with them, civilisations, cities, forests and mountains. The story begins in Ankh-Morpork,
SECTION 50
#17327800897574004-648: The computer games starring him, he consistently spotted the ludicrous events around him and would then make jokes and puns to the unaware participants. He also seems to display, despite his apparent failure as a wizard, a fairly extensive magical knowledge, recognizing various spells, magical artefacts and concepts throughout his escapades. Some of Rincewind's talents once stemmed from a semi-sentient and highly destructive spell that had lodged itself inside his mind and scared off all other spells (mentioned in The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic ; though even without
4081-692: The development of the city. After putting him in charge of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office in Going Postal , with good results, Vetinari orders him to clear up the city's corrupt financial sector in Making Money . In a third book, Raising Steam , Vetinari directs Lipwig to oversee the development of a railway network for Dick Simnel's newly invented steam locomotive. Other characters in this series include Adora Belle Dearheart , Lipwig's acerbic, chain-smoking love interest; Gladys,
4158-402: The first novel in the series, The Colour of Magic , the original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had cover art by Josh Kirby . After Kirby's death in 2001, the covers were designed by Paul Kidby . The American editions, published by HarperCollins , used their own cover art. Companion publications include eleven short stories (some only loosely related to
4235-468: The four Science of Discworld supplementary books. Death , a seven-foot skeleton in a black robe who rides a pale horse named Binky, appears in every novel except The Wee Free Men and Snuff , although sometimes with only a few lines. His dialogue is always depicted in SMALL CAPS without quotation marks. Several characters have said that his voice seemed to reach their minds without making
4312-465: The god Fate, who insisted on their sacrifice after they cost him the earlier game. Rincewind and Twoflower attempt to escape, but end up stealing the capsule, which is launched with Twoflower inside, the tourist wishing to see the other worlds of the universe. Rincewind is unable to get into the capsule in time, and falls off the Disc alongside it, the Luggage following them soon after. The story segues into
4389-485: The graphic novel the women wear chain-mail chestpieces as well as the clothing described in the book. It has been published in hardcover, along with the graphic novel of The Light Fantastic , as The Discworld Graphic Novels ( ISBN 9780061685965 ). The Mob Film Company and Sky One have produced a two-part adaptation, combining both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic , directed by Vadim Jean and broadcast over Easter, 2008. David Jason starred in
4466-655: The main storylines take place around the same period (end of the Century of the Fruitbat, beginning of the Century of the Anchovy). The main exception is the stand-alone book Small Gods , which appears to take place at some point earlier than most of the other stories, though even this contains cameo appearances by Death and the Librarian. Some main characters may make cameo appearances in other books where they are not
4543-464: The nearby city of Pseudopolis. The Wizards feature prominently in nine Discworld books and star in The Science of Discworld series and the short story " A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices ". Tiffany Aching is a young apprentice witch in a series of Discworld books aimed at young adults. Her stories often parallel mythic heroes' quests, but also deal with Tiffany's difficulties as
4620-399: The picture box. The trio visit the Wyrmberg, an upside-down mountain which is home to dragon-riders who summon their dragons by imagining them, and are separated when the riders attack them. Rincewind escapes capture but is forced by Kring, Hrun's sentient magical sword, to attempt to rescue his friends. Twoflower is imprisoned within the Wyrmberg, and because of his fascination with dragons,
4697-476: The presence of the City Watch makes Ankh-Morpork stories "problematic", as stories set in the city that do not directly involve Vimes and the Watch often require a Watch presence to maintain the story—at which point, it becomes a Watch story by default. The Wizards of Unseen University (UU) appear prominently throughout many Discworld novels; the books that centre around them exclusively are The Science of
SECTION 60
#17327800897574774-528: The primary focus; for example, City Watch members Carrot Ironfoundersson and Angua appear briefly in Going Postal , Making Money , and Unseen Academicals (placing those books after Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms ). A number of characters, such as members of staff of Unseen University and Lord Vetinari, appear prominently in many different storylines without having specific storylines of their own. The two most frequently recurring central protagonists, Rincewind and Sam Vimes , are very briefly in
4851-466: The putative YA books because my editor screams until I do". However, the first Discworld novel The Colour of Magic was divided into "books", as is Pyramids . Additionally, Going Postal and Making Money both have chapters, a prologue, an epilogue, and brief teasers of what is to come in each chapter, in the style of A. A. Milne , Jules Verne , and Jerome K. Jerome . The Discworld novels contain common themes and motifs that run through
4928-525: The role of Rincewind. Sean Astin , best known for his role as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings film series, took the role of Twoflower. Christopher Lee took over the role of Death from Ian Richardson (a role Lee had previously played in the animated series Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters ). The plot was adapted for a text adventure computer game in 1986, by Delta 4 and released by Piranha,
