Rating: Summary: A new direction? Review: This was something of a surprise to me. I knew that Pratchett was beginning to get bored of the Discworld novels, but there was little way that he could just drop them; I expected some sort of departure for the series, but this was a little more radical than i expected. It's fantastic though- a shorter, but just as impactful, storyline, backed up by some of the most amazing fantasy artwork I have ever seen, almost remeniscent of the original, hardback version of Eric. Inevitably, however, this is a supliment to the canon, but not a replacement to the old-fashioned novels. An excellent one-off, and hopefully someday a collector's item, but I hope this will not be what the future holds for the Disc.
Rating: Summary: Great art and fun tale Review: The Last Hero was everything I was hoping for in Paul Kidby's illustration. If you're a Diskworld fan, the story explores the gods and Leonard of Quirm in much more depth than I think they've ever been in the novels. The illustrative style of the book realy becomes the only way to view Leonard, and his way of thinking and creating. Aside from the character art and exploration, the book evokes a true sense of awe for an imaginary world that inspires wonder in our own.
Rating: Summary: Not a Disappointment to Discword Readers Review: This lavishly illustrated book was an absolute delight to read through. The story is up to Terry Pratchett's normal Discworld standards, although shorter by a good half or more. He did this by using fewer secondary and tertiary characters than he uses normally. Few new characters are introduced, and those were more of the supporting variety. Also, there are fewer references to a framing event or theme (that he often uses to parallel or heighten the events in the main plot). The structure is a little shallower for these omissions, making me think that this book might have started as another books B plot before he decided that didn?t do it justice, and became a shorter than normal A plot. But Mr. Pratchett needed the room, and the time you?ll spend looking at Paul Kidby's excellent artwork will make this book just as engaging as any of the other Discworld books (pay special attention to the pages from the notebook of "Leonard of Quirm")!
Rating: Summary: A Delight for all Pratchett Fans Review: If this book has a fault, it's that it's too short! The story is standard Pratchett fare (i.e. wonderfully witty and entertaining) and the illustrations are simply superb. If you like Pratchett's Discworld novels, you MUST get this book. I promise, you will not be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: Illustrated Genius Review: I began reading Pratchett 3 years ago and he hasn't disappointed me yet. The Last Hero has succeded in reassuring me that won't be disappointed for some time. It has everything needed for the casual Pratchetteer and the avid(said rabid) Pratchetophile. I like how he takes the fantasy genre and makes it worth reading by not taking it to seriously. Even making it better by realting events, people, and places to that of recent. This book is no exception by poking fun at NASA. Paul Kidby's illustrations enhance his writings by putting face to name. All of his drawings are just as I imgined them when I first opened Colour of Magic and laughed 2 minutes later with no sign of stopping. I fear though that Pratchett will not recieve the American recognition he deserves until he releases a full length movie. That seems to be the only way a good author can get noticed these days. Don't agree with me? I think Michle Chriton would.One last note, Who's Harry Potter?
Rating: Summary: A cute fable-Makes a great gift Review: Discworld is a planet shaped like a disk resting on the backs of four elephants that reside on the shell of a humongous turtle. Currently, the orb faces a worldwide crisis because Cohen the Barbarian and his band of followers are returning to the Gods what was stolen from them: fire. If the group succeeds in their quest, Discworld will exist no more. Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh Morpork, is aware of the situation and heads up an expedition to stop Cohen and his horde. They use a dirigible run by burping dragon's fire. Other then reaching the heroes, Vetinari and his ilk have no disc-worldly idea how to stop them from returning the fire. Fans of the Discworld novels will definitely want to add the well-written THE LAST HERO to their collection. The tale includes ninety beautiful illustrations that augment the visual impact of this vividly described magical world. Characters from previous books appear lending a feeling of continuity for long time readers. Terry Pritchett furbishes another strong entry with a novella that would make quite a nice gift for young and old fantasy fans. Harriet Klausner
Rating: Summary: Two Masters: Pratchett and Kidby Review: There is no need for me to do yet another synopsis of this wonderfull book. If you are a Diskworld fan you already know and love all the charactors. What is differant about this book is that is has one thing that all other Diskworld books sorely lack; illustrations. Now normally I dont care for the illustrations in most novels. I prefer to visualise the charactors myself. Even the BBC Diskworld TV series didnt quite match how I see the Diskworlders in my head. But Paul Kidby's illustrations truly capture the sole and essence of the denizens of the Disk. He makes the Silver Horde come to life. Especially his drawings of Evil Harry Dreads henchmen. And his rendering of Dunmanifestin is incredible. I thought how he captured Nuggin was exactly like Terry described him, and how I imagined him. I especially liked Leonards technical drawings, of which Paul captured even the finest details of the drawings done in the margins. But my personal favorite is how Kidby showed the transformation of Cohens Bard. The before and after pictures of the Bard literally brought tears to my eyes. Nothing else could have shown so well the changes brought on by traveling with Cohen and his Silver Horde. Even Terry's words fell short of Paul's drawings in this case. I own two copies of all the Diskworld books. We buy the hardcover edition and read it together as a family, when the book is first released. And then we buy the paperback version, in order to protect the hardcover version, because we've all read them all so many times. I would buy them all again if they were rereleased with illustrations by Mr. Paul Kidby. Thank you gentlemen, for this wonderful story and work of art.
