Sourcery (1988)
Sourcery is a 1988 discworld (imaginary place) book written by Terry Pratchett.
The eighth son of an eighth son is, by Discworld law, a wizard. When that wizard fathers an eighth son of his own, the result is a sourcerer, a wellspring of raw magic rather than a mere user of it. Young Coin arrives with power enough to remake the world and the will to reshape Unseen University in his image. Standing against apocalypse, more by accident than intent, is Rincewind, the cowardly failed wizard, his sentient Luggage clattering behind him. Pratchett's fifth Discworld novel is a fast, anarchic chase that asks what wizards would actually do with unlimited power. Nothing good.
Quick answers
What is Sourcery about?
The eighth son of an eighth son is, by Discworld law, a wizard. When that wizard fathers an eighth son of his own, the result is a sourcerer, a wellspring of raw magic rather than a mere user of it. Young Coin arrives with power enough to remake the world and the will to reshape Unseen University in his image. Standing against apocalypse, more by accident than intent, is Rincewind, the cowardly failed wizard, his sentient Luggage clattering behind him. Pratchett's fifth Discworld novel is a fast, anarchic chase that asks what wizards would actually do with unlimited power. Nothing good.
When was Sourcery published?
Sourcery was published in 1988.
Who made Sourcery?
Sourcery was written by Terry Pratchett.
Similar books
Explore Sourcery guides
Sourcery in our writing
- Companion guide: Discworld: The Complete Guide to Terry Pratchett's Flat Planet
A few thoughts on Sourcery
For more of Rincewind's hapless flight from doom, the Discworld adaptation The Colour of Magic captures the same cowardly-hero energy and the murderous Luggage. Craving comic sword-and-sorcery in another medium? The Bard's Tale plays the reluctant, sardonic adventurer for laughs, poking the same holes in heroic fantasy that Terry Pratchett does on the page.
A wizard shows up with more power than the world can hold
Sourcery hands a boy sourcerer enough raw magic to remake Unseen University, while Rincewind runs the other way as usual. Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home both build around power the world was never meant to survive. Elden Ring hands its own reluctant Tarnished a shattered order to fix, and The Colour of Magic follows Rincewind through the same anarchic Disc.