What that means is that Pratchett didn't provide this novel with multiple interwoven plots, there isn't the female friend/companion who turns into a love interest (a staple of his novels) and all of the action is very narrowly focused on failed wizard Rincewind's escape from the Dungeon Dimensions, where he was trapped at the end of "Sourcery."
He gets out when Eric, Discworld's would-be Doctor Faustus, a spoiled brat turned amateur demonologist, summons a demon from Hell and gets ... well, him. Somehow, Rincewind has been gifted with the power to grant Eric's rather venal wishes. These take the duo (trailed by Rincewind's sentient and extremely dangerous Luggage) through time and space. Along the way, we get parodies of Aztec religion and Ponce de Leon, a particularly well-done riff on the Trojan War (superior in every way to the quicker one in "Pyramids"), visit the beginning and end of the universe and see what Hell is really like.
Without the need to slow down for a B-story, Pratchett moves through the story at a rapid clip, making this one of the best Rincewind tales to date, as well as tying up a loose end. (Pratchett has a bad habit of doing that with Rincewind; the first Discworld novel ended with him falling off the edge of the planet.)
Know that you're getting what amounts to a novella in a novel's packaging, but otherwise, "Eric" lives up to the high standards Pratchett has set with his previous works.
Recommended to fans of Discworld and Pratchett's collaboration with Neil Gaiman, "Good Omens."
In the aftermath of "Sourcery," Rincewind is lost in the Dungeon Dimension. But in a million-to-one-chance, he is drawn back into the real world by a fourteen-year-old demonolist awash in hormones and delusions of grandeur. Eric is convinced that Rincewind is a demon, and is demanding three things: that Rincewind make him live forever, give him control of the entire Disc, and give him the most beautiful woman in the world. Rincewind, unsurprisingly, can't do these things.
An unwary snap of the fingers sends Eric, Rincewind, the Luggage, and a very sarcastic parrot to the land of the Tezumens, who serve the bloodthirsty demon-god Quetzovercoatl. Their misadventures in the void of non-creation, back in time to the topless towers of Tsort, and finally to hell itself give Eric what he wishes -- or does it?
The first word that comes to mind to describe "Eric" is SHORT. This book is slim even with the larger typeface and margins, but in Pratchett's spare style it packs a fair amount of story into the 200 pages. Old favorites like Rincewind and the Luggage return; Eric steals many of the scenes he's in, as he is obsessed with women and power, but whiny and immature - a teen boy with delusions of grandeur.
Pratchett adds some delightful spoofing of the Aztecs, especially their preoccupation with human sacrifice and feathered headdresses, and the Trojan War (in which we meet his versions of Odysseus and the relatively plain Discworld counterpart of Helen of Troy), complete with "toppleless towers" and a wooden horse. His vision of a revamped hell -- in which demons show vacation slides to damned mortals -- is somewhat reminiscent of Craig Shaw Gardner's Netherhells, but is perhaps the funniest part of the book. And Pratchett's cleverness shows up in the "fulfillment" of Eric's wishes -- it's a clear example of "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."
Rincewind is gradually growing in dimension, beyond "cowardly wizard," and shows that he does, in fact, have some brains and thought processes. Eric is a twitty teenage boy, a little too clueless to be plausible. And the parrot really steals the show; his acid wit, aggressive demeanor, scruffy appearance, and constant use of the word "wossname" make him a hilarious essential. It's too bad he doesn't appear again in the series.
"Eric" is hardly the best book in the series, but it does make a nice diversion for readers who enjoy madcap antics and spoof-filled stories.
