Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 porkuslime wrote:
I almost always will suggest starting with Guards Guards, OR Small Gods.

I feel that Small Gods is one of the best "stand alone" books in the series, and gives you a healthy dose of PTerry's viewpoints without tying the reader to a specific character

I actively buy all Guards Guards, Small Gods, Wee Free Men and Wyrd Sisters books I run across at used bookstores or thrifts, just so I can use them to evangelize

Wait a sec - does this include those minimalist black and white covers they went in for for a time? Because after the gaudy and insane full art colour covers, those minimalist ones looked like they belonged on the front of horror books not Discworld books. "Proper" discworld books have Josh Kirby and Paul Kidby art.

https://artofdiscworld.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/the-light-fantastic.jpg?w=1075

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
You’ll also need to decide if you want to read the whole of Discworld, or just specific characters/groups.

I tend to find myself skipping Rincewind stories, as I don’t typically enjoy them as much.

I'm afraid to say that the Last Continent is one of the funniest books that Pratchett ever did. Fantasy Aussies at their finest. No worries!

I'd recommend reading Guards! Guards! and Wyrd Sisters as the most Discworld books and Small Gods as the best book (which is different from it being the best Disc world book and different from being the best story).

Of the 21 that I've re-read for the first time as an adult I'd say:

Bad books (by Pratchett standards):
Sourcery
Eric
Moving pictures
Soul music (both of these have the substance of a third of a story stretched to a full length novel. At least Eric had the grace to know there wasn't enough there for a full story)
Lords and Ladies

Typical Pratchett quality books:
The Colour of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Equal Rites (although this has personal resonance for me that makes it a great book that makes me sad we didn't see more of this Discworld)
Mort
Pyramids
Reaper Man (verges on being a great book just for the closing act)
Witches Abroad
Men at Arms
Interesting times
Maskerade
Jingo

Great books:
Wyrd Sisters
Guards! Guards! (these are the two most fundamental Discworld books to me)
Small Gods
Feet of Clay
Hogfather (may be the best story in the catalogue)

 r_squared wrote:

You know, even PTerry disagreed with starting with his first books. I think I saw an interview about it somewhere, I'd agree TBH. I'd go for Mort or even the Watch itself as a good starter.

I would agree with not starting at the start. The Colour of Magic and the Light Fantastic are good, but they're not a patch on the more developed stories that came later.

My intro to the Discworld was Pyramids, which aside from being a hilarious read was a good way to start in the middle given that it's effectively a stand-alone story. I think I went back to the start from there.

If you wind up being a fan, I would also recommend not reading the Shephard's Crown, which was his last published book. It wasn't finished when he died, not having gone through his usual multiple rounds of 'polishing', and it really shows. As the last Pratchett book ever, while understanding the reason for it, it was a disappointing way for the series to end.

Alternatively, read it, and then read 'Nation', which is not a Discworld story but is absolutely brilliant.

I have to say I finally read the Shepherds Crown only in lockdown last year with a tear in my eye.

I struggled with Nation, I intend to go back and give it another go with fresh eyes soon.

His collaborations are also a bit of a stretch for me, I love Stephen Baxter and PTerry, but I've really had a hard time going through the Long Earth series which is weird because it basically ticks all my boxes.

I've actually got a few of his short stories to read through which I've deliberately set to one side, plus there's always the Unadulterated Cat. Even my wife likes that one, because its about cats.

I've had Sheperd's Crown since it was released and never had the stomach to read it. Partly because in the last couple of books before that you could tell that the disease was taking it's toll and partly because I just haven't been able to face the finality of it. Someday.

On the subject of reading order recommendations, I suggest Mort; it's still an early book, but it's around when he began to find his "style", it leads you into arguably the best series and, unlike Guards or Witches it explains Death, the most recurring character and the one that will seem the oddest when he pops up randomly in other books (although it's a close call with the Librarian...)

 Jadenim wrote:
I've had Sheperd's Crown since it was released and never had the stomach to read it. Partly because in the last couple of books before that you could tell that the disease was taking it's toll and partly because I just haven't been able to face the finality of it. Someday.

You're not alone - I stopped after Unseen Academicals and haven't gone further. The style does change and I also agree with the whole finality aspect as well. Some day I'll catch up to the very end!


