The Colour of Magic

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Terry Pratchett The Discworld series 1st novel – 1st Rincewind story
Outline
Characters:	Rincewind Twoflower The Luggage
Locations:	Ankh-Morpork Krull
Motifs:	Fantasy clichés, Role-playing games
Publication details
Year of release:	1983
Original publisher:	Colin Smythe
Hardback ISBN:	ISBN 0-86140-324-X
Paperback ISBN:	ISBN 0-552-12475-3
Other details
Awards:
Notes:	93rd in the Big Read

The Colour of Magic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett. It is the first of the Discworld series and was published in 1983. It is also one of only eight Discworld novels to be divided into sections or chapters, the others being Pyramids, Going Postal, Making Money, and the four books for young readers, specifically The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents and the three Tiffany Aching books, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith. Each chapter is in fact a separate short story featuring the same characters. The idea of The Colour of Magic - that all that happens is due to the gods' gambling – is somewhat similar to traditional role-playing games, in that the roll of the dice determines what happens to the characters.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Ideas and themes 3 Continuity 4 Translations 5 Adaptations 5.1 Graphic novel 5.2 TV adaptation 5.3 Computer game 6 External links 7 References 8 Notes

[edit] Plot summary

The main character is the incompetent and cynical wizard Rincewind, who involuntarily finds himself as a guide to the naive tourist, Twoflower. After they are forced to flee from the city of Ankh-Morpork after a terrible fire they are sent on a journey across the disc which is unknowingly being controlled by a board game being played by the Gods. They meet two barbarians on their way out of Morpork, Bravd and Weasel.

After their visit to Wyrmberg, the upside-down mountain which is home to dragons that only exist in the imagination, their journey leads them to the country of Krull, perched on the very edge of the Discworld where they are thrown off the edge of the Disc due to the Krullians' urge to find out the gender of Great A'Tuin (the turtle which is swimming through space with four elephants resting the Disc on top).

The story is continued in the succeeding Discworld novel, The Light Fantastic.

[edit] Ideas and themes

The barbarians, Bravd and Weasel, are parodies of Fritz Leiber's fantasy heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The city of Ankh-Morpork is also a parody of Leiber's Lankhmahr.

Rincewind and Twoflower have a narrow escape from Bel-Shamharoth — a monster inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft who wrote many stories in a universe where unspeakable Evil lives, and where Ancient Gods (with unpronounceable names) play games with the lives of mortals. He also wrote a story called The Colour out of Space, about an indescribable, unearthly colour.

The number eight is important on the Discworld, being closely associated with magic. Wizards avoid saying the number out loud, and Octarine is the Disc's eighth colour, the colour of magic as described in the title. This is reflected in the title of the French translation of the book La Huitième Couleur — (lit: The Eighth Colour).

The upside-down mountain of Wyrmberg is apparently inspired by the Dragonriders of Pern novels of Anne McCaffrey.

[edit] Continuity

The story continues where it leaves off, in the sequel The Light Fantastic.

