Sourcery: A Discworld Novel

By Terry Pratchett

“Delightful. . . logically illogical as only Terry Pratchett can write.”—Anne McCaffrey

Will the most unlikely hero in all of Discworld save the universe once again . . . or has his luck finally run out in this wildly funny installment in Sir Terry Pratchett’s internationally bestselling series, a hilarious mix of magic, mayhem, and Luggage.

Once upon a time, there was an eighth son of an eighth son who was, of course, a wizard. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, said wizard then had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son—a wizard squared (that’s all the math, really)—who, of course, was a source of magic, a sourcerer.

Unseen University, the most magical establishment on the Discworld, has finally got its wish: the emergence of a wizard more powerful than they’ve ever seen. But be careful what you wish for . . .

As the drastic consequences of sourcery begin to unfold, it’s up to one unlikely wizard to save them. Rincewind has survived a string of misadventures, including falling off the edge of the world—which is no mean feat when it’s flying through space on the back of a turtle and held up by four elephants. Now, he must take the University’s most precious artifact, the very embodiment of magic itself, and deliver it halfway across the Disc to prevent a mathematically blessed sourcerer from leading the wizards to dominate all of Discworld.

Can Rincewind and his tiny band, including the carnivorous Luggage, stave off the Apocalypse?

The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but Sourcery is the 3rd installment in the Wizards series and the 5th Discworld book. The other books in the Wizards collection include:

• The Color of Magic
• The Light Fantastic
• Eric
• Interesting Times
• The Last Continent
• Unseen Academicals

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061807145

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

Reviews for Sourcery

[fyrefly98 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Summary: The eighth son of an eighth son becomes a wizard, able to use magic. But the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son becomes a wizard squared, a sourcerer, a source of magic. After the early sourcerers nearly destroyed the whole of reality, wizards were forbidden to have families to prevent any more sourcerers entering the world. But one renegade wizard left the university, and had eight sons, and the youngest, Coin, has come to claim his place as archchancellor of the Unseen University. But Coin's arrival (along with the spirit of his father in his enchanted staff) threatens to shake things up, and while the wizards enjoy the initial increase in their powers and abilities, once the status quo gets really threatened, they start to have second thoughts. So it's up to Rincewind, the Luggage, the Librarian (who happens to be an orangutan) and their unlikely cast of allies to stop Coin from destroying everything. But how can they, when he's the source of any magic they might try to use against him?Review: This installment is the third of the Rincewind books, after The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic. And it's definitely less loose and more self-contained and less sprawling than either of the previous two. It doesn't share the same episodic travelogue feel of those two; instead, all the action centers around the Unseen University (although we aren't with Rincewind the whole time; there are other characters who get points of view.) This is good in some ways - there's a very clear story thread and way less narrative wandering - but making the story more centralized also makes it feel smaller. And small is not really what you want in a novel when the fate of the fabric of reality is at stake. I also didn't feel like it had quite as many funny bits as the previous novels, either. That's not to say it wasn't funny - there were some great bits and one-liners, to be sure (although I don't think any of Pratchett's early books can stack up to his later ones) - but Twoflower added a comic element that was missing from this one, although the Luggage remains, and is frequently the best character around. Overall, I enjoyed this fine while I was reading it, although it didn't bowl me over with its awesomeness, and although lightness was what I was after when I picked it up, it was light enough that it's mostly evaporated from my memory a few months later. 3.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: While this would work okay as a standalone, it's much better knowing who Rincewind is. And while I don't think the Rincewind books are Pratchett's best, they're good fun when you're in the mood for his combination of dry humor and utter silliness.

[fred_mouse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pratchett turns his particular flavour of irreverence towards prophecy, sorcery, and the end of the world as we/they know it. When one breaks the rules of wizards, sometimes dreadful things happen, and this is a mix of romp, wacky adventure, and well paced humour.

