The Colour of Magic cover art

The Colour of Magic

Discworld, Book 1

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The Colour of Magic

By: Terry Pratchett
Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy
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About this listen

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

Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Humorous Literature & Fiction Magic Satire Fiction Comedy Magic Users Wizardry Witty

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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.
All stars
Most relevant
I started The Colour of magic last night and cannot find the words to describe Colin Morgan's skill.
He has a narrative ability that goes beyond just reading.
As well as when he acts, he identifies with the characters and this gives the play a real soul.
I had already read the book in Italian but listening to it in this way is turning it into a film.
When you have the ability to bring imaginary characters to life, it means that you are not just good, you are a champion
The best

Colin Morgan The king of storytelling

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Other comments say the narrator is bad, but it just needs speeding up to 1.1x

Still the wonderful Terry Pratchett of old!

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It was ok. It just didn’t blow me away. Maybe I’ll give another a go, see if it can get me hooked.

My first Discworld

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Absolutely love the Discworld books, this is a beautiful production of the first book.

Enjoyed it very much

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It must be 25 years since I read the book and this was a lovely trip down memory lane! Beautifully written. You do need to be concentrating as there are SO many characters. Fantastic fun though!

As brilliant as I remembered!

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