In the sixth part of The Last Continent, what the FUCK. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Discworld.Â
How do I do this WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY.
Mono Island
I HAD TO TYPE OUT THE NAME OF THE ISLAND TO FUCKING UNDERSTAND THIS, OH MY GOD. ONE. ONE OF EVERYTHING.
I desperately want to make my review just this epiphany because I feel like a giant fool but there are other things I need to say. Like: let us discuss how I was right about the images that Rincewind saw in that cave, and yet? Pratchett found a way to pull the rug out from under me anyway. I have only loose ideas of what this all is. Perhaps the Creator – the one that Scrappy and Rincewind later discuss – thought it would be cool to put one of everything on an island? And then it all got destroyed or something? Except then my brain can’t ignore how little sense this makes.
Why? Why have such bizarre things readily available in “natural†form but almost none of the actual things you might find on an island like this? Wouldn’t an island that contained one of everything need to be a lot bigger? Why aren’t there other foods or items from cultures other than Ankh-Morporkian??? Is there Klatchian curry somewhere? This all feels specific to one place.
AND THEN PRATCHETT THROWS IN A DINOSAUR AND NOTHING MAKES SENSE EVEN MORE THAN IT PREVIOUSLY DID. Why only one dinosaur? Why is that the only other non-plant living thing on the island? Did it really eat the geography professor?
I DON’T UNDERSTAND. AT ALL. WHY DID THE DINOSAUR TURN FLAT AND THEN INTO A LITTLE BALL? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN THIS BOOK?
The Quest
My only clue so far (at least, one that I’ve actually picked up on) comes from the extended conversation that Rincewind has with Scrappy. All this talk of a Creator makes me think that I’m being given the answer to Mono Island. Maybe??? The roundabout way in which Pratchett invokes time travel might be the other clue, but I’m not so sure. We learn here why the book is titled The Last Continent: it was the last one thrown on the Disc by the creator. Across all the various universes, there is a continent that is created/added/ last, and our version of it is Australia. And for some reason, this country needs saving by Rincewind. Why? Well, because he already saved it, and if he doesn’t go do it, then it won’t get done, except he already did it?
Unsurprisingly, Rincewind runs away from this quest because… well, it’s Rincewind. It’s what he does. But this is the same man who once met the same Creator that Scrappy refers to, who dropped a raw prawn sandwich into the pool of life, who can’t avoid destiny no matter how hard he tries to. So… what’s the connection? It seemed suspicious to me that Pratchett would reference that plot in a book about time travel and the affects of the wizards on a world that is thousands and thousands of years younger.
WHAT IS THE CONNECTION. THERE HAS TO BE ONE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NWVzH6jYa8
Mark Links Stuff
– I am now on Patreon! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.
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