[adilinaria · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is probably one of the best ones I've read so far. The books have hit a stride with have a good stable plot and not too much meandering to them. It also helps that Rincewind is probably one of my favorites - if not my favorite character so far. He and Death are pretty close for first right now. I'm definitely going to try and blaze through the next 4 to get to Eric, which is his next book.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rincewind being Rincewind, Luggage being Luggage, the other wizards being unlikable as usual, with a couple of new characters thrown in for good measure. And the Discworld series plods along. *shrug* Death does make a quick appearance, and I do like him, and the Librarian gets more page time, and he's fairly adorable. So there's that. I still don't get the maniacal fandom for this series yet, though.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such fun! The more I read the Rincewind books, the more I love the Luggage.

[bezoar44 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To remember later: a wizard puts his soul into a staff to dominate his sourcerer-son, unleashing the Apocralypse on Discworld. In the process, Rincewind and other characters travel across the ocean to an Arabian Nights-ish land, and three of the Four Horsemen catch a walk-on role.It's a strange experience to read well-crafted humor, to appreciate the precision and creativity with which it is written, and yet to find it at best droll rather than funny. A number of my friends find Pratchett's humor a rich vein. So, at least I have good taste in friends, even if the books are mostly lost on me. The mockery of Orientalist aesthetic attitudes is a nice touch in this one.

[5eva5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ipslore the Red eludes Death by transfering his essential being into his son's wizard's staff and goes on to rule both his son and Ankh-Morpork until Rincewind clumsily fights him. Terry Pratchett was a genius. His characters are about as funny as characters can get and his world building is very close to flawless. The books can be read in any order, but I'm going for publication order the first time around. Death is my favorite character and Rincewind follows close behind, but there is not one storyline that isn't as good or better than most other stories I've read.

[larkken · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rincewind is a wizard, not because he is any good at magic, but because he believes himself to be one in his very heart-of-hearts. When a sorcerer - who doesn't just use magic, but is a source for new magic - comes to Unseen University and changes what it means to be a wizard, this conviction (and coincidentally, the rest of the world) stands on shaky ground. While the end of the world is possibly much more important than Rincewind's sense of place in it, he must reconcile who he is with how everyone else sees him in order to help anyone. Either helping or hindering, Conina (a barbarian brawler's daughter but wanna-be hairdresser), Creosote (a rich drunk masquerading as a simple poet), and Nigel (a grocer's son attempting to become a hero) all accompany Rincewind and attempt to come to terms with their own lots in life.An entertaining view, as ever, which examines the role of talent in determining who any one person is meant to be. While the ending was a bit abrupt, and possibly flat, I'm always a fan of Rincewind's bumbling and reluctant adventures.

[pizzakarin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was...ok. It was neither bad nor good.

I listen to audiobooks at work and some keep me occupied, but this one didn't. My attention kept slipping away. I didn't even make it to the end. I was half an hour from the end but I had lost the threads of all the plots.

[dark_phoenix54 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

No, that title isn’t a misspelling. It’s one of Pratchett’s plays on words that he’s so fond of. Because in this book – which was the fifth Discworld novel- sourcery is when magic goes beyond wizardry and taps into the very source of magic- raw power that ordinary wizards can’t touch. ‘Sourcery’ takes on sword and sorcery fantasies, taking satirical swipes at pretty much all the big ones- Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Fantasia, The Tempest, Conan the Barbarian, 1001 Nights, Fafhrd and Grey Mouser- with a few bits from Omar Khayyam, Kublai Khan and Casablanca along the way. But unlike many satires, this is also a great story. When the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son is born, he is not just a wizard but a sourcerer. His father, who was fated to die shortly after the child’s birth, tricks Death by becoming a part of the wizard’s staff he gives to his infant son, which allows him to control his son and the power he wields. Father isn’t completely sane, and his aim is to destroy the Unseen University and its wizards- and the world. He puts this action into motion when the boy is 10, thinking it’s going to be an easy thing. But he hasn’t counted on the inept wizard Rincewind and his sentient pearwood Luggage, the Unseen University’s orangutan librarian, a wizard’s hat, the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian’s daughter, a would be adventurer who is learning adventuring from a book, and a genie who doesn’t follow the usual genie pattern. While all these characters are funny, not one of them is flat or there just for a single joke. They are all interesting people who have backstory and dimension, people who we come to care about. And while the events of the prospective end of the world happen in a ridiculous fashion, the threat and danger is real. It’s not an easy task to make a satire that incorporates these things. One of my favorite Discworld novels so far- other than the Tiffany Aching ones, of course.

