Magic Afoot!

If you are not familiar with Terry Pratchett, perhaps we should all wait until you've gone out, bought The Color of Magic, come back and read it, and then proceed. Or we can just note that his 35+ Discworld books are all-time topsellers in England, and are well-loved the world over. They take place on a world that is a flat disc on the back of four elephants, on the back of the great turtle Atu'in, where magic works. They are hilarious, thought-provoking and addictive - and there are a ton of them. If you like Hitchhiker's Guide, imagine if Douglas Adams had written 30 more books just as funny.

If you do know Terry Pratchett (and to know him is to love him), maybe you didn't know that he has a few made-for-tv Discworld movies out, like The Color of Magic.Well, he does.

It's hard to say how funny this would be to people who haven't read the books, but to me, it is hilarious. There are a few name actors:

• Tim Curry as Trymon, a sorceror advancing rapidly through the ranks at the Unseen University, because his seniors seem to die a lot
• Christopher Lee as the voice of Death
• Jeremy Irons as the deadly Patrician, ruler of Ankh-Morpork
• Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee) as Twoflower, the first Tourist the Discworld has ever known
  

The actors I didn't recognize are even more fun - lots of wrinkly bearded guys for the wizards and of course, Cohen the barbarian, who's getting on in years.

Best of all, this movie comes in 2 parts, each over 90 minutes long. Three hours of prime Pratchett.

Even better, there's another in the series, based on the holiday-themed Hogfather. We'll queue that up in December.

In conclusion, watch for Pratchett's cameo as Astrogeographer 2.