Eric

Title: The Illustrated Eric
Author: Terry Pratchett
Illustrator: Josh Kirby
Published: 1990
Genre: Humour Fantasy
Pages: 131




Another fab find from the library! It's Pratchett's take on Faust, the Odyssey, Troy, Hell and all that stuff, in a neat package illustrated wonderfully by Josh Kirby, who painted the covers of many, many Discworld books.


Rincewind, fresh out of Sourcery, suddenly finds himself being summoned by a 13-year old kid called Eric. Eric isn't exactly happy about it, either, as he was attempting to summon a proper demon. Determined to get his summon's worth, Eric demands that Rincewind should grant him three wishes. Being the poor excuse for a Wizzard that he is, Rincewind tells him that he can't grant wishes. Aaand then promptly finds out that yes, he can, actually. Something's strange here...


Kirby's highly detailed illustrations sometimes take up whole pages, and it was fun to get distracted by them. Eric was equally fun to read, and it was just as much fun to spot all the references to our myths and legends. Excellent bedtime reading!




   So Rincewind opened his eyes. There was a ceiling above him; if it was the floor then he was in trouble.
   So far, so good.
   He cautiously felt the surface he was lying on. It was grainy, woody in fact, with the odd nail-hole. A human sort of surface. 
   His ears picked up the crackle of a fire and a bubbling noise, source unknown.
   His nose, feeling that it had been left out of things, hastened to report a whiff of brimstone. 
   Right. So where did that leave him? Lying on a rough wooden floor in a firelit room with something that bubbled and gave off sulphurous smells. In his unreal, dreamy state he felt quite pleased at this process of deduction.
   What else? 
   Oh, yes.
   He opened his mouth and screamed and screamed and screamed.
   This made him feel slightly better.