Diskworld - where to start and is it worth it?

I remember reading the first Discworld a long time ago, when it was still new. That must be over twenty years ago now I guess.

I remember thoroughly enjoying it, but of course I was a teenager then and pretty much into fantasy and RPGs etc. I never got around to reading the sequel (The Colour of Magic?) and long-since moved onto other topics; primarily non-fiction actually.

However, in the past year or so I've started reading fiction again. I even ventured back into fantasy, greatly enjoying George RR Martin and China Mieville. Having read a recent review of Pratchett's most recent book I was surprised to see how respected his work was, and what positive reviews he got from the regular press. So I've been thinking about checking his stuff out again. As "humourous fantasy" I'm assumig it's pretty easy to read. I just want to know whether as a slightly jaded 40 year old if I'll enjoy it.

And, of course, where to start? I was astounded to see that there's over twenty titles now!

Google-Discworld Reading Order & you will find a colorful chart which is very informative on this subject. I read the book that comes next The Light Fantastic & i liked it & have read about 10 others including Hogfather & fully intend to read all the rest eventually. I read a Pratchett when i need to 'lighten' up a bit. By al means read Good Omens if you have not already. 8^)

Dear omaca and group,

Like you I read The Colour... when it first came out though I was older , OK much older than you. Hmm was I a "...a slightly jaded 40 yo." then?

As a grizzled SF reader I thought, huh, an adequate fantasy. I think I found the next one 2 years later. Also OK but not something to rave about. I did though remember the humour and the footnotes. Then I started reading them as they came out, usually from the library.

Some of the strands appealed more to me (witches, and the watch and I suspect I am not Robinson Crusoe there) BUT I enjoyed reading them in publication order, waiting for a new "witches etc". Thus, if you haven't read a significant number yet I can recommend that approach.

I could see Pratchett evolving, hitting his stride developing his characters and alas I could also see his stagnation at the end.

Last year I decided to own ALL of the basic books. I think I had only bought about 15 of them. I now have the core 37 plus a few others.

I noticed you had some popular science books, I suggest you have a look at
his "the Science of Diskworld" 3 books which intertwine Science articles ( by people like 'Ian Stewart') with Diskworld tales.

Still not sure if I should get "Nanny Oggs cookbook" though :-)

Well enjoy, I have the anticipated pleasure of re-reading them in any order in the future.

Edited to add "the Science..."

BTW, apologies for the egregious spelling error in the title. Diskworld? Ugh...

Er. Um, Just looked at a book. Yes disCworld. But we accept yank spelling, don't we?

I'm sure no one will be very angry over a typo. ^-^

I tried reading Pratchett when I was a teen. I tried his works in English. I tried them in Dutch. I tried different books. Nothing helped. Three pages is about as far as I ever got. (I played the games based on Discworld and loved those, so... Yeah, I blame the writing style.)

Then, in my first year at uni, I picked up The Last Hero and said "After this one, if I still don't like it, I will nevermore try a Discworld book". I loved it. It's not necessarily a good starting point, though. I wish I could say for certain, but I knew enough about the characters to be able to follow along.

With Discworld, you can pretty much dive in anywhere you want and read them in different ways. I think it's generally considered that the first three books are his worst. Most people I know seem to recommend the Watch or the Death cycles as starting points.

But I think I'll second Guido and recommend the "Science of" books as an option to look into. They'll give you an idea if you like Pratchett's humour (still) and at the same time offer you something more meatie to vary it with.

I wouldn't recommend the Science of books as an introduction to Pratchett, his voice his scarcely there. They are quite good pop-sci books for getting a grounding in basic theories underpinning science of today, but I don't think the Discworld counterpoints do or add very much.

I agree that his early works are not his best, they are little more than parodies of the fantasy genre. Many people are also less enamored of his latest works because it feels very much like he's trying too hard. the Reading Guide (pdf) gives you some idea of how the books are connected.

Mort, guards guards, and equal rites are the normal starting points. But if you can vaguely remember something about the world, then you can dive in pretty much anywhere. I've reviewed a fair number of the discworld books, but still have many more to go.

The reason why so many people adults and children alike, enjoy Pratchett's work is not just for the surface level humour and easy writing style, it is also for the deeper social commentry and thoughts on society in general. Hence even as a jaded 40 yr old you can find plenty of amusement.

I only found Terry Pratchett in the last 12 months, as a 40+ year old. I think the two book's I've read so far were hilarious (Hogfather and Eric). Depends on your sense of humour, though, I guess.

