Eric: A Discworld Novel

Terry Pratchett has become one of the most popular authors alive today and his popularity is richly deserved. But not even with his fertile mind could ever have envisaged the heights to which his Discworld series would rise. This book was first published in 1988 and is number six in the Discworld novels.

You would think that a fantasy world full of trolls, zombies, witches, vampires would be an alien concept to most readers. Werewolves and dwarves in the Ank Morpork city watch. Wizards running a university. All this produced by one of the funniest minds writing today. Surely this type of writing would have a very limited readership. Not a bit of it, new books by Pratchett are almost as eagerly awaited as are the current J. K. Rowling offerings.

What do you do when you are fourteen years old and live on a place as crazy as the Discworld. Well, whatever fourteen year old boys do wherever they live. Make a nuisance of themselves. Eric has achieved that magical age of fourteen, how, nobody knows and has decided that as he is a little devil himself he might as well try and raise a few more, with less than successful results. What he does manage to raise is our old friend Rincewind, a wizard. Now what Rincewind doesn't know about wizardry really isn't worth knowing. No really it isn't worth knowing. Of course where Rincewind goes, the Luggage will surely follow. Now this really is worth having, a piece of luggage that never gets lost and it does, it always manages to find you. What a boon for the modern day airport.

The usual hilarious mayhem occurs, hocus pocus, the old three wishes trick and even a trip to hell, not to be recommended for the those of a nervous disposition. Hell that is, not the book which is hilarious and should be recommended to anybody and everybody.

brilliant! (3/3 people found this helpful)

Eric is a hilarious novel by Terry Pratchett. It begins in Ankh- Morpork, where the University wizards are performing the Rite of AshKente, which summons Death, when they find out that Rincewind, a cowardly wizard ,is stuck in the Dungeon Dimensions, due to the events of Sourcery. As he was there, he was summoned as a demon by Eric, a demonologist, and his parrot, who has a limited vocabulary, so keeps saying " wossname". He must grant Eric 3 wishes. So Eric, parrot and Rincewind (and his Luggage ,a fearsome walking chest, who attacks enemies of its owner), set off on a journey through time which includes such horrors as wheels being used as headgear, cleaners being bribed, and small rat faced men with sandwiches. I loved this book, and you will want to read it again and again.

Good as ever (1/1 people found this helpful)

There is little in this world as dependable as Pratchett. Though one of his shortest, and with a story line unashamedly borrowed (riped of in technical speak) it's a joy to read from cover to cover. He even manages to squeeze that most popular of Discworld inhabitants in - Read it, though not in public, as people give you funny looks

Eric review. (2/2 people found this helpful)

Eric is an intriguing classic.In Eric,an amateur demonologist inadvertently thinks that he has summoned a powerful demon but instead he has summoned Rincewind,the Disc's most inept and cowardly wizard and his lethal travel accesory the Luggage.Together they will go on a fantastic journey that will make Eric wish ferverantly that he had never been born.If you like reading sci-fi,fantasy or the Iliad then read Eric.If you enjoy this book then read books 1,2,5,17,22.

Not Quite Faust (3/5 people found this helpful)

The edition I read was the original "Discworld story" illustrated by Josh Kirby, only published in Great Britain (I purchased it on-line). The pictures are enjoyable and add to the story, but aren't essential.

Rincewind is fleeing through the nether regions, though his flight echoes through Death's Domains and Ankh-Morpork. He has chances of a million to one of escaping, which of course means that he will be summoned by a fourteen year old "demonology hacker" named Eric.

In the tradition of Rincewind tales much of Eric is spent fleeing from one danger or the other, and always suspecting apparent good fortune. As with Twoflower, Rincewind's companion Eric doesn't believe that he is just an inept wizard--rather he must be a powerful and crafty demon!

Besides being a parody of the German tale of Faust, Eric contains several other parodies and mockeries as is quite traditional for Pratchett. All in all I thought it was a good showing.

While this is the fourth Rincewind novel it doesn't require strictly require knowledge of the previous volumes and thus could serve as an introduction to the Disc. If you're a longtime fan then you should definately read this tale, though if you can find the illustrated edition I would recommend that one over the purely textual version.

Terry Pratchett

Reader Reviews:

Another Hilarious Romp on the Discworld (2/2 people found this helpful)

brilliant! (3/3 people found this helpful)

Good as ever (1/1 people found this helpful)

Eric review. (2/2 people found this helpful)

Not Quite Faust (3/5 people found this helpful)

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