# Did I do this wrong? (RE: Terry Pratchet) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803 "2005-10-18T20:28:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/1 "2005-10-18T20:28:47Z")
Seeing that Mr. Pratchett has a decent reputation amongst the dopers here, I decided to check some f his works out of my local library. couldn’t find much at the _really_ local one, but they had Night Watch, and I thought I’d give it a whirl. Nowhere on it did it mention that it was part of discworld, so I figured I was getting a stand-alone novel. Of course, once I read it, I discovered one small reference to “The Disc” and so I figured that it was, indeed, part of the discworld series, even though it was not listed amonst the other Discworld novels on one of those intro pages. It was a good read, though, and so I thought I’d try another of his works. I went to the not-quite-as-local-and-much-larger library, and checked out “The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents” For fun, I looked on the inside cover to seeif Night Watch was listed, but it was not. However, a guide to Ankh-Morpork was in there, so I figured that Night Watch is definitey related, in some way, to the Discworld series. Also notably absent was any mention that the book I was checking out was a member of the Discworld series, but within a few pages, I saw familiar names like Pseudopolis and some others…so I’m guessing it IS part of the series. WTF? Where should I start? IS there a starting point? I’ll get to the questions on some of the wierd names later (Fred Colon? Rosie Palm?) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/2 "2005-10-18T20:30:31Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Seeing that Mr. Pratchett has a decent reputation amongst the dopers here, I decided to check some f his works out of my local library. couldn’t find much at the _really_ local one, but they had Night Watch, and I thought I’d give it a whirl. Nowhere on it did it mention that it was part of discworld, so I figured I was getting a stand-alone novel. > > Of course, once I read it, I discovered one small reference to “The Disc” and so I figured that it was, indeed, part of the discworld series, even though it was not listed amonst the other Discworld novels on one of those intro pages. > > It was a good read, though, and so I thought I’d try another of his works. I went to the not-quite-as-local-and-much-larger library, and checked out “The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents” > > For fun, I looked on the inside cover to seeif Night Watch was listed, but it was not. However, a guide to Ankh-Morpork was in there, so I figured that Night Watch is definitey related, in some way, to the Discworld series. > > Also notably absent was any mention that the book I was checking out was a member of the Discworld series, but within a few pages, I saw familiar names like Pseudopolis and some others…so I’m guessing it IS part of the series. > > WTF? Where should I start? IS there a starting point? I’ll get to the questions on some of the wierd names later (Fred Colon? Rosie Palm?) _The Colour of Magic_ is the first book, but I say start with _Mort_. Pratchett really begins to hit his stride by this book. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/3 "2005-10-18T20:41:26Z")
_Good Omens_ is by Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It’s not a Discworld novel, but a standalone. I highly recommend it. Buy it in hardback, you won’t be sorry. Rosie Palm is a lady of negotiable virtue in Night Watch, I believe, and is a madam in the other books. I certainly wouldn’t have picked NW to start with, but in the library, you take what you can get. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/4 "2005-10-18T21:29:23Z")
I echo what \*\*pulykamell \*\* said. You can generally skip the first few books in the series - you’ll get a bit of discontinuity later on, but nothing major. More importantly, it makes sense to read the various sub-series in order. You’ll miss a bit if you don’t (there are quite a few things in _Night Watch_ that you didn’t catch because you hadn’t read the other City Watch books). Go [here](http://www.ie.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/index.html) for a good guide to the order of the novels and the sub-series. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/5 "2005-10-18T21:51:56Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > WTF? Where should I start? IS there a starting point? I’ll get to the questions on some of the wierd names later (Fred Colon? Rosie Palm?) Welcome to the British sense of humour, mate. Get yerself a pair of comedy breasts and a whoppee cushion, and have a cup of tea and a custard cream while we sort out the paperwork. Colon relates to a body part _near the bottom_, do you see? And Rosie Palm is so called because of the expression “Meeting Mrs Palm and her five daughters”, which means, erm, indulging in the act of self-love, as it were. Toilet humour and innuendo. Almost guarantee to raise a smile (and possibly a snigger) from your average Brit. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/6 "2005-10-18T23:59:06Z")
_The Amazing Maurice_ strikes me as as good a starting point as any. It is a Discworld book, but as far as I know not linked real strongly with any of the others; it’s pretty good as far as both plotting and humor go, and it’s an easy read. But for all the opinions you could ever want, check out the thread [Would I like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=332427) ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/7 "2005-10-19T13:48:15Z")
Thanks everyone…I looked at “Amazing Maurice…” last night again and noticed that it did have a sub-heading of “The pied piper of…Discworld?” on it, so I did know it was a discworld novel when I took it out. But for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where it figures into the rest of the books…it’s not listed on the inside cover! Is that some sort of perverse Brit humour? ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/8 "2005-10-19T14:00:00Z")
