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

©1983 Terry Pratchett (P)2022 Penguin Audio
Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Humorous Fiction Comedy Fantasy Magic Users Wizardry

What listeners say about The Colour of Magic

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Read by a fan.

I like this new version of the audio book. I have both versions but this one has more life to it, even Death. I like that Terry’s favoured notes are done by Bill Nighy, he adds an extra dimension to the usual read. I was a bit skeptical about these new versions but now I prefer them. Colin wrote the foreword for Paul Kidby’s ‘Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld’ which details just how much a fan he is. It’s much better to have someone who knows the material than someone who is just doing the next job they were hired for.

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Fantastic!!!

Absolutely loved it!!! Fabulous story & truly wonderful narrator!! Thank you so much Terry Pratchett & Colin Morgan!!

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Great narration of a favourite book

Have read this book a few times and thought I'd try the audio version. Found the performances delightful.

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I love the way she voices the characters!

Overall I loved everything even if I slept through most of it but seriously it is amazing story voice acting and everything!l

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fantasy classic!

I’ve heard Prachett only gets better from here so expected to listen to more. Colin Morgan gives an excellent voice performance, beautiful Irish accent and really funny and appropriate characters voices— made it a lot easier to follow the dialogue.
Don’t recommend if you’re in it for Bill Nighy, I think he has one line!

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Whimsically fantastic

I loved it. Beautifully narrated. Highly amusing and a pleasure to listen to.
Thsnk you

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Awesome performance of a great story

The best performance for an audible book I have ever heard! And the story was fun and thought provoking

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Phenomenal narrator

This narrator is excellent! He creates and sustains an array of character voices that bring Pratchett’s eccentric and imaginative beings to life.

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outstanding performances

I'm hooked, great storyline and you can tell a lot of this one will build into future storylines. The performances were stellar with no confusion over characters during dialogue due to the fantastic readings

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Great

Kept me spellbound. An amazing fantasy world, that made me so very happy. Can’t wait to listen to the next book.

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