Book Review: The Illustrated Eric by Terry Pratchett, Josh Kirby

Be careful what you wish for! And the rest you know. Eric by Terry Pratchett is a fun short story. It is lighter than the usual Discworld books, but it is one of my favorites. I like the whole play on Hell being turned into our world with a corporate structure and relatives showing pictures of their holidays. Maybe that is because I agree with Pratchett what Hell looks like, or because I have always found demons and eternal damnation tragicomic.

The book is about we are clueless with our own happiness. We wish for things we don’t need, and we hope bigger grander lives and, yet, we wouldn’t know what to do with them. And those fantastic stories from history (and from celebrities) we think we want too are seldom the whole truth. The question is what happens to the most beautiful woman when reality meets her? You get the point. But still who wouldn’t want their three wishes? Mine would be an endless supply of books, the gift that keeps giving. A pause button. And maybe I could throw world peace somewhere there, but only after books, and only because it is traditional.

I recommend the illustrated version. I have always loved Josh Kirby’s artwork. They make the story come alive, but they also distract a little bit.

Thank you for reading!

P.S. How do you mess up an order of world peace?