The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett - Book #34 for 2012
This book follows straight on from the first Discworld book, The Colour of Magic, so - based on the assumption that not everyone read that, the rest of this review is behind a spoiler cut.
[Spoiler (click to open)]
The first book ended with Rincewind and Twoflower falling off the edge of the Discworld; however, because Rincewind has a spell in his brain, he is saved by magic, and what follows is another series of catastrophic misadventures as Rincewind tries to get back to Unseen University and get rid of the spell from his head. The book is very funny in places, and has the introduction of Cohen the Barbarian, and the librarian, who has been turned into an orang-utan.
Among the incidents in this book, my favourite is when Rincewind has to save Twoflower from the house of Death, where he meets all four horsemen of the apocalypse, and finds Twoflower teaching them Bridge, providing one of the funniest moments I have come across in any book. I actually noticed on this reading that there was a mention of Mort, Death’s apprentice, and the central character from the fourth book.
The climax is satisfying, with the final confrontation with the evil wizard Trymon and a finale that was made even more spectacular by its portrayal on Sky One’s version starring Sir David Jason and Sean Astin.
This was the first Discworld novel that I read, and it was good enough to convince me to read others, so is well worth a try - but I recommend starting with The Colour of Magic.