The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett

An audio book.

Having heard of Mr. Pratchett's recent death, and having read much praise and regret from his readers and friends, and having heard of him in the past, though dimly and filed somewhere in the outer reaches of my little brain, I thought I should perhaps find out what all the buzz is about.

The first hour of listening to this book has already answered that. I have a familiar happy and comfortable feeling with this text that reminds me of the days when I read the works of Douglas Adams, another sorely missed Englishman.

Here's an interesting Guardian article in which the question is asked, is The Colour of Magic a good introduction to Terry Pratchett?

Based on this novel, I don't know how much farther I'll go with Pratchett. His reputation is such that perhaps I should give him more of a try. The novel is not bad, but it is just a little bit silly.

The Confabulist, by Steven Galloway

In this novel, a principle character is Harry Houdini, the magician and escape artist of the early 20th century. There are other actual people in the cast, such as Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. In his post-Holmes life, Doyle was very interested in spiritualism. Houdini was very interested in the debunking of spiritualism. He saw it as a tragic confidence game, taking advantage of bereaved people.

The narrator is Martin Strauss. Strauss is fictional, as far as I know.

There is a good review and plot summary here. [New York Times] I can do no better.

I understand that Galloway is a young writer. I look forward to reading more by him. This novel was particularly entertaining.