{"id":4389,"date":"2017-12-05T05:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4389"},"modified":"2017-12-03T10:16:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-03T18:16:00","slug":"mark-reads-the-last-hero-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2017\/12\/mark-reads-the-last-hero-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Last Hero’: Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third part of The Last Hero<\/i>, Cohen explains to an old friend why he wants to end the world. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some set-up happening here\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwith the wizards and with the church\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a HUGE element of this story that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finally come to the fore. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll save that for last because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the got the most to discuss. But I did want to open this up by saying that The Last Hero<\/i> feels a lot like the first few Discworld<\/i> books. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot more explicitly a satire of fantasy, which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a bad thing. It lends itself well to being an illustrated novella, you know? The illustrations are adding a great deal to the experience of reading this, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pleasant surprise. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reminded of some of the illustrated books I read as a kid. My mom had this killer collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories that included one full-page illustration per story, and the illustrations were SO FUCKING GOOD. (I cannot find this version online or I would link it here.) I also loved when books had little illustrations at the start of chapters, too! Like I said before, being a non-visual reader means that anything that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll help me picture this world in my head is a great plus for me.<\/p>\n

As for the story, this is a lot of fun. I was thrilled, though, that the major focus in this section was on Cohen. Even if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care for their last appearance in this series, I must admit to being into the theme Pratchett is exploring here. So much of the Discworld<\/i> series is a meta-textual analysis of storytelling. Characters are obsessed with the role they play in traditional narratives, so much so that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re aware of what trope their life fulfills. Thus, when characters start to stray from those roles, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friction. Sometimes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s internal, often it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s external, but it happens. Even within the brief scene with Hughnon Ridcully shows us how committed some of these people are to archetypes and beliefs, though I suspect Pratchett is still toying with us. Lord Vetinari is clever as hell, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reason he wants all<\/i> the priests and religious leaders to offer up a prayer to Cori Celesti. We just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know where it is.<\/p>\n

Then we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the Horde. In every sense, they fit this sort of categorization to a T. They all believe that there is a set way in which they are to behave and live their lives because<\/i> they are heroes. They conquer, they destroy, they get women, and they die heroically.<\/p>\n

So what the hell happens when that last thing doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> happen?<\/p>\n

Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the impetus for the events in The Last Hero<\/i>. These men weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just successful at their roles; they were too<\/i> good, and that means that all of them survived<\/i>. The kidnapping of the minstrel makes more sense given this because these men are convinced that this really is going to be the final battle for all of them. They want someone to be there to take note of this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153saga\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so that they can be immortalized in song. This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to go as planned, though, is it? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pratchett, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m expecting something<\/i> in this narrative to be twisted, right?<\/p>\n

Perhaps that first twist will be Evil Harry, whose group of Henchmen might actually join Cohen\u00e2\u20ac\u201dan actual alliance, oh my god\u00e2\u20ac\u201din returning fire to the gods. With interest, of course. So why not<\/i> seek out the ending you want instead of waiting for nature to take its course and kill you by choking on a cucumber?<\/p>\n

This is gonna be a hot mess, I just know it.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/DTg3rkX4Xh4<\/p>\n

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

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"