Book:The Light Fantastic

2018-07-09T16:24:59Z

Zed10000:

{{Book Data
|title=The Light Fantastic
|cover=[[File:Cover The Light Fantastic.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=[[Josh Kirby]]
|date=May 1986
|publisher=Colin Smythe
|isbn=0861402030
|pages=217
|rrp=
|series=Discworld Series
|characters=[[Rincewind]], [[Twoflower]], [[the Luggage]]
|annotations=yes
|notes= Book #02
}}
==Blurb==
As it moves towards a seemingly inevitable collision with a malevolent red star, the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]] has only one possible saviour. Unfortunately, this happens to be the singularly inept and cowardly wizard called [[Rincewind]], who was last seen falling off the edge of the world ....

==Characters==
===Major Characters===

* [[Rincewind]]
* [[Twoflower]]
* [[the Luggage]]
* [[Ymper Trymon]]
* [[Cohen]] (first appearance)

===Minor Characters===
* [[Galder Weatherwax]], 304th Archchancellor of Unseen University
* [[Swires]], a gnome (possibly the first appearance of [[Buggy Swires]], though this is not confirmed)
* [[Bethan]]
* [[Horse People]], collective name for the Horse Tribes in the [[Hubland]] steppes
* [[Herrena the Henna-Haired Harridan]] (first appearance)
* [[Kwartz]], a homophone of {{wp|Quartz|Quartz}}
* [[Chrysoprase|Krysoprase]] (first appearance), a homophone of {{wp|Chrysoprase|Chrysoprase}}
* [[Breccia (troll)|Breccia]], a troll; not to be confused with 'the' [[Breccia]], a troll crime syndicate, though the latter is possibly named after the former; named after {{wp|Breccia|Breccia}}
* [[Jasper]], a troll; named after {{wp|Jasper|Jasper}}
* [[Beryl]], a troll; named after {{wp|Beryl|Beryl}}
* [[Old Grandad]], nickname for a troll whose real name we do not learn
* [[Weems]], Morpork mercenary
* [[Lackjaw]], dwarf jeweler

===Cameos===
* [[Death]]
* the [[Librarian]] (first appearance)
* [[Greyhald Spold]]
* [[Belafon]], a surprisingly modern [[druid]] whose job title is "computer hardware consultant"
* [[Zakriah]], colleague of Belafon's
* [[Professor of Astrology]]
* [[Ysabell]] (first appearance)
* [[Jiglad Wert]]
* [[Lumuel Panter]]
* [[Ganmack Treehallet]]
* [[War]] (first appearance)
* [[Famine]] (first appearance)
* [[Pestilence]] (first appearance)
* [[Gancia]], leader of a gang of Morpork mercenaries
* [[Dahoney]], demagogue of the [[Star People]]

===Mentions===


* [[the Luggage|A box with many little legs that looks malevolently upon you without eyes]] -- sometimes seen by hallucinogen-enhanced shaman. However, this one is for real...
* [[Ancient Ones]] -- omniscient multi-verse beings who know everything about all the universes
* Azimrothe, T'chikel, Yrriph, Kcharla, Cheliliki, and Orizone -- supernatural entities by which Death can presumably be commanded (though Galder Weatherwax may just be posturing, especially since Death is answering questions freely anyway)
* [[Sky God]] and [[Celestial Cow]] -- possible creators of the universe according to some theories
* [[Skrelt Changebasket]] -- wizard
* [[Cimbar]] -- an Assassin
* [[Creosote]] -- [[Seriph]] of [[Al Khali]] in the expression "as rich as Creosote"
* [[Dean of Liberal Studies]] -- swallowed by the Luggage
* [[Captain Eightpanther]] -- creator of [[Captain Eightpanther's Travellers' Digestives]], a type of biscuit (full name given in {{COM}}, though possibly the human equivalent of [[dwarf bread]])
* [[Moon goddess]] -- who virgin druids meet when they are sacrificed (later in the book, we learn there are several moon goddesses)
* [[Olaf Quimby II]] -- a Patritian of Ankh with views on descriptive writing
* [[Rhunlet Vard]] -- apparent successor to Greyhald Spold (but opposed by Trymon)
* [[Ly Tin Wheedle]] -- famous philosopher
* [[Granny Whitlow]] -- witch who built a candy cottage (even though it sounds more like something [[Aliss_Demurrage|Black Aliss]] would do)
* [[Woo Hun Ling]] -- owner of Woo Hun Ling's [[Oriental Exotica and Martial Aids]], a shop on [[Heroes Street]]. Interestingly, the shop name does appear to be "martial" (relating to war), not "marital" (relating to marriage), possibly a typo, but perhaps an intentional joke. It's also interesting that the shop's name contains the word "Oriental": on the Disc, shouldn't this be Agatean? (or perhaps ''Auriental'' as this variant is used elsewhere).