[Guy Cabell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really must congratulate Mr. Pratchett on the cleverness with which he created his novels. The stories are always well constructed around a central idea, and are always infused with subtle humor at every opportunity.

[edwinkort · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

begint beter te worden. of ga ik de schrijver meer snappen.

[pwaites_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sourcery is the fifth Discworld book and stands alone from any of the others. However, it’s definitely not one I would suggest starting with. If you’re interested in Discworld, I would suggest trying Guards! Guards!, Going Postal, or Small Gods.Sourcery is one of the weakest books, and is more reminiscent of The Light Fantastic than anything else. It follows Rincewind and the wizards of the Unseen University when a sorcerer shows up, ready to take over the world.I guess I just don’t find the plot of this one compelling. It’s very loose and unstructured, even if it’s grand in scale. There’s also the issue of Rincewind being the only memorable character. All the other wizards up to Moving Pictures are completely forgettable and get changed every book. The odd assortment of people Rincewind ends up traveling with really aren’t that intriguing or anything more than one note characters. In fact, they don’t even really do anything.The installment also does badly on the female character front – at the levels of the first two books in the series. Conina is the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian but actually wants to be a hairdresser. She’s a fearsome fighter due to her barbarian genes, but she’s more a joke and walking sex appeal than anything else. She’s also the only female character to speak, or even to be named, in the entire book.Sourcery‘s saving graces? There’s a pretty good Rincewind scene near the end that serves as a very memorable moment for his character. Vetinari’s introduced. The Librarian gets a significant amount of page time. It’s also, being a Pratchett novel, reliably funny.I’d recommend this one only to people who are already fans of the series.Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

[Victoria Fratts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Discworld books ft Rincewind have yet to disappoint. <3

[griffin22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the earlier books, Pratchett was really getting into his stride here if not quite at his peak. Rincewind and the luggage are back to save the day, unwillingly of course.

[ron18-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I think I've given the Rincewind books as much of a chance as I can. This book was chock-full of descriptions of action that felt like inconsequential gobbledy gook. About halfway through, I'd decided I need to give Pratchett a break. He's a smart, funny writer... but the last few have fallen flat for me. I have to read later Discworld books when I'm ready to give them another try - the early ones aren't very good, in my opinion.

[Jan Dumas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fun, just plain fun.

[Jen Addotta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Terry Pratchett kicks ass!

[mbmackay · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The fifth Discworld book, and definitely not the best!It has all the hallmarks of the previous books - an OK plot, fun characters, droll British humour - but just never comes together.The story is told by frequent jumps from one part of the action to another. Every scene change happens predictaby at a point of drama. The break in the narrative is marked only by a double line-spacing between paragraphs in the ebook version I read. Perhaps if there had been some more visible indicator, the jumps might have been less annoyng.The book seemed like Pratchett was going through the motions, churning out yet another book in the series. His heart didn't seem to be in it - and neither was mine.

[neverstopreading-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 This is one of the books I would recommend reading as an introduction to Discworld. It is a better story, funnier book, and a more exciting adventure than the first two Rincewind novels ([The Colour of Magic] and [The Light Fantastic]). However, this book assumes that you've read the first two. I think it's possible to enjoy the book without having read them, but there will be confusing bits beyond the intentional absurdities.

