★★★★★ The Last Hero, by Terry Pratchett, Paul Kidby (Illustrator)
The story is meh, but the pictures are spectacular
The Last Hero
Terry Pratchett, Paul Kidby (Illustrator)
The story is meh, but the pictures are spectacular
The Last Hero is the 27th book in Terry Pratchett‘s Discworld series (also #7 in the Rincewind subseries). I’ve been steadily working my way through Discworld in audiobook format, but this one was not available as an audiobook.
Nor should it be. The Last Hero is a picture book, lavishly and beautifully illustrated by Paul Kidby. It is printed in brilliant colors on thick high-quality paper, the kind you’re used to seeing in coffee-table books. I gather that the hardback is that: 9.65 x 11.38 inches, $123, according to Amazon. That is not what I read, though. I opted for the cheaper paperback edition, a more wieldy 8 x 5 in, $17. It was fine.
When you open the book you’re greeted by bright color paintings of Great A’tuin, soon followed by Ankh-Morpork. My favorites, though were the characters. I instantly recognized Rincewind, Lord Vetinari, and Ponder Stibbons. I had not previously had mental images for these characters, but I recognized them, anyway. Also Cohen the Barbarian, the Librarian, and Leonard of Quirm. (I didn’t recognize Leonard, though -- he didn’t quite look as I expected. I had expected something a little more ragged.) There are also numerous sketches and pages of notes, ostensibly by Leonard. There’s a very funny sketch for Leonard’s most famous painting, the Mona Ogg, which is, I gather, a picture of the young Gytha Ogg.
The story is nothing much. It’s not bad, but it’s short -- a novella -- and struck me as mostly a rehash of parts of Jingo and Interesting Times. Don’t misunderstand -- it’s definitely a new story, but its bones are similar to the bones of parts of those two Discworld novels.
It is the illustrations that I am awarding the five-star rating to. If you’re a Discworld fan, I can almost guarantee that you’ll enjoy them.