The Last Hero

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The Last Hero
Original cover of The Last Hero
First edition hardcover by Paul Kidby
AuthorTerry Pratchett
Audio read byTony Robinson (Corgi)
Stephen Briggs (Isis)
Colin Morgan (Penguin)
IllustratorPaul Kidby
Cover artistPaul Kidby
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
SeriesDiscworld
Release number
27
Sub-seriesRincewind
GenreFantasy
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
2001-10-16
Preceded byThief of Time 
Followed byThe Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents 

The Last Hero is the twenty-seventh Discworld book, and the second large-format illustrated novella, with illustrations by Paul Kidby. It is notable as one of the few major crossovers between Discworld series, involving Rincewind, the wizards of Unseen University, Cohen the Barbarian and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, in particular Carrot Ironfoundersson. Because the text is tied to the illustrations (which feature additional context and jokes, including text written in Leonard of Quirm’s handwriting), it has never been published without them. The layout of all editions is identical, except that the first edition lacks several double-page spreads which alter the page numbering (but nothing else).

Blurb

He's been a legend in his own lifetime.

He can remember the great days of high adventure.

He can remember when a hero didn't have to worry about fences and lawyers and civilisation.

He can remember when people didn't tell you off for killing dragons.

But he can't always remember, these days, where he put his teeth...

He's really not happy about that bit.

So now, with his ancient sword and his new walking stick and his old friends – and they're very old friends – Cohen the Barbarian is going on one final quest. It's been a good life. He's going to climb the highest mountain in the Discworld and meet his gods. He doesn't like the way they let men grow old and die.

It's time, in fact, to give something back.

The last hero in the world is going to return what the first hero stole. With a vengeance. That'll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.

Someone is going to try. So who knows who the last hero really is?[1]

Podcast episodes

Major appearances

These are episodes primarily devoted to discussing this book.

Date Show Episode External link
2019-06-23 Radio Morpork “Saga Megadrive” radiomorpork.wordpress.com
2020-12-15 The Death of Podcasts “The Last Hero” aalgar.com
2021-05-28 Wyrd Sisters “The Last Hero” wyrdsisters.podbean.com
2022-03-29 The Compleat Discography “The Last Hero” compleatdiscography.page
2022-05-08 Pratchat “Mr Doodle, the Man on the Moon” pratchatpodcast.com
2022-10-16 The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret “Speaking of Unhinged Rants” (1/2) thetruthshallmakeyefret.com
2022-10-23 The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret “Legacy is Best Served Cold” (2/2) thetruthshallmakeyefret.com
2022-11-20 Desert Island Discworld “Alasdair Stuart and The Last Hero” desertislanddiscworld.com
2023-02-03 Nanny Ogg's Book Club “The Last Hero” fireside.fm
2023-03-24 Who Watches the Watch “Thomas the Crank Engine” pinecast.co
2023-11-01 Fiction Fans “The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett” fictionfanspodcast.com

Other appearances

Episodes where there's significant discussion of the book, but it's not the focus of the episode.

Date Show Episode External link
2016-10-01 The Pratchett Podcast “EPISODE46” app.talkshoe.com

External links

Footnotes

  1. This last line is omitted in the second edition.