[richardderus · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rating: 3* of fiveYes. I listened to an audiobook. I got to 3:37:19 of approx 8:00:00 before I said "enough" so, what? 40%?It took over six and a half hours to get there because I kept falling asleep and waking up 45min later with no earthly idea what this narrator-man was talking about. I ***HATE*** Coin! The Serif, Creosote, amused me, as did the Vizier. DEATH is always fun. But in the end, it's got two strikes and three balls against it for being Pratchett, having Rincewind, and being an audiobook. I really tried, and I made it a LOT further into the tale than I expected to. I wish I liked Pratchett more, and I just cannot believe that there's no audiobook on Earth that can convince me of the medium's pleasures.

[caseyadamsstark · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The more I read about Rincewind, the fonder I become Rincewind, the wizard who consistently fails at wizarding magic, is tasked with saving the entirety of his world when an extremely powerful 10 year old sorcerer arrives to claim his throne. Rincewind's plan? Run away! Run away! What can I say that hasn't been said? Rincewind is the kind of hero who knows he's the wrong man for the job, but somehow fate continues to pick on him. Pratchett has a style that always makes me laugh, and this time, I actually find myself rallying for the poor wizard to overcome his failures. I found this story gave our main character more heart than the ones before it. And the librarian proves to be the story's soul.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have a love/hate r'ship with the Discworld books.
I enjoy every encounter I have with Rincewind, the Luggage, and the Librarian.
Carrot is mildly interesting
Bits of concepts throughout the series are clever.
Pretty much the rest of the characters, and books, annoy and/or frustrate me.

[tobinelliott · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pratchett has the same unerring ability to elicit guffaws from me as Douglas Adams did. And this particular story, while a touch scattered at times (well, seemingly more scattered than normal), was still a ton of fun.

Loving this series.

[ma_washigeri · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bit of escapism to take my mind off the scary real world. First time round would have got another half star as it was fresh and a bit edgy but familiarity makes it a comfortable read now.

[atreic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having remembered my teenage crush on Simon in Equal Rites, I diverted from the witches books to read Sorcery, and remember my crush on Coin. There isn't actually a lot of Coin in Sorcery. I find it much less irritating than many of the Rincewind books, but they're not my favourite. And Coenna is interesting, but definitely a bit problematic. Still, it's funny, page turning, and reminded me of things I know by heart but have forgotten. I don't think as a kid I saw the 'don't let your controlling parents take over your life and tell you what to do' story as clearly, which is odd. But Rincewind's 'know what you truly are, even if you're not very good at it' story is cheering.

[james_patrick_joyce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Haven't met a Pratchett book I didn't like, yet.

The magical apocalypse is coming. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse are coming. Well, they've stopped for a drink, or two... or all. And they've lost their horses. And Death just went on, ahead, anyway. So it's the 1 Horseman and the 3 Pedestrians of the Apocalypse. A snot-nosed kid who is the source of magic is going to eliminate the gods, take over the entire Discworld, and... and... something.

Rincewind, the erstwhile hero, does his usual best to run from, avoid, and curry favour from the various dangers along the way, never quite succeeding. With him is Conina, daughter of the Disc's greatest barbarian (although she just wants to be a hairdresser), and Nijel Harebut, who is your average, skinny, nothing who read a book on being a barbarian (written by Conina's father) and decided he'd have a go at that. No, it's not a cohort to inspire confidence or fear.

Great Sourcerer (not a typo) battles, physics-defying journeys, a time-share genie who is just TOO overworked, and the usual spread of madness, mayhem, and magic.

And the character of DEATH, being his usual, literal self.

Lots of fun.

[ravenwood1984 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Yet another book starring our beloved Rincewind. In this book we meet the boy Coin, the first sourcerer in ages, posessed of his father

[lilibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book 5 in the Discworld series. A young sourcerer is controlled by his father's spirit, embedded in his wizard's staff.

[bobbybslax · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The plot is about as zany and meandering as any Discworld book I've read so far, but it didn't make me laugh as much and it felt incomplete in terms of developing its characters.