Boek
Last Hero, The
| Auteur | Paul Kidby (illustrator) , Terry Pratchett |
| Eerste Uitgave | 2001 |
| Uitgave | 2001 |
| Uitgeverij | Gollancz |
| Vorm | roman |
| Taal | Engels |
| Bladzijden | 160 bladzijden |
| Gelezen | 2004-07-17 |
| Score | 9/10 |
Inhoud
He's been a legend in his own lifetime.
He can remember the great days of high adventure.
He can remember when a hero didn't have to worry about fences and lawyers and cicilisation.
He can remember when people didn't tell you off for killing dragons.
But he can't always remember, these days, where he put his teeth...
He's really not happy about that bit.
So now, with his ancient sword and his new walking stick and his old friends - and they're very old friends - Cohen the Barbarian is going on one final quest. It's been a good life. He's going to climb the highest mountain in the Discworld and meet his gods. He doesn't like the way they let men grow old and die.
It's time, in fact, to give something back.
The last hero in the world is going to return what the first hero stole. With a vengeance. That'll mean the and of the world, if no one stops him in time.
Someone is going to try. So who knows who the last hero really is?
Bespreking
Discworld goes beyond
In the end there is always death. Cohen the Barbarian, a legend if there ever was one, is well aware of this fact of life. Although he still remembers the glorious times when he was a young, potent stallion and still knew where he had put his forsaken teeth, the Discworld has moved on. The days of the Great Adventures are long since gone and nobody believes in heroes anymore. Together with his old friends, Truckle the Uncivil, Boy Willie, Mad Hamish and Vena the Raven-Haired, he decides to finally let go. But when they do, they do with it with vengeance! Returning to the Gods what was stolen in the first place does seem to be a nice and final statement. But what they don't know is that their little statement will end the world, everything and most of all the life of Rincewind. Everyone knows that this must be stopped, because if everything ends Rincewind will have problems finding something to hide behind.
Although in fact The Last Hero is quite a short novel in comparison to the other Discworld books, it has all it takes to compete with the best of them. Indeed the appearance of Discworld most qualified anti-hero Rincewind has been known as a guarantee for success. Nevertheless the most appealing part for me was the waterfall of references to modern space travel. What else could lead to such a nice catchphrase as: "Ank-Morpork, we have an orangutan".
To make this episode of the Discworld saga even more wonderful, Paul Kirby took this opportunity to prove that he is the ultimate Discworld-illustrator. If there was ever a guild of Discworld-illustrators, Paul would be they one and only God. In The Last Hero the role of Paul is even more special. He does not only brighten up this Discworld fable, but also adds to the story. Some jokes are purely visual like the testing of the Dragon-driven-space-suit or the architecture of the space ship.
Although many joke only reach their full potential if you know something about the Discworld background, it still stays very accessible as a first contact with Discworld.