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Bonanza Jellybean (b_jellybean) wrote in fandom_lounge,
@ 2007-08-07 11:06:00

Regarding Pratchett-mania
I hope that something non-strikeout related here will not be taken amiss, nay, may even be welcomed!

So I find myself with a bit of free time, a library card, and a credit for Audible. I have long been told that I am pretty much the biggest loser on the internet for knowing nothing of Terry Pratchett beyond Good Omens. Previously, I was far too intimidated by the number of Discworld books out there to start trying to read them, but I have recently been informed that they are not one of those series where you have to read them in chronological order to understand everything.

Thus, I am requesting you, members of f_l, to please recommends some Pratchett books for me to read. Are there particular Discworld books that I absolutely must read? Should I start with something outside of that series? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

(Post a new comment)

	eilan 2007-08-07 02:15 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, I totally second this request :) I have started chronologically and am now at the second book. but I won't let that restrict me ;) (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:23 am UTC

shadowkitty
2007-08-07 02:23 pm UTC (link)

The Guards books are murder mysteries. Sort of. They start with Guards, Guards!

The Witches books are mostly retellings of famous stories, especially the earlier ones. They start with Wyrd Sisters.

The Death books feature Death & his granddaughter & start with Mort (although Reaper Man or Soul Music are better places to start from)

A good place to start is one of the more recent standalones like Going Postal or Monstrous Regiment. They give you a good feel for the books. Whatever you do, don't start from the first book (The Colour of Magic) & work your way through. There is a marked improvement after the first few!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:24 am UTC

ladybirdsleeps, 2007-08-08 02:10 am UTC

snowden
2007-08-07 02:24 pm UTC (link)

My favorites are the Watch books, which feature Sam Vimes and the rest of the police force in Ankh-Morpork. They start with Guards! Guards!, and then go on to Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and The Fifth Elephant. There are also the witch books, which I don't like as much for whatever, which feature Granny Weatherwax. She's kind of a female Sam Vimes anyway, come to think of it.

Also, as a stand-alone The Truth is pretty good. It was the first one I read so I have a thing for it.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:25 am UTC

	senor_pinata 2007-08-07 02:28 pm UTC (link)
	The Watch and Witches books are the best IMHO. Guards! Guards! is an excellent place to start. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:25 am UTC

aristaea
2007-08-07 02:37 pm UTC (link)

I'm a big fan of the City Watch series, featuring Vimes and Carrot and Angua and often Lord Vetinari, although I recently recommended Jingo to a friend, and she complained that she couldn't understand it because she didn't know who all the characters were. So I'd suggest starting with at least the first Watch book, which is Guards! Guards!, before reading the rest. The Watch books just get better and better, and I don't think you could go wrong with them.

The witch books, with Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, are also good, although I find the new Tiffany Aching books (which are about a younger girl who is learning to be a witch, and they start with Wee Free Men) more interesting because Pratchett wrote them specifically for younger audiences.

There are also the Death books, and although I love Death, I don't really like his grand-daughter Susan very much — but Mort and Reaper Man are both worth a read.

I don't like the first two books (Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic) because I think the writing is understandably less polished, and they lack the world sense that is present in the later books. But I do love Rincewind and the Luggage, and my favourites there are Interesting Times and The Last Continent.

There are several stand-alone novels, but since they don't really have recurring characters their wonderfulness is more subjective. I like Pyramids, The Truth, and Small Gods (which is great if you are interested in the development of religion). I also recently read The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, which took me a while to get into, but I really loved it, and I was so sad at the end! And Going Postal is one of my favourite books, period.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

seiberwing, 2007-08-07 04:56 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:26 am UTC

kaesa, 2007-08-09 09:47 pm UTC

melannen
2007-08-07 02:38 pm UTC (link)

I've been trying to get people started by way of the recent young adult ones - The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is stand-alone, and then there's Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith. About a young and very unususal witch, and they're slightly less wacky and more straightforward than the grown-up ones, but still wonderfual, funny, and unmistakeably Discworldian. (Also, intended as a starting place for people who haven't read any of the others.)

His other YA series - the Johnny Maxwell books are awesome and hilarious but short. The Bromeliad Trilogy I read when I was actually YA sized and not since then; I remember it being good, and rather intense for YA fantasy, but not particularly stand-out, and I never would have guessed it was by the same Pratchett because it's played mostly straight.

