The Colour of Magic

Discworld, Book 1

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy

Brought to you by Penguin.

Over 1 million Discworld audiobooks sold – discover the extraordinary universe of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld like never before

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.

'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

© Terry Pratchett 1983 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Critic reviews

One of the best and funniest English authors alive

Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of enormous talent...incredibly funny...compulsively readable.

He would be amusing in any form and his spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction.

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.

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!

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)

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

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.