Rating: Summary: Discworld, As We've Always Wanted To See It... Review: In his second collaborative Discworld 'picture' book (the first Being "Eric", which never received a proper release here in the States), Terry Pratchett shows that the momentum he seems to have regained in his last two or three books continues to mount. While the story is his shortest novel yet, it's packed with enough adventure for two of his regular novels. Featuring not only Cohen the Barbarian and Rincewind, but also Carrot, the wizards of Unseen University and Leonard of Quirm, he somehow manages to combine the legend of Prometheus with the Apollo Program while tossing in evil overlords, Schrodinger's Cat and everything you ever wanted to know about dragons. The story is vintage Pratchett and the illustrations are all gorgeous. While sometimes threatening to overwhelm the text, they work to immerse us in the Discworld in a way that, surprisingly enough, surpasses Pratchett's usual work. From beautifully rendered characters and Discscapes to the notes of Leonard and technical schematics, they give you the feeling of a Discworld almost real enough to touch. If you're a Terry Pratchett fan, I can't recommend this book enough. Even with the somewhat steep price tag, it's well worth adding to a Pratchett collection. If you're not overly familiar with Pratchett, I recommend starting at a different book in the series, perhaps "Guards! Guards!" or "Small Gods" and then moving on to this one after getting a feel for the series. However, once you've gotten a feel for the series, definitely come back to this one.
Rating: Summary: Not a Typical Pratchett, Yet Excellent Review: If one were to read The Last Hero in the same frame of mind that one would reserve for the majority of Pratchett's works, then one would come away feeling a bit let down. There is no plot layering, there is no superbly rich back-story, and the footnotes are very limited. Fortunately, that's exactly what makes this book's star shine so bright.
We have Cohen the Barbarian and the Silver Hoard returning something that was stolen from the gods, and paying it back with interest in the name of not dying in bed, but with their boots on. We also have the familiar faces of Captain Carrot, Leonard of Quirm, Rincewind, and the Librarian rocketing to space, landing on the moon, and crashing through the gates of the city of the gods. Metaphorical of science attacking religion at the front door with flight/space programs? Probably. An in depth look and social comedy delivered via parody? Definitey not.
What makes this work a jewel is that it is a work about Heroes (the capital "H" was intended). In my worldview, Pratchett would have destroyed the work by making it a typical tale of the Disc. Most fans of fantasy know their mythology and will identify with what I am talking about. The story is written much as a storyteller of old would have told it, had he been telling it in first person omniscient point of view of course.
Kidby's art is absolutely stunning, and there are a few images that I simply stared at for long periods of time before turning the page. The Cohen as Conan reference on the flyleaf will please any traditional fantasy art fan and hearken back the classic days of Frazetta.
Rating: Summary: Discworld goes beyond Review: In the end there is always death. Cohen the Barbarian, a legend if there ever was one, is well aware of this fact of life. Although he still remembers the glorious times when he was a young, potent stallion and still knew where he had put his forsaken teeth, the Discworld has moved on. The days of the Great Adventures are long since gone and nobody believes in heroes anymore. Together with his old friends, Truckle the Uncivil, Boy Willie, Mad Hamish and Vena the Raven-Haired, he decides to finally let go. But when they do, they do with it with vengeance! Returning to the Gods what was stolen in the first place does seem to be a nice and final statement. But what they don't know is that their little statement will end the world, everything and most of all the life of Rincewind. Everyone knows that this must be stopped, because if everything ends Rincewind will have problems finding something to hide behind.
Although in fact The Last Hero is quite a short novel in comparison to the other Discworld books, it has all it takes to compete with the best of them. Indeed the appearance of Discworld most qualified anti-hero Rincewind has been known as a guarantee for success. Nevertheless the most appealing part for me was the waterfall of references to modern space travel. What else could lead to such a nice catchphrase as: "Ank-Morpork, we have an orangutan".
To make this episode of the Discworld saga even more wonderful, Paul Kirby took this opportunity to prove that he is the ultimate Discworld-illustrator. If there was ever a guild of Discworld-illustrators, Paul would be they one and only God. In The Last Hero the role of Paul is even more special. He does not only brighten up this Discworld fable, but also adds to the story. Some jokes are purely visual like the testing of the Dragon-driven-space-suit or the architecture of the space ship.
Although many joke only reach their full potential if you know something about the Discworld background, it still stays very accessible as a first contact with Discworld.
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