Monday, 20 February 2012

Review: The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett

The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett
(Discworld #27)
5 out of 5 stars

Published by Gollancz
This review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series

I don't think anyone can deny that Terry Pratchett is a brilliant writer. He has such a great sense of style, of storytelling. I always feel like there are so many inside jokes in his stories, that I just get about half of them. When I do discover new ones, it feels a bit like uncovering a little piece of a big puzzle.

As for the story of The Last Hero, I have nothing much to tell you. Characters from different story lines come together in the last adventure of the now elderly heroes or Cohen the Barbarian and his gang. I've only read three Discworld novels so far, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I did enjoy the little role Death played in this one, he's my favourite character so far.

What makes The Last Hero special is the pictures. This is a beautifully illustrated book. I loved how they didn't just showed what was going on, but also added to the story. Although slightly like caricatures, there are a lot of little inside jokes in the drawings themselves. Even though this book is about novella length, I still enjoyed many hours of reading it, because I liked the pictures so much.

This is a marvellous addition in any Discworld collection, but if you've never read a Discworld novel, I would recommend you starting with The Colour of Magic, not this one.

Blurb

Cohen the Barbarian. He's been a legend in his own lifetime.
He can remember the good old days of high adventure, when being a Hero meant one didn't have to worry about aching backs and lawyers and civilization. But these days, he can't always remember just where he put his teeth...So now, with his ancient (yet still trusty) sword and new walking stick in hand, Cohen gathers a group of his old -- very old -- friends to embark on one final quest. He's going to climb the highest mountain of Discworld and meet the gods.It's time the Last Hero in the world returns what the first hero stole. Trouble is, that'll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.

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