The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable - Softcover

Pratchett, Terry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575081961 ISBN 13: 9780575081963

Publisher: Gollancz, 2007

Synopsis

Cohen the Barbarian is going on one final quest. He's going to climb the highest mountain in the Discworld and meet his gods. The last hero in the world is going to return what the first hero stole.

About this title

Review:

A new Discworld story is always an event. Terry Pratchett's The Last Hero is unusually short, a 40,000-word "Discworld Fable" rather than a full novel, but is illustrated throughout in sumptuous color by Paul Kidby.

The 160 pages cover the series' longest and most awesome (but still comic) journey yet, a mission to save all Discworld from a new threat. An old threat, actually. Aged warrior Cohen the Barbarian has decided to go out with a bang and take the gods with him. So, with the remnants of his geriatric Silver Horde, he's climbing to the divine retirement home Dunmanifestin with the Discworld equivalent of a nuke--a fifty-pound keg of Agatean Thunder Clay.

This will, for excellent magical reasons, destroy the world.

It's up to Leonard of Quirm, Discworld's da Vinci, to invent the technology that might just beat Cohen to his goal. His unlikely vessel is powered by dragons, crewed by himself and two popular regular characters, and secretly harbors a stowaway. Before long we hear the Discworld version of "Houston, we have a problem...."

Kidby rises splendidly to the challenge of painting both funny faces and cosmic vistas. As Pratchett puts it, The Last Hero "has an extra dimension: some parts of it are written in paint!" New characters include Evil Dark Lord Harry Dread, who started out with "just two lads and his Shed of Doom," and a god so tiresome that his worshippers are forbidden chocolate, ginger, mushrooms and garlic.

Pratchett's story alone is strong and effective, with several hair-raising frissons contrasting with high comedy; Kidby's paintings make it something very special. Not to be missed. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk

About the Author:

Sir Terry Pratchett is a publishing phenomenon. Among his many prizes and citations are the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award, the Carnegie Medal, the BSFA Award, eight honorary doctorates and, of course, a knighthood. In 2012, he won a BAFTA for his documentary on the subject of assisted suicide, 'Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die'. He is the author of fifty bestselling books but is best known for the globally renowned Discworld series. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, and the series is still going strong almost three decades later. Four Discworld novels - Hogfather, Going Postal, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic - have been adapted for television, with more to follow. His books have sold approximately 85 million copies worldwide (but who's counting?), and been translated into forty languages. In 2007, Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. He died in 2015. Paul Kidby discovered Terry Pratchett's Discworld in 1993 and since then has devoted his working life to the place. He is the illustrator of THE PRATCHETT PORTFOLIO, TERRY PRATCHETT'S DISCWORLD COLOURING BOOK, the bestsellers THE LAST HERO and THE ART OF DISCWORLD, as well as the Discworld DIARIES, cards, T-shirts, maps, mugs and, of course, the covers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0575081961
• ISBN 13: 9780575081963
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160