[edit] Translations

Language Title Round-trip translation Notes Bulgarian Цветът на магията The Colour of Magic Chinese(mainland) 魔法的颜色 The Colour of Magic Croatian Boja čarolije The Colour of Magic Czech Barva kouzel The Colour of Magic Danish Når magien bliver for broget When Magic Becomes too Tangled 1st translation Danish Magiens Farve The Colour of Magic 2nd translation Dutch De Kleur van Toverij The Colour of Magic Estonian Võlukunsti värv The Colour of Magic Finnish Magian väri The Colour of Magic French La Huitième couleur The 8th Colour German Die Farben der Magie The Colours of Magic Greek Το χρωμα της μαγειας [1] The Colour of Magic Hebrew [2] צבע הכשף The Colour of Magic/The magic's colour Hungarian A mágia színe The Colour of Magic Icelandic Litbrigði Galdranna The Colour of Magic Italian Il Colore della Magia The Colour of Magic Part of an omnibus.[3] Korean 마법의 색 Lithuanian Magijos spalva The Colour of Magic Norwegian Magiens farge The Colour of Magic Polish Kolor magii The Colour of Magic Portuguese A Cor da Magia The Colour of Magic Romanian Culoarea Magiei The Colour of Magic Russian Цвет волшебства The Colour of Magic Serbian Boja Magije The Colour of Magic Slovak Farba Mágie The Colour of Magic Slovene Barva Magije The Colour of Magic Spanish El Color de la Magia The Colour of Magic Swedish Magins färg The Colour of Magic Turkish Büyünün Rengi The Colour of Magic [edit] Adaptations [edit] Graphic novel A graphic novel, illustrated by Steven Ross and adapted by Scott Rockwell, was published by Corgi in 1992. The graphic novel is split up into several chapters like the book, and is faithful to the source material in that it is built up like classic barbarian stories (in this case comics a la Red Sonja). Crucial differences between the book and comic include the cutting-out of some of the adventures in Ankh-Morpork and Krull. Also, in the book, the female Dragonriders are described as being topless, as barbarian women in fiction tend to be. However, to keep the graphic novel kid-friendly, the women wear chain-mail bras as well as the clothing described in the book. [edit] TV adaptation Main article: The Colour of Magic (TV film) The Mob Film Company and Sky One have produced a two-part adaptation, combining both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic broadcast over Easter 2008. Sir David Jason starred in the role of Rincewind[4]. Christopher Lee took over the role of Death from Ian Richardson[5] (a role Lee previously portrayed in the animated series Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters). [edit] Computer game Main article: The Colour of Magic (video game) The plot was adapted for a text adventure computer game in 1986. [edit] External links Annotations for The Colour of Magic Quotes from The Colour of Magic Synopsis of The Colour of Magic Sky One's "The Colour of Magic" [edit] References Sources: Colin Smythe Ltd, Babelfish translation. [edit] Notes ^ Transliteration: To chroma tis mageias. ^ Transliteration: Tzeva HaKheshef. ^ The Italian translation was published as part of I Colori della Magia (lit: The Colours of the Magic), a trilogy comprising of Il Colore di Magia (lit: The Colour of Magic), La Luce Fantastica (lit The Fantastic Light) and L’Arte della Magia (lit: The Art of Magic). ^ Del's spells as David lands role. The Sun Online (24 April 2007). Retrieved on June 8, 2007. ^ Colour of Magic Cast. Paul Kidby official website (July 31). Reading order guide Preceded by None 1st Discworld Novel Succeeded by The Light Fantastic Preceded by None 1st Rincewind Story Published in 1983 Succeeded by The Light Fantastic v • d • e Terry Pratchett's Discworld (Portal) Novels: The Colour of Magic – The Light Fantastic – Equal Rites – Mort – Sourcery – Wyrd Sisters – Pyramids – Guards! Guards! – Eric – Moving Pictures – Reaper Man – Witches Abroad – Small Gods – Lords and Ladies – Men at Arms – Soul Music – Interesting Times – Maskerade – Feet of Clay – Hogfather – Jingo – The Last Continent – Carpe Jugulum – The Fifth Elephant – The Truth – Thief of Time – The Last Hero – The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents – Night Watch – The Wee Free Men – Monstrous Regiment – A Hat Full of Sky – Going Postal – Thud! – Wintersmith – Making Money – I Shall Wear Midnight Short stories: "Troll Bridge" – "Theatre of Cruelty – "The Sea and Little Fishes" – "Death and What Comes Next" – "A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices" Other books: The Discworld Companion – The Science of Discworld – The Science of Discworld II: The Globe – The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch – The Pratchett Portfolio – The Art of Discworld – The Unseen University Challenge – The Wyrdest Link – The Streets of Ankh-Morpork – The Discworld Mapp – A Tourist Guide to Lancre – Death's Domain – Nanny Ogg's Cookbook – The Discworld Almanak – Where's My Cow? – The Unseen University Cut Out Book – The Discworld Diaries – Once More* With Footnotes – Wit and Wisdom of Discworld Games: The Colour of Magic – Discworld MUD – Cripple Mr Onion - Discworld – Discworld II – Discworld Noir – GURPS Discworld – Stealth Chess – Thud Films and TV series: Welcome to the Discworld – Soul Music – Wyrd Sisters - Hogfather – The Colour of Magic – Going Postal - Troll Bridge