Beyound that, I second the recommendation for the Guards books. Escpecially the first three. And once you've read those, you'll have the background to dive into any book about Ankh-Morpork, which is quite a few of them.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:27 am UTC

	acaciaonnastik 2007-08-07 02:41 pm UTC (link)
	ITA with everyone recommending the Watch cycle. Also, as far as the standalones go, I am of the opinion that everyone- in the entire world, if possible- should read Small Gods at least once. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:27 am UTC

littledrop
2007-08-07 02:54 pm UTC (link)

Oh, good request! I have been a Discworld nerd most of my life and always welcome the opportunity to expound. So. A lot of die hard fans will tell you that the earlier books are best, but I am of the opposite opinion and believe the later books are Pratchett's best. I mean, sure, some of the earlier books are great, but his prose is so much better lately.

Of the Discworld standalones, I'd recommend Small Gods, The Truth, and Going Postal (the latter is particularly amusing if you've ever worked in mail processing and delivery *g*). I'm a big fan of the Watch books, which start with Guards! Guards! and end with most recent, Thud. The Watch books include Night Watch, which I think is the best of all Discworld novels, but you really can't go into it blind or you'll miss out on all the character work.

Really, though, it's all subjective. Everybody has a different opinion, so I'd just browse and see what takes your fancy. I mean, lots of people hate Rincewind but I think he's great. Cowardly wizard who knows one spell and saves the world. You can't really beat that sort of thing. *g*

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:28 am UTC

vigilanterodent, 2007-08-08 01:02 am UTC

littledrop, 2007-08-09 12:46 am UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-09 02:33 am UTC

hangingfire
2007-08-07 02:59 pm UTC (link)

L-Space has a suggested reading order guide, which you can take or leave, but which does provide a handy overview of how the different series fit together.

As you might guess from the icon, I love the Death books. I also really like the City Watch books; Sam Vimes speaks to me, somehow. Not a huge Rincewind fan, but Interesting Times is pretty terrific. I'm also very fond of Small Gods and Monstrous Regiment. I like the witch characters, but somewhat perversely, am not all that fond of the books in which they appear.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

papervolcano, 2007-08-07 05:10 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:28 am UTC

	phosfate 2007-08-07 03:03 pm UTC (link)
	If you decide to read them in chronological order, keep in mind that it takes him 4 or 5 books to really get up to speed. I dig the Watch books hugely. The YA novels are good, though some folks find Tiffany Aching a bit of a M* S. Hogfather is a good later novel that stands alone pretty well. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:29 am UTC

belafarinrod
2007-08-07 04:39 pm UTC (link)

Avoid Night Watch until you've read some of the watch books, then get it. It's my favorite.

Going Postal is also very good and the Tiffany series is pretty nice, with the feel of the earlier books but the much better writing of the later ones. Reaper Man is also awesome

If you've read some of the books and think you've missed the jokes, I find the Annotated Pratchett File both interesting and entertaining.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

seiberwing, 2007-08-07 04:54 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:29 am UTC

	jira 2007-08-07 04:45 pm UTC (link)
	Mort. I don't know why, just, Mort is brilliant in my eyes. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:30 am UTC

	solle 2007-08-07 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	I don't know shit about Discworld apart from that really cool song Eric Idle did but from what I've heard, the first book is not all that good compared to the rest. It's the only one I've read, and I wasn't terribly impressed - I didn't much like Good Omens either, though, so I'm probably just a heathen. Or I should read more. Whichever works. (Reply to this)(Thread)

seiberwing, 2007-08-07 04:55 pm UTC

littledrop, 2007-08-07 05:07 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:30 am UTC

alexia75
2007-08-07 04:50 pm UTC (link)

Night Watch is my favourite but I agree with

belafarinrod it should be savoured once you're already head-over-heels in love with the Watch squad. I can't remember where I started, but I haven't read a Discworld novel I haven't loved. That said, they do get loads better the further into the series you go - I reckon try one of the above stand-alones for starters.

As far as outside Discworld goes, Only You Can Save Mankind is fabulous. And I know Carpet People and Truckers, Diggers, Wings are kind of the dark horses of the Pratchett fold but I still love them.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:31 am UTC

	pennydeath 2007-08-07 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	Going Postal is eeeexcellent and gives a pretty good feel for the Disc. Small Gods is really awesome too. Both of them are standalones, but I didn't really find it a problem to jump in and out of story arcs when I first started reading. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:31 am UTC

papervolcano
2007-08-07 05:09 pm UTC (link)

:D

I don't have anything to add to the above, bar pointing out that my favourite strand is the Watch books (particularly the two latest - Night Watch and Thud), that I dislike the Rincewind and Tiffany Aching books, and that you should put off reading Making Money (due out later this year) until you've read Going Postal. I found Pyramids to be my favourite standalone, and kinda really didn't like Monstrous Regiment. I would happily thrust the Watch books into the hands of anyone looking to get into the Discworld books.

