re: Nijel dread: Thiiiiiiis. Exactly this - when I was re-reading, I kept being like "Well Mark is extremely delighted by Nijel, and I can see why, but somehow I still have the strong feeling that he is a huge butt, for some reason?" and they went through all their arguments and I was like "? Okay, that wasn't so bad though, maybe I was remembering wrong... OH. NOOOPE."

Thanks! :D

Okay I had to finally create an account for this because this was my first Pratchett book I'd ever read, and I have a huge, huge soft spot for it and it's almost all because of this scene. Like okay first of all I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever read and I would totally read it out loud to other people (without entirely successful results, but whatever! it was so great! with the sock, and he got it from a shop, and he has another one somewhere). And then also it was one of my first introductions to the story conflict resolution technique of just sort of talking to the final boss like they were a person and that working, which I loved.

Re-reading it now, I notice a lot more of how amazing Rincewind is in this scene, since I am older and know that there's no such thing as people who are just Heroes who always do the right thing automatically and inevitably because that's how it works. I love that he did bite the bullet and actually come challenge the Sourcerer, and then the way he reacts the fact that the Sourcerer is actually a child, and one that is in danger. I love that Pratchett has so many layers of human nature here - that it's so hard for Rincewind to bring himself to heroically challenge the Sourcerer and put himself in lots of danger and that he wants someone else to take care of the problem. But then it's so thoughtlessly easy for him to defend Coin and therefore put himself in lots of danger, which is lovely. And then there's the other complication - the other wizards have no problem with deciding that Coin is just a scary Sourcerer and washing their hands of him, since that makes life a lot easier for them. Even then, though, it's not just that Rincewind is so good and the wizards are so bad and that's why they're acting this way. Rincewind is in the best position possible to see Coin for what he really is, since he hasn't been around for Ipslore-as-Coin, and the wizards are probably at their breaking point for stress and horror. I'd say Rincewind's final act here - where he goes against the group and the easy option he's presented with and has to really, truly decide wholeheartedly to throw himself in danger again because it's the right thing to do - is probably the most impressive thing he does.