#rincewind

Rincewind, the eternal coward. It's not about where you're running to, but who or what you are running from!

Er, the best Rincewind book, right?

Well, that's a complicated arena at any rate. But if The Colour Of Magic and The Light Fantastic are more prototypical, you've got Sourcery (retreading old ground), Eric (a bit of a mess) and The Last Continent (lacking in plot), this one kinda wins by default.

The story gives Rincewind more room to shine. The problem with writing a character as a coward and a cynic is that the natural reaction to a call to adventure is to run the other way, and most of Rincewind's stories have had to work very hard to keep him from just doing this. Interesting Times leans right into this. We see him at his happiest (idle, safe, bored), and when he's thrown out of this situation we see him do his level best to get back to it. On multiple occasions he literally tries to escape his adventure, and yet Pratchett deftly threads the needle of letting the character involved without it seeming out of character.

The chief of these methods is that Rincewind does have some strong personal motivation for once, beyond that of 'try to not die'. A powerful theme running throughout is that of his identity as a wizard, something that has been core to his character from the start, despite lack of ability. All the way through Interesting Times Rincewind is up against threats to that identity, from the University faculty, through Pretty Butterfly, Lord Hong and his own hat, all challenging his right to be both the 'Great Wizzard' and a wizard at all. By the end, Rincewind has managed to earn his identity as a wizard in a quintessentially Rincewind way - not through magic or bravery, but arguably still acting like a wizard.

It can't be avoided that this is also a pretty heavy satire about real world cultures by a white man who isn't a party of said cultures. This is pretty awkward, as some of the jokes do occasionally have the potential to be unkind (what exactly did Pratchett have against sumo?). But weirdly enough, I think this is actually less of a problem today than it was when the book was written.

In the early 90s China (which provides the largest amount of inspiration for the Agatean Empire) was still just emerging onto the world stage. A heavy criticism for the culture being endemically repressive all the way to the root, told by a European author, might have been seen as punching down somewhat. But today China is a global superpower, and quite frankly is able to take a few lumps here and there.

I often imagine Discworld books existing on a pair of scales, weighted either towards parody and satire. Interesting Times is practically entirely satire, which makes it easy to remark on the difference between it and the earliest books, which were entirely parody. But while Pratchett's style, and indeed his purpose, might have changed it's remarkable just how well this book links the old and the new. It's the same Rincewind, the same Twoflower as before, but the richer world gives them more room to be themselves.

I like it, is what I mean.