Amazon.co.uk: The Last Hero (Gollancz S.F.): Terry Pratchett, Paul Kidby: Books

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Amazon.co.uk 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 colour 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 50-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 harbours 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. Don't miss this one. --David Langford

Book Description
The #1 bestseller for Christmas 2001 -- a brand new Terry Pratchett Discworld novel illustrated throughout in full colour by Paul Kidby

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First Sentence
The place where the story happened was a world on the back of four elephants perched on the shell of a giant turtle. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

64 Reviews

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

A Collector's Item, 6 Jan 2004

By	"dudara" - See all my reviews

This book makes a fantastic addition to anyone's collection of Discworld stories. First of all, it's described as a fable; in other words, it's short. But it is illustrated by the accomplished Paul Kidby who does magnificent work in bringing the Discworld and its motley characters to life.

Cohen the Barbarian and his now geriatric Silver Hoarde are determined to leave the world remembered as the heroes that they once were. To this end, they commissioned a ballad from a young bard and are off to blow up the mountain of the gods. Sounds simple eh?

However, to avoid them bringing about the end of the world, Lord Vetinari commissions the eccentric genius inventor Lenonardo da Quirm to build a craft to reach the mountain of the gods double-fast. (Kidby's illustrations include pages from Leonardo's notebooks, in the style of DaVinvci). Powered by dragons, who have been fed a very careful diet(!!), Rincewind, Captain Carrot, Leonardo and a stowaway Librarian head off into the void.

Hilariously funny, as all Pratchett's books are, there is also an underlying note to this tale, concerning the aged and their desire to be remembered for their deeds and not their decrepitude. This sombre thread is in line with the recent development of the Discworld novels, especially "Nightwatch".
With the appearance of a new character "Evil Lord Harry Dread", as a very evil and conniving Dark Lord indeed and his crew of the stupidest henchmen imaginable, you know you're going to enjoy this.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Wonderful !!, 28 April 2002

By A Customer

If you're already a Pratchett fan then this book is hugely enjoyable. If you are new to the Discworld, then you should probably try another book first. The reason being that this is quite a bit shorter than other Pratchett works, but he uses characters from many of his 'sets' (ie; the City Watch, the Wizards etc..). Because of this, a lot of the character information and background is left out to get on with the story. This could leave a newcomer a little confused.
Also, Paul Kidby has done brilliantly with the illustrations. The attention to detail is marvelous and i agree with his interpretations of every charcter. Except one. Captain Carrot most certainly does not look like that.
Otherwise, the story easily matches Pratchett's other books, even if it is a little short.
A very funny read

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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

All the best elements of the series, 27 Oct 2001

By A Customer

This book (or Fable, as it is rather bafflingly subtitled) has all my favourite characters from the series, including more of Rincewind, the wizards and the inscrutable Patrician. The stand- out, of course, is Cohen the elderly marauder and his Silver Horde (it matches the colour of their hair). They were hilarious in Interesting Times, and now they haven't changed a bit, complaining about how much better things were in the old days, and how uppity monsters are getting these days. In this book there is real pathos in their mumbling - they have set out on this last adventure to look for a glorious death. Of course, it's no good having a glorious death if there's no one around to record it and write the saga...

Of course, bringing all these characters together in one book could have been a weakness; The Gang's All Here, sort of thing. But Pratchett does it all so convincingly, and the story is so enjoyable, that this is a minor quibble.

It would be hard to say whether I enjoyed the pictures or the story more, as they are so complementary, but I would say that Kidby is the star of the book. Some of his pictures will really take your breath away. His great talent is an ability to draw both comic characters and great sweeping landscapes with the same style. And there is a wealth of detail in his Leonardo Da Vinci- style sketches (including one for a Velcro frying pan).

Compelling storyline combined with amazing pictures. It can only get 5 stars. One warning though; this is not a good starting point for reading the Discworld novels. And the story itself is quite short; I had it read in a day. But I can't deduct any marks for that, I'm too much of a fan, as you may have guessed.
Please, more Pratchett-Kidby collaborations.