I got into the series via Pyramids, and would happily recommend picking up a standalone that sounds interesting, but the main reason I'm making this comment is the audible credit - I'm not sure if there's a different narrator in the US versions, but I've got rather a lot of the audiobooks, and would happily recommend any of the ones read by Stephen Briggs. My personal preference there would be to get one of the later ones (Night Watch! Thud!), as they tend to be both awesome and easily worth a re-listen or lots.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

ellensmithee, 2007-08-07 05:47 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:33 am UTC

	caffeine_fairy 2007-08-07 05:38 pm UTC (link)
	I think the best stand alone one is "Small Gods". My husband read it and then started on the rest of the series. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:33 am UTC

fidrich
2007-08-07 05:39 pm UTC (link)

Another vote for Night Watch being well worth a read, and I say this as someone who hasn't read the other Watch books. I'm actually not a huge Pratchett fan - I think he comes across as thinking he's a lot more clever than he actually is, if that makes sense - but I enjoyed Thief of Time and Hogfather a LOT. And I really like the idea of Ankh-Morpork - I have The Streets of Ankh-Morpork Mapp and I think it's ace.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:34 am UTC

vigilanterodent
2007-08-07 07:06 pm UTC (link)

The book I started with was Small Gods, which I heartily recommend. It's a standalone (though there are references to what happens post-SG to the country in question in other books) and a really good example of Pratchett's mix of funny and serious.

Like practically everyone else I love the Watch books to pieces and think they're Pratchett's best work. After that, the Witches books are my favorites; I love DEATH as a character but am a heathen and don't really like Susan, so I'm not so keen on the later books in that cycle.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:34 am UTC

	monty 2007-08-07 08:59 pm UTC (link)
	While I agree with (pretty much) everyone else that the Watch books are great, I like the Witch books more. And I recommend jumping straight to Witches Abroad, which is actually the third one. It's great. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:35 am UTC

	khym_chanur 2007-08-07 09:40 pm UTC (link)
	I'd avoid Moving Pictures (a stand-alone) as a first book, it's not that great. And I'll go against the grain here and say that Going Postal isn't a good choice for a first Pratchett book, since in IMHO it's not Pratchett at his best. That aside, I personally think that Wyrd Sisters and Guards! Guards! would be great choices. (Reply to this)(Thread)

vigilanterodent, 2007-08-07 09:44 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:35 am UTC

keri
2007-08-07 09:50 pm UTC (link)

I started reading them chronologically, because I read all my series that way, and I'm only up to Pyramids. But I LOVE that book like whoa. It's my favorite so far, and I really enjoyed the Death book I've read. Mort, I think it was called? I had to skip Wyrd Sisters because it wasn't available on my last trip when I picked up my second batch of three (including Sourcery, which was enjoyable because I love Rincewind, but not otherwise remarkable).

I'm a sucker for folkloric and myth stuff, so Pyramids was right up my alley, with the whole not!Egyptian society with pyramids and pharoah-type kings and such.

Now, I really need to take the books I've read up to the used book store and trade them in for the next set. I'm looking forward to Moving Pictures and Reaper Man, according to the Wikipedia descriptions.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:35 am UTC

keri, 2007-08-08 12:47 am UTC

	rotten_fish 2007-08-07 09:56 pm UTC (link)
	Lords and Ladies is definitely one of the first Witches books (and one of my very favorites), and Going Postal is a really great stand-alone where you're introduced to pretty much all of the main characters in that book itself, so those are the two I'd suggest. Honestly, I just spent a half-an-hour writing this comment and realized I had suggest about half of them! D: (Reply to this)(Thread)

seiberwing, 2007-08-07 11:05 pm UTC

scootermcgaffin, 2007-08-08 12:55 am UTC

seiberwing, 2007-08-08 12:58 am UTC

bwthree, 2007-08-08 10:00 pm UTC

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 12:36 am UTC

	scootermcgaffin 2007-08-08 12:56 am UTC (link)
	I am going to point out before I even start this comment that I am the only person in the history of ever to not like the Watch books. The Witch books are awesome, however, as are the Death ones. I'd start with Mort and Wyrd Sisters, and go on from there. (Reply to this)(Thread)

b_jellybean, 2007-08-08 01:04 am UTC

	keleri 2007-08-08 03:28 pm UTC (link)
	I am a fan who is basically convinced that Pratchett can do no wrong, although some of the earlier books plus Moving Pictures and Eric really weren't my favorites. That said, I will echo the suggestion to start with Wyrd Sisters or Guards! Guards!. I've found that Pratchett gets better as he goes along; Thud! is one of his most recent books and one of my favorites. ^^ (Reply to this)

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