5005-510: The sea troll, a being composed of water who had fallen off the edge of his own world and onto the Discworld, where he was subsequently enslaved by the Krullians. The Krullians then take Rincewind and Twoflower to their capital, where they inform them that they intend to use a space capsule to launch over the edge of the Disc in order to learn the sex of Great A'Tuin, and that they also intend to sacrifice Rincewind and Twoflower in order to appease
5082-519: The section "The Colour of Magic", the characters Bravd and The Weasel relate to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser from Fritz Leiber 's Sword series. "The Sending of Eight" has Lovecraftian references, and "The Lure of the Wyrm" parodies Anne McCaffrey 's Dragonflight . A graphic novel , illustrated by Steven Ross and adapted by Scott Rockwell, was first published as a four-part comic in 1991 by
5159-736: The series. Many of the novels parody fantasy cliches and various subgenres of fantasy, like fairy tales (notably Witches Abroad ) or vampire tales ( Carpe Jugulum ). Analogies of real-world issues, such as religion ( Small Gods ), fundamentalism and inner city tension ( Thud ), business and politics ( Making Money ), racial prejudice and exploitation ( Snuff ) recur, as do aspects of culture and entertainment such as opera ( Maskerade ), rock music ( Soul Music ), cinema ( Moving Pictures ), and football ( Unseen Academicals ). Parodies of non-Discworld fiction also occur frequently, including Shakespeare , Beatrix Potter , and several movies. Major historical events, especially battles, are sometimes
5236-733: The series; the character of Miss Alice Band first appeared in the Assassins' Guild Yearbook , for example. The Discworld Almanak – The Year of The Prawn has a similar format and general contents to the diaries. Other Discworld publications include: The books take place roughly in real time and the characters' ages change to reflect the passing of years. The meetings of various characters from different narrative threads (e.g., Ridcully and Granny Weatherwax in Lords and Ladies , Rincewind and Carrot in The Last Hero ) indicate that all
5313-453: The spell's interference he was still an extremely incompetent wizard). The spell occasionally tried to make itself heard when Rincewind was going through a stressful time; as he was falling to his near-death, he said the first seven out of eight words of the spell. In Sourcery and Unseen Academicals Rincewind claims that he never knew his mother as she ran away before he was born. Rincewind has received several titles during his stay at
5390-665: The subject of a boardgame played by the Gods of the Discworld. The pair are separated when they are attacked by a mountain troll summoned by Offler the Crocodile God. The ignorant Twoflower ends up being led to the Temple of Bel-Shamharoth, a being said to be the opposite of both good and evil, while Rincewind ends up imprisoned in a dryad-inhabited tree in the woods, where he watches the events in Bel Shamharoth's temple through
5467-467: The third is a collaboration between Briggs and Paul Kidby , and the last is by Kidby. All also contain booklets written by Pratchett and Briggs. Terry later collaborated with the Discworld Emporium to produce two much larger works, each with the associated map with the book in a folder, The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide (2012) and The Compleat Discworld Atlas (2015). Death's Domain
5544-466: The trouble. In the sequel, Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? , Death disappears and the archchancellor puts Rincewind in charge of finding him and convincing him to get back to work. In both games, Rincewind is voiced by Eric Idle . Rincewind has the ability to pick up the essentials of foreign languages quickly and fluency only slightly less quickly, and appears to have the ability to blend in to any situation. During The Colour of Magic , when he
5621-404: Was chased across various regions of the Discworld in spite of, or often driven by, his desire to find somewhere he can relish boredom in peace and quiet. During the events of The Last Hero , in which the Discworld risks being destroyed if Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde succeed in their plan to "return fire to the Gods with interest", Rincewind said that he did not wish to volunteer for
5698-459: Was chiefly the result of what the Luggage learnt in Ankh-Morpork. Its function is to act as both a luggage carrier and bodyguard for its owner. The Luggage is fiercely defensive of its owner, and is generally homicidal in nature, killing or eating several people and monsters and destroying various ships, walls, doors, geographic features, and other obstacles throughout the series. Its mouth contains "lots of big square teeth, white as sycamore, and
5775-413: Was projected into a universe that may or may not have been our own, he assumed the role of a nuclear physicist . In keeping with his nature, the role was as a physicist who specialized in the 'breakaway oxidation phenomena' of certain reactors —or, to put another way, what happens when those reactors caught fire (Terry Pratchett served as the press officer for several nuclear power plants before he became
5852-408: Was still alive and running was explained by noting that while he was born with a wizard's spirit, he had the body of a long-distance sprinter. Rincewind was portrayed by David Jason in the film adaptation of The Colour of Magic . Pratchett said in an interview that he unwittingly took Rincewind's name from " Churm Rincewind ", a fictitious person referred to in early "' Beachcomber " columns in
5929-546: Was the tie-in book Tiffany Aching's Guide to Being a Witch , co-written with children's author Gabrielle Kent. Most of Pratchett's novels have been released as audio cassette and CD audiobooks . The Colour of Magic The Colour of Magic is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett , and is the first book of the Discworld series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to do for
#756243