Terry Pratchett's Discworld 17- Interesting Times

Interesting Times

Corgi Press

Terry Pratchett

1994

Other Terry Pratchett Reviews- The Colour of Magic - The Light Fantastic - Equal Rites - Mort - Sourcery - Wyrd Sisters - Pyramids - Guards! Guards! - Eric - Moving Pictures - Reaper Man - Witches Abroad - Small Gods - Lords and Ladies - Men At Arms - Soul Music - Interesting Times - Maskerade - Feet of Clay - Hogfather - Raising Steam - A Blink of the Screen - Sky1 Adaptations- Dodger - The Long Earth (w Stephen Baxter)

"I know about people who talk about suffering for the common good. It's never bloody them! When you hear a man shouting "Forward, brave comrades!" you'll see he's the one behind the bloody big rock and the one wearing the only really arrow-proof helmet!"

Ah, Interesting Times, one of my most-fondly remembered Discworld books of them all. My memory is somewhat hazy, but I believe that my somewhat disorganised introduction to the Discworld series (following on from The Bromeliad Trilogy) began randomly with The Hogfather, then The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic pair, which led me to Interesting Times. In hindsight, this lack of proper chronological order terrifies me, but such is the freedom and folly of youth. It didn't exactly put me off the series though.

Anyway, the premier attraction of Interesting Times for me and everyone else is Pratchett's decision to finally reunite the heroes of his first two-part adventure; Rincewind and Twoflower, and then expand upon the return of the latter by applying his now well-established brand of fantastical social satire on his suspiciously recognisable cultural and ethnic origins (plus the well-placed inclusion of CoM/LF's best supporting character, Cohen the Barbarian). Following on from the events of Eric, Rincewind the Wizzard is back within the walls of Unseen University, desperately trying to avoid anything resembling danger. Unfortunately for him, Rincewind is a danger magnet, and finds himself approached by the University faculty to participate in a bit of intercontinental diplomacy. After some negotiation, Rincewind finds himself, via means of magical teleportation, right in the middle of the mysterious Agatean Empire, where he soon finds himself mixed up in a national revolution.

 Further than that I can't really be bothered to explain the plot any further than that because firstly if you're reading this then you probably already know it, and secondly because it's nothing particularly special by itself (compared to some of the author's previous efforts). In my last review of Soul Music I praised Pratchett for his ability to mix his often very direct satirical musings with the detailed minutia of his constantly expanding universe, and Interesting Times is another success along those lines. Whereas Soul Music blended in the magic of the Discworld with the magic of rock and roll, Interesting Times is even more topical, as the Agatean Empire exists as an amalgamated concoction of Asia and Asian history, although for Pratchett this is as much about current perceptions of those topics as historical fact. Rincewind, as an increasingly cynical and deceptively wise piece of fictional brilliance, is the perfect centerpiece of the tale, able to react with as much astonishment, cynicism and fear as is necessary.

The return of Cohen and the expansion of his personality (including new friends) is perhaps the final key as to why I like this book so much, as the topical humour clicks into place at its best when Cohen the Barbarian transforms into Genghis Cohen. There's also a more defined and plot-orientated place for Rincewind's long cause-of-suffering The Luggage, and Twoflower's expansion into a more three-dimensional character clearly helps display the improvement in Pratchett's character presentation and development. On a more negative note, I did find that some of the more cliche aspects of the plot (including the villain, the Grand Vizier of Agatea), though made intentionally so for the sake of humorous deconstruction, go too far in that regard. Still, that's really about as critical as I'm going to get.

In conclusion, though I wouldn't ever place Interesting Times into the upper echelon of the best Discworld books thanks to the lack of a particularly original or inspired main plot, it's still a highly polished and fun piece of fiction by an author in his prime.