Book Review: Interesting Times

Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times.  Ebook from the library, so I don't know how many pages.

Yet another venture to the Discworld.

Summary: Rincewind, the (disc)world's most hopeless wizard (he can't even spell it, for heaven's sake!) finds himself on call in a land far, far away (any resemblances to China are, I am sure, totally coincidental).  As for the rest, the title tells it all.  You know the old curse, right?  "May you live in interesting times."  Probably the thing Rincewind wants least.  He likes boring.  Boring he never seems to get.

Review:  Pratchett skates close to the edges of real political incorrectness in this one, but it's funny enough that I don't think it matters.  And however stereotypical the language problems he presents, they are not only funny but pretty accurate, at far as I understand Chinese (which admittedly is all by hearsay, as I don't in fact understand Chinese at all).  Good jokes, good adventure, and about what I expect of Pratchett's writing.  I'm trying to think of the flaws, as I'm sure there must be some.  I know I was bothered by a lack of stopping places, but I don't think that's really a flaw.  At most, it struck me that Pratchett was working a little too hard at this one, pulling up everything from the oddities of a tonal language to the terra cotta warriors and a bit that didn't quite fit the theme, about butterflies that change the weather.  Worked for me, though.

Definitely a thumbs-up.  Like Pratchett has ever earned any less from me.  Heck, I just have a lot of fun with his books!