The Colour of Magic
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchettby Terry Pratchett
Shares rank 11 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
A fun comic fantasy that readers enjoy. Critics note it comes before Pratchett found his stride, so it reads as a looser satire of fantasy novels.
A fun comic fantasy that readers enjoy. Critics note it comes before Pratchett found his stride, so it reads as a looser satire of fantasy novels.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun, entertaining read
“I am enjoying the Colour of Magic so much right now, having a real blast!”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “I Miss Terry Pratchett” Sharp satire of fantasy novels
“It's good, but it's before Pratchett really got into his stride, and it's far closer to a straight satire of fantasy novels than subsequent books.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Tim Curry has died”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Early book, before Pratchett's stride
“It's good, but it's before Pratchett really got into his stride, and it's far closer to a straight satire of fantasy novels than subsequent books.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Tim Curry has died”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| The Colour of Magicby Terry PratchettThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's good, but it's before Pratchett really got into his stride, and it's far closer to a straight satire of fantasy novels than subsequent books.”
“it's a shame those movies are so overlooked”
“One of my favourite roles I've seen him in was as Trymon in the TV version”
“I am enjoying the Colour of Magic so much right now, having a real blast!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.