Hello, it's Reviewsday Tuesday, it's time
for a new Discworld Discourses today
And I am going to be talking about The Last Hero.
This is the 27th book in the Discworld series
by Terry Pratchett, first published in 2001.
As you can see, this book is a little unusual in the Discworld series
In that it is published in a much larger format
With illustrations on every page by Paul Kidby.
I have the hardback version. I believe that the softcover version is a bit smaller.
I feel like it might also have a few more
illustrations in it
But I'm not sure about that so don't quote me on it.
In this book the Silver Horde,
led by Cohen, the Barbarian,
Go on a quest to return fire to the gods.
Lord Vetinari is unhappy about this because it would bring about the end of the world
Which would not be great
So he sends an intrepid band of explorers
to try and stop them.
This group consists of Leonard of Quirm, the inventor, Captain Carrot of the City Watch & Rincewind the wizard.
The Last Hero is a lot shorter than the books
that we generally find in the Discworld series.
I would almost call it a short story.
My edition is 158 pages long
But because of all the illustrations it only took me about two or three days to read the whole thing.
So the story in The Last Hero, I would say,
is relatively slight and simple comparitively.
But the illustrations greatly add to the experience of reading this book.
They are beautiful and elaborate,
and as you would expect,
Completely in keeping with the tone and
the style of the Discworld.
They relate well to the place they are in the story,
which I love.
The layout makes sense.
And some of them include a great deal of
extra information,
For instance, Leonard's technical drawings.
You know, as I say, the story on its own feels
pretty slight to me,
But with the combination of the story
and the illustrations
It makes for a really great, enjoyable reading experience.
One of the things I do love about the story
of The Last Hero
Is that we get to see some characters interacting
That we have never really had the opportunity to see interacting before,
There hasn't really been much
reason for them to interact.
The obvious example is the central trio of
Leonard, Carrot, and Rincewind.
In my head The Last Hero feels a bit like a
crossover book.
The Eincewind series has had characters
More usually to be found in the City Watch series appearing, and vice versa,
It just felt more epic, I guess is the word,
in this book.
I think this might also be my favorite appearance
of the Silver Horde.
It's not my favourite book in which the Silver Horde
have appeared,
But I enjoy them as characters the most in this book.
I think it's a good book for them, wanting to be remembered and to have a last hurrah.
Ad there's also a bard in this book,
and I love a bard in a story.
I will always be won over if there was a
bard character.
Similarly, I think The Last Hero is a good Vetinari book.
Vetinari is one of my favourite characters
in the Discworld series
And I really enjoy his appearance in this book.
The Last Hero has some great writing by Pratchett.
I wouldn't say it's one of the laugh-out-loud
Discworld books,
But it is, as usual, full of wit and good quotes.
I especially enjoy the ending. The last couple of pages really stood out to me.
So yes, The Last Hero is a little different
to the rest of the Discworld series.
I wouldn't call it an entirely
essential Discworld book
But illustrations do elevate it
And there are plenty of things to enjoy from a character
and story perspective.
As such, I will give The Last Hero 3.5 out of 5.
I would still recommend reading it
And I would definitely recommend reading a  physical copy so that you can really appreciate Kidby's work.
Some facts about The Last Hero.
Although the character will appear again
in the Discworld,
This is the final book in the Rincewind series.
Many of Kidby's illustrations reference other artworks,
Such as the Bayeux Tapestry, the Vitruvian Man,
the Mona Lisa, and The Scream.
The picture of Leonard of Quirm feeding the birds has
a parrot in it with "dog" written on its wing.
This is a reference to The Truth,
two books previously in the Discworld series.
This book is, as you would expect, full of references,
Including to Mission: Impossible, Xena Warrior Princess,
Catch 22, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy.
If you liked The Last Hero, what should you read next?
This is a little difficult because there is no other Discworld book that's quite like The Last Hero,
But if you haven't yet maybe check out some of the earlier books in the Rincewind series,
For instance, The Last Continent, or Eric.
If you didn't get on so well with this book
then you could maybe try
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
which is the next book in the Discworld series,
And it's also another unusual book,
Or you could move forward to Night Watch,
or back to The Truth.
That is it for today. I would love to know what you think about The Last Hero if you have read it.
My next Discworld Discourses will be on 3rd March
And I will be reviewing
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents,
And the full list of Discworld books
and when I'm planning on reviewing them
Will be linked in the description below.
Let's move across to the end  screen.
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Or some more Discworld Discourses then you can do so below me here.
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And if you fancy checking out my Patreon page,
the link to that is in the description below.
I hope you have a fantastic day
and I will see you soon!
