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Interesting Times

Interesting Times

Comic FictionFantasy
Pages
383
Published
1994
Language
English

Synopsis

The Emperor of the Agatean Empire has requested a 'Great Wizzard' — and only one person in the Discworld has that precise (mis)spelling on file. Rincewind is summoned, against his will, to the most populous and dangerous empire on the Disc, just as revolution stirs. A satire of ancient China and the Confucian political tradition that also serves as a meditation on what it means to be brave in a world that keeps trying to kill you. First published 1994.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

FunnyWhimsical
Fish Out of WaterPortal Fantasy

Genres

Comic Fiction Fantasy High Fantasy Satire Humor

About the author

T
Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was an English author best known for the Discworld series, a sequence of forty-one comic fantasy novels set on a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle. Across four decades, the Discworld grew from a parody of sword-and-sorcery fantasy into one of the most sustained works of social satire in English literature, examining politics, religion, science, gender, race, capitalism, and the nature of stories themselves. Pra...

Characters

RincewindProtagonist

A cowardly, perpetually unlucky wizard who has survived by sheer accident and now finds himself teleported to a distant continent.

Lord HongAntagonist

The calculating, Ankh-Morpork-educated Grand Vizier of the Agatean Empire, secretly engineering the peasant uprising to seize the Empire for himself.

Cohen the BarbarianSupporting

The ancient, toothless barbarian hero who resurfaces with his Silver Horde — a gang of very old but very dangerous warriors — to conquer the Agatean Empire.

TwoflowerSupporting

The world's first tourist, now back in his homeland, whose naive revolutionary handbook has inspired an uprising he never intended.

The LuggageSupporting

The indestructible sapient chest, which has been living in the Agatean Empire since the end of The Light Fantastic and is not happy about it.

All characters in Interesting Times

Frequently asked questions

  • When was Interesting Times published?

    First published on 25 October 1994 by Victor Gollancz. It is the seventeenth Discworld novel and the fifth Rincewind book.

  • What does the title mean?

    The title refers to the apocryphal 'Chinese curse': 'May you live in interesting times.' Rincewind, who has survived purely by running away from interesting events, finds himself in the most interesting times imaginable.

  • What does Interesting Times satirize?

    The novel is a parody of ancient China — the Confucian bureaucracy, the mandate of heaven, the weight of tradition, and the paradox of an imperial system that simultaneously demands total compliance and contains the seeds of its own rebellion.

  • Is this book controversial for its depiction of Asian culture?

    In later years, Pratchett acknowledged that the novel reflected the limitations of his perspective and that the portrayal of Agatean culture was more caricature than satire. It remains a popular Rincewind book but is often noted as one of the series' less nuanced entries.

  • Does Twoflower's return matter if I haven't read The Colour of Magic?

    Twoflower's reunion with Rincewind is emotionally richer with knowledge of The Colour of Magic, but Interesting Times provides enough context. It works as a standalone Rincewind adventure.

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