Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett: Rincewind Runs East

Coming straight after Soul Music, this is one of those lovely Discworld gear shifts where Pratchett swings from Death, rock music, and grief into a Rincewind story that is both broader and sneakier than it first appears. Rincewind books work best when the plot is basically a disaster delivery system, and Interesting Times is a glorious example. He is yanked to the Agatean Empire because someone has asked for a Great Wizzard, which is exactly the sort of technicality the Discworld loves. He does not want destiny, revolution, warfare, prophecy, or personal growth. Naturally, he gets all of them.

What makes this one sing is the collision of old Discworld chaos with a sharper political edge. The Agatean Empire is all ceremony, walls, bureaucracy, fear, and people carefully pretending the obvious is not happening. Pratchett has fun with the exotic adventure story setup, then keeps poking holes in it. Tourism, revolution, imperial nostalgia, class, and the danger of slogans all get their turn.

The supporting cast is fantastic. Cohen the Barbarian and the Silver Horde are ridiculous in exactly the right way, ancient heroes who should not still be alive and absolutely know it. Mr Saveloy trying to civilise them is one of those Pratchett ideas that sounds like a sketch and then quietly becomes a whole argument about culture, power, and whether manners are any use when everyone has swords. Twoflower’s shadow over the story is lovely too, especially the way his innocent travel writing has become something far more combustible.

It is also just very funny. Rincewind’s cowardice remains one of the great comic engines in fantasy, because it is never really stupidity. He understands danger better than almost anyone else. The Luggage is used sparingly enough to stay funny, the wizards are pleasingly useless, and Lord Hong makes a wonderfully controlled villain precisely because he thinks he is the only sane person in the room.

If there is a criticism, it is that some of the Agatean satire is broad in a way that feels very 1990s Pratchett. It is cleverer than simple parody, but it is not always subtle. Still, the book has such momentum, such a good Rincewind premise, and such a satisfying blend of farce and bite that it earns the five.

If you like Discworld when it is a fantasy adventure, a political satire, and a pub story about impossibly old men cheating death all at once, Interesting Times is top tier Rincewind.

Rating: 5/5

The Audible UK edition is narrated by Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, and Bill Nighy and runs to 11h 12m.