Low Fantasy

Review: The Last Hero

Jay
Cover of the book, featuring a very elderly barbarian holding a sword and a cane and standing on top of a snowy mountain.

Title: The Last Hero

Series: Discworld #27 (Rincewind #7)

Author: Sir Terry Pratchett

Genre: Low Fantasy

Trigger Warnings: Death, violence, excrement (mentions)

Spoiler Warning: This book is 27th in a series, but neither it or this review contains spoilers of previous Discworld books.

Back Cover:

Cohen the Barbarian. He’s been a legend in his own lifetime.

He can remember the good old days of high adventure, when being a Hero meant one didn’t have to worry about aching backs and lawyers and civilization. But these days, he can’t always remember just where he put his teeth…

So now, with his ancient (yet still trusty) sword and new walking stick in hand, Cohen gathers a group of his old — very old — friends to embark on one final quest. He’s going to climb the highest mountain of Discworld and meet the gods.

It’s time the Last Hero in the world returns what the first hero stole. Trouble is, that’ll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.

Review:

The Last Hero is not actually a Discworld novel. It is, in fact, a Discworld short story.

Oh, it is technically long enough to be considered a novel, even if it is one on the short side. But the plot it contains is most definitely a short story. Cohen the Barbarian and his elderly adventurers go to confront the gods. This will result in the destruction of the world, so Rincewind takes an untested dragon-based flying contraption (along with Captain Carrot of the Ankh-Morpok City Watch and the contraption’s inventor Leonard of Quirm) to get to the city of the gods fast enough to stop him. That’s it.

Even though it’s a short story, it’s not a bad story. There were several of Sir Terry’s signature one-liners, and themes of the trials of getting older and the nature of heroism (although the book is far too short to actually do any interesting exploring of said themes). Despite being fairly straightforward and feeling even shorter than it is, it’s perfectly entertaining.

However, I did find it disappointing. I was really starting to enjoy Rincewind in Interesting Times, and after The Last Continent put him in a rather lackluster setting, I was hoping to get a lot more of him in this book. The way he ended up on this voyage to stop Cohen showed some character growth, even, and I was excited.

But then for the rest of the story, he was a side character. If this story has protagonists, they are Cohen the Barbarian and Leonard of Quirm (who I gather has been seen in the Discworld books before, just not ones I’ve read yet). You could argue that the science-curious wizard Ponder Stibbons was a minor protagonist, or even Captain Carrot (who is presented like you should already know him, and I assume I would if I’d read any of the Ankh-Morpok City Watch books yet). But Rincewind is just … there. He has no particular reason to come along on the voyage and he doesn’t even say anything in the climactic scene. He could have just as easily not been there and this book been one of the few books not part of a sub-series, and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

I really hope Unseen Academicals is a lot better, because it’s the only Rincewind book left. From looking at the reviews on The StoryGraph, this appears to be an unpopular opinion, but I actually like Rincewind as a character. The Last Hero wasn’t bad, but it really squandered the potential that’s been built up over the past seven Rincewind books. I hope his series within the Discworld ends on a stronger note.

The Discworld series:

  1. The Colour of Magic
  2. The Light Fantastic
  3. Equal Rites
  4. Mort
  5. Sourcery
  6. Wyrd Sisters
  7. Pyramids
  8. Guards! Guards!
  9. Eric
  10. Moving Pictures
  11. Reaper Man
  12. Witches Abroad
  13. Small Gods
  14. Lords and Ladies
  15. Men at Arms
  16. Soul Music
  17. Interesting Times
  18. Maskerade
  19. Feet of Clay
  20. Hogfather
  21. Jingo
  22. The Last Continent
  23. Carpe Jugulum
  24. The Fifth Elephant
  25. The Truth
  26. Thief of Time
  27. The Last Hero
  28. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
  29. Night Watch
  30. The Wee Free Men
  31. Monstrous Regiment
  32. A Hat Full of Sky
  33. Going Postal
  34. Thud!
  35. Wintersmith
  36. Making Money
  37. Unseen Academicals
  38. I Shall Wear Midnight
  39. Snuff
  40. Raising Steam
  41. The Shepherd’s Crown