{"id":4403,"date":"2017-12-19T05:00:21","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4403"},"modified":"2017-12-17T11:54:30","modified_gmt":"2017-12-17T19:54:30","slug":"mark-reads-the-last-hero-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2017\/12\/mark-reads-the-last-hero-part-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Last Hero’: Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth part of The Last Hero<\/i>, everything comes crashing down. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

This section feels like the episode before a season finale, the final build before EVERYTHING HAPPENS. All the pieces are finally moved into place, and you know I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist making that pun BECAUSE GET IT? THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE PIECES IN A GAME. And I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wondered this before, but it feels prescient now: How much of what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing is free will? How much of the events of this book are the machinations of a god? Because without the scenes of the gods playing a game with the lives of these characters, I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t question this at all. But like I said the last time we had the gods involved in a story, I love the idea that even if<\/i> these people are having doors and pathways opened for them, they still make choices that are theirs and theirs alone.<\/p>\n

Of course, in the case of Evil Harry or the Horde, their decisions are influenced by their understanding of their role in life, another common Discworld <\/i>theme. Evil Harry betrays the Horde (by giving the gods a heads up) because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what a good villain should<\/i> do. And the Horde themselves adopt one ridiculous plan after another because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re heros. They have ridiculous plans! They put the heads of defeated foes on their own heads as a way of\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 disguising themselves\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 from gods\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 who could probably see them putting them on\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I CANNOT MAKE THIS UP, THE SILVER HORDE IS SO ABSURD.<\/p>\n

And they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to be. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re absolutely an exaggerated send-up of fantasy stereotypes and archetypes. The wizards are as well, to an extent, but one thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve liked about The Last Hero<\/i> is the presence of Carrot and Leonard alongside<\/i> Rincewind. It changes the dynamic of the scenes they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in, first of all, and I do like that Rincewind isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t alone as he usually is in his stories. Granted, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m bringing this up in a section wherein Rincewind is effectively<\/i> alone, since LEONARD WAS UNCONSCIOUS, and Rincewind had to beg for help on how to pilot the Kite<\/i>. But still! He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to land on Cori Celesti with ACTUAL HELP. Carrot is immensely capable and preternaturally lucky, and that seems like an ideal pairing for Rincewind, right? MAYBE?<\/p>\n

The gods seem excited for the Horde to arrive, and I admit I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a single theory as to how this is going to end. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I only have one more section left!!!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/KMuwvxG-Ce4<\/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":"