Eric

I’m reviewing Terry Pratchett’s Faust Eric, the ninth book in the fantasy/satire Discworld series, and the fourth in the sub-series about Rincewind the Wizard.  It’s available as an e-book on Overdrive.

Eric is one of the books in the series which I had previously skipped over. To be honest, I find Rincewind to be about the least interesting of all Pratchett's characters; he essentially has two standing jokes, his cowardice and his animated luggage. This novel, however, was better than I expected, because of the literary allusions. Eric is a thirteen-year-old parody of Faust, with Rincewind as an improbable Mephistopheles, and the book has many quotations from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, as well as following (and ringing changes on) the basic plot outline. There are also other literary jokes.

If you are new to the Discworld series, this is not the book to start with; I would recommend the first book of one of the other subseries, for instance Equal Rites, Mort, or Guards, Guards. If you are already a fan, though, or have recently read Marlowe's play, this is a good entertaining novel you will not want to miss.