★★★☆☆ Where does Wizards' magic come from?

Sourcery

Terry Pratchett, Colin Morgan (narrator), Peter Serafinowicz (narrator), Bill Nighy (narrator)

Sourcery is the fifth novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and the third Rincewind novel. If I have a complaint about this novel, it is the plot. What about the plot? Well, to be honest, I can't say. I finished the book two days ago, and already I find it difficult to remember the story. Lots of Wizards fighting battles and Rincewind getting caught up in troubles that he is, as always, unequipped to deal with. It does not appear to me that this novel is really meant to be a story. It is more of an infrastructure novel. By that I mean that it lays out more about how the Discworld works and introduces some new characters that Pratchett can use in future novels.

The story of the novel, such as it is, concerns where the magic of Wizards comes from. (Not Discworld magic in general, but the magic used by Discworld Wizards.) It comes from a more basic and powerful magic called Sourcery -- the inclusion of the word "source" in there is not accidental.

Of the new characters, the ones I enjoyed the most were Conina and Nijel the Destroyer, who are a a Barbarian princess and Barbarian warrior, not entirely in that order. We also have old friends Rincewind, and where Rincewind is, The Luggage can't be far away.

The weakness of the plot is not the problem it might be for another author. Plot is often incidental in Pratchett's writing. One reads for the moments when he breaks into incandescent and explosive prose. No one does it like Sir Terry. It's not enough on its own to make great Literature, but it is enough that he's always fun to read.

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