==Things and Devices==
* [[Book of Going Forth Around Elevenish]] -- book written by rather lazy [[Llama]]ic sect
* bronze torc -- apparently a small unit of druid currency
* [[Bumper Fun Grimoire]] -- book possibly containing last original joke in the universe
* Chant of the Trodden Spiral -- software-like chant designed for "concentric circle computing"
* charm, persuasion, uncertainty, bloody-mindedness -- according to druids, the universe's operation depends on these four forces
* Cupumuguk snow runes -- a language that the Eight Spells appear in briefly
* [[Iyt Gryet Teymple hyte Tsort, Y Hiystory Myistical]] -- a book (perhaps the only one) about the [[Pyramids]] of Tsort.
* I Don't Know, What? -- a geographical feature of unknown type with a silly name
* Just A Mountain -- a mountain with a silly name
* [[manicreach]] -- creature whose entrails can be used for scrying purposes
* [[Mirror of Oversight]] -- magical device
* [[Necrotelicomnicon]] -- a famous [[Grimoire|grimoire]]
* [[Nosehinger on the Laws of Contract]], a book Twoflower gives the Four Horseman to learn [[Contract Bridge (game)|bridge]]
* [[Potent Voyager]] -- research vessel
* Runes of M'haw
* [[Seal of Eightfold Stasis]] -- magical seal with considerable stopping power
* [[Seven League Boots]] --a somewhat tricky means of transportation
* [[Skelde, Spirit of the Smoke]] -- sometimes seen by hallucinogen-enhanced shaman
* [[The Little Folks' Book of Flower Fairies]] -- a book about pixies that Twoflower read as a child
* [[Topaxci, the God of the Red Mushroom]] -- sometimes seen by hallucinogen-enhanced shaman
* [[Umcherrel, the Soul of the Forest]] -- sometimes seen by hallucinogen-enhanced shaman
* [[Wandering Shop]] -- theoretical galactic empire controlled by shopkeepers (reminiscent of Robert Asprin's Deva?)
* [[YMPA|Young Men's Pagan Association]] -- parody of the Young Men's Christian Association ({{wp|YMCA|YMCA}})

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Unseen University]] (first appearance)
*** [[Great Hall]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
* [[Death's Domain]]
* [[Dungeon Dimensions]]
* [[Krull]]
* The [[Octavo]] (in certain metaphysical respects)
* The [[Red Star]]
* [[River Smarl]], a river connecting to the [[Circle Sea]]
* [[Skillet, Wang, Yrxle!yt, Bunglestiff, Cwmlad and Patel]], a [[tabernae vagantes|wandering shop]] appearing inside brick wall
* [[Skund]]
* [[Trollbone Mountains]]
* [[Vortex Plains]]
* [[Your Finger You Fool]], a forest in [[Skund]], rimwards of the [[Ramtops|Ramtop Mountains]], including:
** [[Mount Oolskunrahod]], a mountain whose name translates to "Who is this Fool who does Not Know what a Mountain Is"

==Sentient Species==
*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Humans]]
*Giants (mentioned)
*[[Gnomes]]
*[[Trolls]]

==Supernatural Entities==
*[[Creator|The Creator]] (mentioned)
*[[Demons]] (mentioned)
*[[Death]] & the [[Four Horsemen|Horsemen]] of the the [[Apocralypse]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]] (mentioned)
*[[Ice Giants]] (mentioned)
*[[Imps]]
*[[Dungeon Dimensions|Horrors from the Dungeon Dimensions]]

==Adaptations==
{{TV Data
|title=Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic
|cover=[[File:Magic DVD.jpg|thumb|200px]]
|asin=B001EM1E8A
|imdb=1079959
|date=23-24 March 2008
|channel=Sky One
|director=Vadim Jean
|producer=Rod Brown & Ian Sharples
|cast=David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry, Christopher Lee (voice)
|duration=184 minutes
|episodes=2
|annotations=
|notes=
|series=Rincewind Series
|prev=[[TV and Film:Hogfather|Terry Pratchett's Hogfather]]
|next=[[TV and Film:Going Postal|Terry Pratchett's Going Postal]]
}}
===[[TV and Film:The Colour of Magic|Television]]===
The plot of 'The Light Fantastic' was the focus of the series second episode.

