{"id":4068,"date":"2017-01-11T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4068"},"modified":"2017-01-02T15:31:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T23:31:50","slug":"mark-reads-the-last-continent-part-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2017\/01\/mark-reads-the-last-continent-part-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Last Continent’: Part 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourteenth part of\u00c2\u00a0The Last Continent<\/i>, Rincewind is imprisoned, and the wizards head for the last continent. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Well,\u00c2\u00a0now<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re headed somewhere. I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve figured out why this seems so directionless to me: for the first time in a long while, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reading a book that\u00c2\u00a0told<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0me the stakes, but then hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shown them. I know from what Scrappy told Rincewind that he must save Fourecks. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vital that he does. And then\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never seen\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important. The wizards\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 appearance in the past seems largely unconnected to everything, though we were told that it was important that they traveled through time. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m told a lot of things by this book, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no emotional attachment to any of this. The wizards are having as grand of a time as they could, given the circumstances, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like I feel a burning desire for them to get home. (Except that if they get home, at least they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stop treating Mrs. Whitlow so strangely. Seriously, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s getting to be absurd now.) Rincewind is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated, too. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largely the same-old story: Rincewind just wants to go home and do nothing. The universe says otherwise. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shuffled from one disaster to another, often by events he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t choose to be a part of. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually an external force that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s responsible for this, and if not, his life is ruled by an unnatural amount of coincidence. (Well, not unnatural for the Disc, I suppose!) In the end, I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been spoiled by all of the\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0books that are nothing like this.<\/p>\n

Let me give an example. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a long sequence here where Rincewind deals with being stuck in the Bugarup Gaol. Pratchett has a lot of fun poking holes in all the traditional escape plans that you might normally find in a fantasy book. (Or any prison-escape story, really!) On top of that, the warder is written in a way that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a subversion of a trope, too. Usually, wardens are gloomy and intimidating; this one, however, is painfully cheerful, even if the things he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s saying don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly qualify as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d news. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun to read aloud, which I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said a few times now in recent reviews. And it is! I FIGURED OUT THE VEGEMITE REFERENCE AS IT HAPPENED, I FEEL SO PROUD OF MYSELF. And Death! I always love a good Death scene. (Get it???)<\/p>\n

At this point, though, I need a bit more than subverting tropes or setting up jokes. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m patiently waiting for, and it feels like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on the precipice of something bigger. Tinhead Ned\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s note has helped Rincewind escape from gaol (I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE IT WAS THAT EASY), so he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now in Bugarup. I have no idea why he\u00c2\u00a0needs<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to be there, though; Scrappy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been very quiet lately. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also interested to see what the wizards are going to do on the newly-risen continent that will come to be known as XXXX. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d assumed it was already there, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be landing upon it during a very vulnerable time. That storm isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just a freak turn of the weather; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a\u00c2\u00a0huge<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0reason why the wizards are seen in present-time Fourecks. How much magic is swirling around that continent, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all? Enough for the Bursar to develop Mugroop\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Syndrome, apparently. (WHAT THE HELL IS THAT.) Enough for the thaumometer to MELT UPON CONTACT WITH THE AIR.<\/p>\n

So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 definitely looking forward to the next part.<\/p>\n

vid<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! 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.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"