That said I have been one of the few to read the very first discworld book written way before the Colour of Magic and the Discworld. Heck few have heard of Strata let alone read it. I've also read Darkside of the Sun*

*I never realised it at the time but I picked it up at school in the library, read it and didn't forget it; yet it was years later and after reading a chunk of Discworld that I learned it was by the same author.

I must have had 4 copies each of Good Omens and Truckers in paperback, mostly gone to other people to read.
The Bromeliad is a good intro to Terry's work, being fairly early, and not including spoilers to anything else he's done. It's a kids book, but is still a good set of books.

I think Mort was my first, read the earlier five (Colour and Light were fairly rough going), and waited for Pyramids to be released. They're all sat in hardback now, taking up most of a bookcase, rebought for the early ones, and at-release for the rest.
That helped later on, when my to-be wife saw I'd mentioned them on my dating page

If anyone is looking to get started, the official websirte has a reading guide, based on preferred styles.
https://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/books/
The DW Empirium has a few guides, too:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-reading-order

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
At least one episode is called “Ooo”.

How badly could they eff up The Librarian?

Well for a start, he only says one thing and it's not "Ooo".

Stupid autocorrect!

Oook!




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and if someone wants Discworld at its most silly, go with the Wizards.

The Watch and the Witches are closer to real world satire, in that they’re making specific points. The Wizards are more general fantasy deftness (though not without satire)

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:


The Watch and the Witches are closer to real world satire, in that they’re making specific points. The Wizards are more general fantasy deftness (though not without satire)

You are grossly underestimating the importance of the cheese trolley!

Yeah I think some of the funniest lines come from the wizards books.

I feel for Ponder in the Wizard series.. the prototypical "nerd" in a university of maniacs.I also think it is wonderful how he graduated and became a Wizard..

I think, however, one of my fav characters is The Bursar..

I've got a lot of time for Mustrum Ridcully once he shows up int he Wizards books - and thought he was portrayed pretty well in the TV version of Hogfather.

 Dysartes wrote:
I've got a lot of time for Mustrum Ridcully once he shows up int he Wizards books - and thought he was portrayed pretty well in the TV version of Hogfather.

I agree, he's been fleshed out progressively over the years. I particularly liked the sequences of him with Granny Weatherwax and the almost proto-romance down one leg of the trousers of time hinted at in Lords and Ladies.

I started with Reaper Man, which is a favourite to this day even though it's not even a first book in one of the series. Death and the Wizards. At the time I had no idea who Pterry even was.

Don't start with Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic. Just don't. Reading Sourcery as an introduction to Rincewind is fine.

Soul Music and Moving Pictures are great, but there are a LOT of hidden jokes of film names and band names in there.

Only books I actually disliked were Unseen Academicals (possibly because i dislike football) and Snuff, which is HARSH.

Yeah, some of the later books are rather dark, with the humor considerably less prominent. Snuff and Maurice & His Educated Rodents (which was supposedly aimed at young readers) are the biggest offenders that come to mind there.

Monstrous regiment too; I get the impression that Terry was angry about the state of the world when he wrote that one.

 porkuslime wrote:
I feel for Ponder in the Wizard series.. the prototypical "nerd" in a university of maniacs.I also think it is wonderful how he graduated and became a Wizard..

I think, however, one of my fav characters is The Bursar..

Ponder more reminds me of the younger person in the office, on a lower wage than others, being given way more roles and responsibilities.

 Jadenim wrote:
Monstrous regiment too; I get the impression that Terry was angry about the state of the world when he wrote that one.

Yup, Monstrous Regiment is downright grim in places.

For what it's worth, I still quite enjoyed these books, they were just a different tone to his earlier books. The Shephard's Crown is probably the closest I've come to not enjoying a Pratchett book (although Dodger was a bit more of a slog as well) but even that one still had its moments.

So the third episode happened, and I finally figured out what the issue is with Vimes.
The director, writer and casting director somehow confused Nobby Nobbs with Sam Vimes, and wrote Vimes the character out of the script entirely.

Anyway, hijinks happen (the gang heads off to find A Clue), the musical number happens (its all very scooby doo), Death shows up to cut all the tension out of the climax of Ramkin's 'Dark Secret' (which isn't much of one), she beats up a little girl a couple times, and bureaucracy happens.