Cast:
*[[Rincewind]] - [[Wikipedia:David_Jason|David Jason]] (''Only Fools And Horses, A Touch Of Frost, The Darling Buds of May, Open All Hours)
*[[Twoflower]] - [[Wikipedia:Sean_Astin|Sean Astin]] (''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, ''The Goonies'')
*[[Trymon]] - [[Wikipedia:Tim_Curry|Tim Curry]] (''The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Legend'')
*[[Death]] (voice) - [[Wikipedia:Chistopher_Lee|Christopher Lee]] (''The Wicker Man, The Man with the Golden Gun, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith)
*[[Lord Vetinari]] - [[Wikipedia:Jeremy_Irons|Jeremy Irons]] (''Die Hard with a Vengance, Dead Ringers'')
*[[Cohen the Barbarian]] - [[Wikipedia:David_Bradley|David Bradley]] (''Harry Potter'' series, ''Hot Fuzz'')
*[[Bethan]] - [[Wikipedia:Laura_Haddock|Laura Haddock]] (''Honest, How Not To Live Your Life'')
*[[Galder Weatherwax]] - [[Wikipedia:James_Cosmo|James Cosmo]] (''Highlander, Braveheart, Trainspotting'')
*[[Librarian | Head Librarian of the Unseen University]] - [[Wikipedia:Nicolas_Tennant|Nicolas Tennant]] ([[TV and Film:Hogfather|''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'']])
*[[Liessa]] - [[Wikipedia:Karen_David|Karen David]]
*[[Herrena]] - [[Wikipedia:Liz_May_Brice|Liz May Brice]]
*[[Arch-Astronomer]] - [[Wikipedia:Nigel_Planer|Nigel Planer]] (''The Young Ones'')
*[[The Luggage]] - [[Wikipedia:Richard_Da_Costa|Richard Da Costa]]
*[[Lumuel Panter]] - [[Wikipedia:Roger_Ashton-Griffiths|Roger Ashton-Griffiths]]
*[[Zlorf Flannelfoot]] - [[Wikipedia:Miles_Richardson|Miles Richardson]]
*[[Kring]] - [[Wikipedia:James_Perry|James Perry]]
*[[Broadman]] - [[Wikipedia:Stephen_Marcus|Stephen Marcus]] ([[TV and Film:Hogfather|''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'']])

The TV adaptation also adds characters not referenced in the original book like [[Hector Tugelbend]] and [[Ransak Boggett]], who are essentially "placeholder" characters added for completion who are referenced only once, with minimal information, and then disappear again.

===[[Game:The Colour of Magic|Video Game]]===
{{TCOM}} and The Light Fantastic were adapted into a text adventure video game [[Game:The Colour of Magic|''The Colour of Magic'']] in 1986.

===[[Book:The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic|Graphic Novel]]===
The novel was adapted into a series of four comics illustrated by Steven Ross. These were then collected into a single edition in 1993 and then later in 2008 combined with the other collected edition based on {{TCOM}} into the omnibus [[Book:The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic|''The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic'']].

In 2008 {{TCOM}} and The Light Fantastic were reprinted together in a 25th anniversary edition with illustrations by [[Stephen Player]].

===[[Theatre Adaptations|Theatre]]===
Elements of the book were used in the playtext [[Book:The Rince Cycle|''The Rince Cycle'']] by [[Stephen Briggs]] in 2015.

==Gallery==
{|
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:LF First.jpg|120px|thumb|First Edition Cover by [[Josh Kirby]]]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF Compact.jpg|thumb|140px|Compact Edition 1995]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF Black.jpg|thumb|110px|Paperback 2004]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF Tape.jpg|thumb|120px|Audio Cassette]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF CD.jpg|thumb|140px|Audio CD]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF US1.jpg|thumb|110px|US Cover 2005]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF US2.jpg|thumb|110px|US Cover 2013]]
|}
{|
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:TCOM LF Illustrated.jpg|thumb|110px|Illustrated Edition by [[Stephen Player]]]]
| valign="top" | [[File:TCOM LF Movie.jpg|thumb|110px|Omnibus with TV Cover]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF Zoom.jpg|thumb|120px|Paperback 2012]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF Unseen.jpg|thumb|120px|Unseen Library Edition]]
| valign="top" | [[File:LF CL.jpg|thumb|110px|Collectors Library Edition]]
|}

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-light-fantastic.html ''The Light Fantastic'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=The Colour of Magic|series=Discworld|after=Equal Rites}}
{{series|before=The Colour of Magic|series=Rincewind|after=Sourcery}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Light Fantastic, The]]
[[Category:Rincewind Series|Light Fantastic, The]]
[[de:Buch:Das Licht der Phantasie]]

Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Book:The Light Fantastic