Eric

There is nothing quite like a Terry Pratchett book to cleanse my reading palette. The man writes in exactly my kind of witty. This is the second Discworld book I’ve delved into the first, Small Gods, took the solemn topic of religion and turned down every witty and clever road to make light of it while exploring it. Eric started with a slightly less grandiose premise but it managed to maintain the same wit that I expect from Terry Pratchett. Eric also gave me a chance to support the independent bookstore in my area as I stumbled upon it while wandering around my neighborhood!

The book follows an incompetent wizard named Rincewind as he stumbles through time and space (no this isn’t Doctor Who…although there are some striking similarities) with Eric, a thirteen year old wanna be demonologist. Eric has tried to summon a demon and ended up with Rincewind. The story feels very much like a transition between other larger stories. There are snippets in which characters mention things that have happened in the past and Rincewind is summoned from the Dungeon Dimension…though it’s never quite explained how he got there. After a quick google I realized that this is ninth book in the Discworld series and the fourth of Rincewind’s books. For having picked up a book well into its series, I think I did pretty well with this one. From what I understand of Terry Pratchett and his writing he intentionally made his books stand alone fairly well, even within a series. They might wink and nod at each other but, for the most part, they can be read entirely on whims. Which is exactly the type of series I like and sums up how I felt reading Eric.

While I do love to revel in wit, I can see how Pratchett type wit could get old very quickly. If this book had been too much longer or if I were to read more than one book in this style I think I’d have to make a point of reading a very straightforward down to earth stories for a while. There is such a thing as getting too caught up in yourself and I think, occasionally, very clever people get so delighted in their cleverness they get carried away and forget to put a foot on the ground. Eric is well worth a read and rewards a reader that delights in the little turns of phrases and tiny threads whose only payoff is a teeny tiny revelation.