The Last Hero (Discworld, #27)

by Terry Pratchett

Paul Kidby (Illustrator)

He's been a legend in his own lifetime.
He can remember when a hero didn't have to worry about fences and lawyers and civilisation, and when people didn't tell you off for killing dragons.
But he can't always remember, these days, where he put his teeth . . .
So now, with his ancient sword and his new walking stick and his old friends -- and they're very old friends -- Cohen the Barbarian is going on one final quest. He's going to climb the highest mountain in the Discworld and meet his gods.
The last hero in the world is going to return what the first hero stole.
With a vengeance.
That'll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.

• ISBN10: 057506885X
• ISBN13: 9780575068858
• Publish Date: 18 October 2001 (first published 16 October 2001)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 2 December 2008
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 160
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

I don't think anyone can deny that Terry Pratchett is a brilliant writer. He has such a great sense of style, of storytelling. I always feel like there are so many inside jokes in his stories, that I just get about half of them. When I do discover new ones, it feels a bit like uncovering a little piece of a big puzzle.

As for the story of The Last Hero, I have nothing much to tell you. Characters from different story lines come together in the last adventure of the now elderly heroes or Cohen the Barbarian and his gang. I've only read three Discworld novels so far, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I did enjoy the little role Death played in this one, he's my favourite character so far.

What makes The Last Hero special is the pictures. This is a beautifully illustrated book. I loved how they didn't just showed what was going on, but also added to the story. Although slightly like caricatures, there are a lot of little inside jokes in the drawings themselves. Even though this book is about novella length, I still enjoyed many hours of reading it, because I liked the pictures so much.

This is a marvellous addition in any Discworld collection, but if you've never read a Discworld novel, I would recommend you starting with The Colour of Magic, not this one.