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The Colour of Magic  By  cover art

The Colour of Magic

By: Terry Pratchett
Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy
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Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin. The audiobook of The Colour of Magic is read by Colin Morgan (Merlin; Testament of Youth; Belfast). BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actor Bill Nighy (Love Actually; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) reads the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace; Shaun of the Dead) stars as the voice of Death. Featuring a new theme tune composed by James Hannigan.

'It was octarine, the colour of magic. It was alive and glowing and vibrant and it was the undisputed pigment of the imagination....'

Somewhere between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a magical world not totally unlike our own. Except for the fact that it travels through space on the shoulders of four giant elephants who in turn stand on the shell of an astronomically huge star turtle, of course.

Rincewind is the world's worst wizard who has just been handed a very important job: to look after the world's first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land. Unfortunately, their journey across the Disc includes facing robbers, monsters, mercenaries, and Death himself.

And the whole thing's just a game of the gods that might send them over the edge....

You can listen to the Discworld novels in any order, but The Colour of Magic is the first book in the Wizards series. The Colour of Magic is the first book in the Discworld series and was published in 1983. Some elements of the Discworld universe may reflect this.

©1983 Terry Pratchett (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"If you've never read a Discworld novel, what's the matter with you?" (Guardian)

"Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own." (The Times)

Featured Article: The top 100 fantasy listens of all time


When compiling our list of the best fantasy listening out there, we immediately came up against the age-old question: Is this fantasy or science fiction? The distinction is not as clear as you may think. Dragons, elves, and wizards are definitely fantasy, but what about wizards that also fly space ships? (Looking at you, Star Wars.) For the sake of fantasy purity, the top 100 fantasy listens include the best audio works in all manner of fantasy subgenres.

What listeners say about The Colour of Magic

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Love this -

They've brought life and magic to this story. Very enjoyable performance that's really drawn me in bit by bit. Well paced, engaging, and overflowing with inflection and emotion. I can tell they cared quite a lot about this work.

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8 people found this helpful

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Always good to come back to.

I admit that the voice for Rincewind was annoying at first, but it grew on me. Great voices for all the characters. Story is just as good as I remember. (3rd time through)

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1 person found this helpful

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Fever Dream

for most of the book i was lost in the absurdity of all of it. its baffling and weird. I am afraid of trying to explain this book to anyone cause i would end up sounding like a lunatic

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Stellar Performance

I love the old readings of this book, but this one was absolutely worth the listen. The talented people who brought this book to life this time made an undeniably enjoyable experience. Many thanks from a long time fan!

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Great start to a great series!

I’d previously heard praise about Discworld but I hadn’t settled in reading the books until now. This first book was a fun and hilarious adventure, even if somewhat more simple than I would’ve liked. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun Fantasy read with plenty of witticism, magic, and whimsy.

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So great

One of the best audiobook performances I’ve ever heard. Such a great funny novel. Pratchett is a master of wit and incisive description and personification.

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Excellent telling of an excellent book

I have wanted to get into the Rimworld Series for a long time and finally decided to give this a shot. Definitely worth it!

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great voices

great interply of thoughts and understanding to tease your imagination. a great ending and still wondering if the elephant is male or female?

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Superb work!

Since originally hearing they were redoing the audiobooks I was hyped! They did an amazing job with the performance overall. For anyone already a fan of Terry's work this is a must!

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11 people found this helpful

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well then

Well, that was different. I enjoyed it, very different from other fantasy novels I've read. I will probably do another before deciding if I want to commit to the whole series.

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