And a completely unrelated magic spell foretells the Vimes and Ramkin relationship, so the fact that the actors have no chemistry together (beyond the vague sense that fungus breaking down dead flesh is technically chemistry) has no bearing on future scripts.

Apparently parts of the episode were supposed to be funny, but the episode also included Dr Cruces telling jokes to the assassins and telling them 'Laugh,' and it felt way too on the nose.

Also during an ad break they decided to play a 'deleted scene' right after where the scene was supposed to go, which seemed to entirely defeat the point of cutting it.


On the other hand, the first floor of the assassins' guild had some really nice optical (camera) illusions, so it looked like they made an effort for a scene.
Unfortunately the rest of the assassins' guild was just the basement of some BBC building (or a random hospital, complete with the words 'basement' on the walls), and looked utterly terrible. Partly because they jammed the camera up towards the corner of the ceiling and walls, and tried to fit some action scenes in, including a 'fight' in a roughly 4'x8' closet. It didn't work out well.

It wraps up with one of those scenes where Vetinari skillfully winds Vimes up, and he does what the Patrician wants.
Except, due to the difference in writing skill between Pratchett and... whoever wrote this... Vetinari just tells him not to do things 'officially,' and Vimes is still confused.

 Jadenim wrote:
Monstrous regiment too; I get the impression that Terry was angry about the state of the world when he wrote that one.

It's been said that the purpose of comedy is to hold up a mirror to society. Which is why a lot of comedy writers get angrier as they get older.

No, Pratchett was ALWAYS angry.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-pratchett-angry-not-jolly-neil-gaiman

^ I mean yeah Neil Gaiman says it all in that article but really, it's not like it could be anything else. Terry's books were full of rage, particularly at the British system. If he had written a book for the last 4 years the pages would drip with such venom you'd have to wear gloves to turn the pages.

I dunno, I’m still liking the show. It’s not like Great, but it’s entertaining and cute, albeit cheesy. I don’t miss the troll just because his costume was poor and he couldn’t move very well. The future vision bit was odd and I’m not sure what that was or how that came up. Out of curiosity what was the deleted scene?

They continued to try to kill the snake Cheery was feeding to the little dragon. To the point of shooting it with a crossbow.
And then they all stood in the doorway posing with the dead snake while Vimes spasmed and convulsed at Ramkin.

 Overread wrote:

 Jadenim wrote:
I've had Sheperd's Crown since it was released and never had the stomach to read it. Partly because in the last couple of books before that you could tell that the disease was taking it's toll and partly because I just haven't been able to face the finality of it. Someday.

You're not alone - I stopped after Unseen Academicals and haven't gone further.

Unseen is where you can really start to tell he's losing his marbles (though the Moist Von Lipwig banking one had a few stylistic hints upon rereading) . The style changes and starts getting gradually less punchy and more wandering. They're not bad books by any stretch, but they're not him at his best. They started making me sad each time a new one came out the publishers, because you could tell each time that he'd deteriorated just that little bit more.

Well yeah, I thought Unseen Academicals wandered a bit - but then I'm also not into football so I'm willing to bet I was missing plenty of references and in-jokes that might have made it better.

I thought Snuff and Raising Steam were both better than Unseen Academicals.

Raising Steam was pretty good - not Pratchett at his best, but certainly better than the previous two.

Well. As of episode four, the animation budget has run so low that they've replaced the little dragon with a box with a flashing lightbulb. Which you can see in the box.

And the big dragon is just a soundtrack off screen.

Anyway, this seems to be 'romantic entanglements, the episode' which could be interesting, but they've decided this was the point they needed to jam in the Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness. Verbatim and apropos of nothing, and go with other bad jokes and terrible advice.


Ugh. The sheer amount of exposition and luck is absurd. The 'villains' find the person they're looking for on the second page of the second random book they pick up, know what's wrong with her just by looking, and find the macguffin by accidently thumping a wall.
And whatever they're doing with goblins in the show is just getting more offensive. And I still can't tell if they're trying for tragic or funny with them, which is part of why it lands so poorly every time. Though sometimes... they randomly just aren't dead.

And... name dropped geography. In the wrong order. And Cohen the barbarian is stuck in an old folks home. Lovely.