The Colour of Magic

Discworld, Book 1

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin. The audiobook of The Colour of Magic is read by Colin Morgan (Merlin; Testament of Youth; Belfast). BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actor Bill Nighy (Love Actually; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) reads the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace; Shaun of the Dead) stars as the voice of Death. Featuring a new theme tune composed by James Hannigan.

'It was octarine, the colour of magic. It was alive and glowing and vibrant and it was the undisputed pigment of the imagination....'

Somewhere between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a magical world not totally unlike our own. Except for the fact that it travels through space on the shoulders of four giant elephants who in turn stand on the shell of an astronomically huge star turtle, of course.

Rincewind is the world's worst wizard who has just been handed a very important job: to look after the world's first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land. Unfortunately, their journey across the Disc includes facing robbers, monsters, mercenaries, and Death himself.

And the whole thing's just a game of the gods that might send them over the edge....

You can listen to the Discworld novels in any order, but The Colour of Magic is the first book in the Wizards series. The Colour of Magic is the first book in the Discworld series and was published in 1983. Some elements of the Discworld universe may reflect this.

©1983 Terry Pratchett (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"If you've never read a Discworld novel, what's the matter with you?" (Guardian)

"Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own." (The Times)

Love this -

They've brought life and magic to this story. Very enjoyable performance that's really drawn me in bit by bit. Well paced, engaging, and overflowing with inflection and emotion. I can tell they cared quite a lot about this work.

Stellar Performance

I love the old readings of this book, but this one was absolutely worth the listen. The talented people who brought this book to life this time made an undeniably enjoyable experience. Many thanks from a long time fan!

Always good to come back to.

I admit that the voice for Rincewind was annoying at first, but it grew on me. Great voices for all the characters. Story is just as good as I remember. (3rd time through)

Fever Dream

for most of the book i was lost in the absurdity of all of it. its baffling and weird. I am afraid of trying to explain this book to anyone cause i would end up sounding like a lunatic

Great start to a great series!

I’d previously heard praise about Discworld but I hadn’t settled in reading the books until now. This first book was a fun and hilarious adventure, even if somewhat more simple than I would’ve liked. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun Fantasy read with plenty of witticism, magic, and whimsy.

So great

One of the best audiobook performances I’ve ever heard. Such a great funny novel. Pratchett is a master of wit and incisive description and personification.

Excellent telling of an excellent book

I have wanted to get into the Rimworld Series for a long time and finally decided to give this a shot. Definitely worth it!

Discworld!

Good audio book. If you don't like readers with an accent then pass on this. I personally got used to it quickly and enjoyed the experience. great pronunciation and clarity.

Discworld is back again!

This new wave of audio books for Discworld is a joy to experience.
Once more old friends come to life to show us a realm of magic, snark, and silliness.
The production values of he book are wonderful, the voice acting top notch (Though Rincewind is more nasally than I expected) and relistening to these books again will be a fresh joy.
I can't wait for the Death Series and The Watch series.

To strike a balance while making it your own.

So I'm a fan of Discworld and as someone with a vision problem I've preferred listening to the audio versions of the series for years. After listening to this version of the first book alongside the sequel it's hard for me to try and explain my thoughts but they are still trying to find their own way for the books.

It's more that it feels like the narrators have a respect for the original audio recordings but can't quite figure out how best to find that balance yet. This isn't a bad thing as the first few books in the series feel that way. At present it's actually going to be harder to tell on things but I do think it's got potential. Honestly I think trying to strike a proper balance between all the narrators that have helped bring this series to life in audio form is hard and anyone thet has tried will always feel that weight on their shoulders.

For example I think the later audiobook versions of the last few books of the series towards the end of Terry pratchett's life do a great job at showing how an updated version could be. Personally I think it's actually worth having some of each of the audiobook styles since each has its own charm and character to the characters. I'd say give this a listen and enjoy it for what it is with the understanding that there's been several ways the series has been portrayed in audio.