My father...in his late 50s...loves the books and ate them up! So I don't think age really comes into it. I enjoyed the first few (first in publication order) well enough, but it wasn't until several books in that I really got hooked. I think Pratchett had to figure out what he was doing with this world of his and where he wanted to go with it, and once he figured it out, he flew with it all!

#8

Personally I found Eric and Hogfather two of the weaker books so I would say that you have some good reading ahead.

I agree with the people who said that he only got into his stride with the 4th or 5th book. While the total number of books may seem daunting, there are a number of subseries. The Guards series may appeal to you particularly if you like police procedurals: if so, start with Guards! Guards!. The Witches series is my favourite: while Equal Rites is the first, I think it's a bit weak, and the second, Wyrd Sisters is a better place to start, especially if you know any Shakespeare!

The first book I read by Pratchett was Small Gods. It's one of his more stand alone titles and it got me hooked. The next one I read was Men at Arms, which actually is second in the character strand that starts with Guards! Guards!
Pratchett's early works are not necessarily the best examples of Discworld. I would only recommend reading them in order if you feel a driving need to do so. Otherwise, I would take a look at the descriptions and choose one that appeals. His world is pretty easy to dive into. The stories just get better with more in-depth background knowledge.

I started with the first 5 of the City Watch sequence ( City Watch ) . Then read the rest. And now I read the new ones as they come out...

Prachett has alzeimers disease now so I doubt there will be more books. I love the Witches series - and DEATH. Not so fond of The Watch but my hubby loves them. The Hogfather is a wonderful Christmas read :)

He has an "early onset" form which means he might go on for a few more years.
The discworld group mentioned he is close to finishing the 4th. Tiffany novel.

My Favorite Pratchett is the Tiffany Aching Series start with Wee Free Men its fun the humor is great I found myself laughing out loud.Also as others have said The Hogfather is really good too.I agree too that some are better than others but they are always a fun read.

After enjoying his book written with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, I tried Colour of Magic and didn't like it that much. A friend told me I should instead start with The Fifth Elephant and read the ones featuring the main character in that thread of the series. Haven't tried it yet.

Hmm, I found The Fifth Elephant too full of obscure references, and that was after I'd already read the preceding books. I doubt it's a good starting point.

On the other hand, the first couple of books have a different flavor from the rest of the series.

Pyramids and Small Gods are good starting books because they stand alone. Wyrd Sisters and Guards! Guards! are good because they are at the beginnings of their respective subseries. (Witches and watchmen, respectively. I mean watchpersons. Watchcreatures.)

My first Discworld book was Carpe Juglem. It's absolutely hysterical! He pokes fun at vampires, Igors, and witches. After reading the book, I became hooked. I read Unseen Academicals back in October, and found myself laughing at the wizards playing (or should I say "attempting to play?") soccer. I highly recommend Terry Pratchett for anyone with an odd sense of humor.

Discworld is totally worth it. I really think you can jump in anywhere, but the City Watch (starting with Guards! Guards!) miniseries-within-the-series is great. I also love The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents and the books featuring the Witches (Wyrd Sisters, etc.).

The Discworld books are pretty much stand alone.

But my advice is that you read Mort before reading Soul Music and Hogfather.

I didn't like Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic as much as I like the other Discworld novels though. Yeah, these are the first two books and many Discworld fans will recommend them.

But as I read the other books in the series, I came to like Death, and I just couldn't reconcile the earlier version Death (and Ysabell) with the almost-with-a-sense-of-humour version that appears in the later novels. With Ysabell, she seems so ... normal in Mort, but Terry made her out to be a scythe-wielding psycho in The Light Fantastic.

If you decide you like Discworld you should take a look at their fan group here. All Things Discworldian - http://www.librarything.com/groups/allthingsdiscworldia#forums

I love the Discworld books! They seem to appeal to all ages. It mostly depends on your taste in humor. I would recemend starting with one of the single novels or Guards! Guards!

Seeing as how it has been several months... Have you tried one yet?

I started with Thief of Time, enjoyed it, and completely understood what was happening.

I think Mort is the best early book to start with. I would avoid the first two, as others have suggested here, until you get more involved. One of the stand-alones, Small Gods, is really great. I would give that one a try.

> 22

I've bought a couple, but I haven't read them yet. :-O

To friends of mine unacquainted with the series I have gifted Small Gods and Hogfather, because they were standalone titles (ish) and, to my mind, good representatives.