Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett

"May you live in interesting times" is the worst thing one can wish on a citizen of Discworld -- especially on the distinctly unmagical sorcerer Rincewind, who has had far too much perilous excitement in his life. But when a request for a "Great Wizzard" arrives in Ankh-Morpork via carrier albatross from the faraway Counterweight Continent, it's he who's sent as emissary. Chaos threatens to follow the impending demise of the Agatean Empire's current ruler. And, for some incomprehensible reason, someone believes Rincewind will have a mythic role in the war and wholesale bloodletting that will surely ensue. (Carnage is pretty much a given, since Cohen the Barbarian and his extremely elderly Silver Horde are busily formulating their own plan for looting, pillaging, and, er, looking wistfully at girls.) However, Rincewind firmly believes there are too many heroes already in the world, yet only one Rincewind. And he owes it to the world to keep that one alive for as long as possible.

For me, this is propably the best book I have ever read.

This is the only Discworld book set mostly on the Counterweight Continent, occupied by the Agatean Empire, loosely based on the traditional societies of China and/or Japan prior to European influence.In the story, the Agatean Empire is subject to some upheaval due to the simultaneous but separate arrivals of Rincewind the failed magician and Cohen the Barbarian (accompanied by his small Horde of elderly heroes).Frankly, I'm not keen on the character of Rincewind. He's fairly inoffensive, but a rather ordinary and boring man whose main characteristic is luck: the bad luck to find himself in frequent serious danger, and the good luck always to escape from it somehow. Rincewind stories tend to be a rather plotless series of escapes from one peril after another.This is a better-than-usual Rincewind book because (a) it's not all about Rincewind, (b) it has a kind of story to it, and (c) it's quite amusing in places.I deprecate the fact that the last few pages provide a brief lead-in to a later book ([b:The Last Continent 833429 The Last Continent (Discworld, #22) Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387735031l/833429.SY75.jpg 583688]). A novel should end properly. Furthermore, I didn't enjoy [b:The Last Continent 833429 The Last Continent (Discworld, #22) Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387735031l/833429.SY75.jpg 583688] (a worse Rincewind book), so I could do without the reference to it here.However, on the whole this is an agreeable enough book, perhaps about average as Discworld books go.