_Amazing Maurice_ is sort of outside the standard Discworld line. It has it’s roots in an offhand remark made by a character in another book, but that’s about the only real connection. The story wouldn’t have changed substantially if it didn’t take place on the Discworld - I think it was only written and sold as such because “Discworld” has a strong brand name, particularly in Britain. Overall, I think the books outside any of the main sub-series are good starting places - _Pyramids_ if you want something from early in the series, and _Small Gods_ for something a little later. ---
**Author:** ![Graycat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Graycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graycat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/9 "2005-10-19T14:07:56Z")
_Maurice_ is a Discworld juvenile; he won [the Carnegie Award](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2124520.stm) for it . It is set on the Discworld, but it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the Canon. His other Discworld juveniles are the Tiffany Aching books: _The Wee Free Men_ and \* A Hat Full of Sky\*. These feature the Nac Mac Feegle, and the witches make a cameo in the first; the second has Tiffany in the Ramtops learning witching. For some reason, a lot of U.S. libraries and book stores insist on shelving these books with the adult fiction instead of in the YA section ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/10 "2005-10-19T15:35:03Z")
Night Watch is really not the best place to start. It’s pretty dark, has fewer gags than earlier books and you will have missed a lot by not knowing the backgrounds of (to name three) Vimes, Nobby and the Patrician. The Watch books are less _disc-y_ than the Wizzard or witch based stories, they depend a less on fantasy trappings. The gods tend not to interfere with Vimes and his men\*\*\*\*\* and Vimes doesn’t trust magic. **Guards Guards** would be the proper starter Watch book, it’s a down to earth cop/detective story (that happens to have a bloody great sixty foot long fire-breathing dragon in it). **Thudlow Boink** ’s link has a lot of opinions, but rather a lot of it is Pratchett verses Douglas Adams. **The Amazing Maurice. . .** is solidly set in Discworld\*\*\*\*\*\* Maurice and his rodents can speak because they’ve been eating out of the rubbish chucked out of The Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork. \*\*\*\*\* Mostly men, at least, mostly human. \*\*\*\*\*\* I don’t think this warrants a spoiler box since if you know anything about Discworld it’s bleeding obvious. Something similar happened to Gaspode the wonder dog. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/11 "2005-10-19T15:35:06Z")
> [@Graycat](#): > > For some reason, a lot of U.S. libraries and book stores insist on shelving these books with the adult fiction instead of in the YA section Maybe so that grown-up Discworld fans will find them? There’s no reason _Maurice_ can’t be read and enjoyed by adults; nobody ought to pass it up just because it’s a “YA” book. Maybe the bookstores and libraries figure that young’uns are more likely to venture into the adult section (especially the SF/fantasy section) than vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/12 "2005-10-19T17:40:20Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Thanks everyone…I looked at “Amazing Maurice…” last night again and noticed that it did have a sub-heading of “The pied piper of…Discworld?” on it, so I did know it was a discworld novel when I took it out. But for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where it figures into the rest of the books…it’s not listed on the inside cover! Is that some sort of perverse Brit humour? It’s a stand alone book. You don’t need to have read any of the other Disc books to understand what’s going on. Which is true for almost all of them, even when they use characters from earlier books. All of Pratchett’s stories are entirely self-contained. I read them before he finally started to get decent sales over here, and it was a royal pain to find his books. I had to read them in the order I found them. Luckily for me, the first two books were among the very last I could find, else I might have been put of Pratchett entirely. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/13 "2005-10-19T18:40:32Z")
Only the first two books have any strong continuity (“The Light Fantastic” starts with the cliffhanger at the end of “The Colour of Magic”); you can generally read the series in any order. But it’s best to read them in the rough order they’ve been published; characters get introduced and grow during the course of the books, so it’s better to start out seeing them from the beginning. About the only book that has no important connections with any other is **Small Gods**. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/14 "2005-10-19T21:58:14Z")
Just as a reminder, I’ll point out that _Lords and Ladies_ suggests reading _Witches Abroad_ first. Agree with the others who say _Night Watch_ is not a good introduction to Pratchett, if only because it makes fairly heavy use of established characters and events. _Amazing Maurice,_ despite its “juvenile” label, is a better stand-alone starter. ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-do-this-wrong-re-terry-pratchet/326803/15 "2005-10-19T22:17:36Z")
The newer paperbacks, pub’d by HarperPrism, have synopses in the back. At least my copy of \*\*Interesting Times \*\* does. Also included are brief character sketches and a crossword puzzle! BTW, if you can find it, read [The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060507772/qid=1129760114/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7612408-0759100?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). It’s a graphic novel about Cohen the Barbarian/Carrot’s trip to the moon and the artwork is the kind you have to pore over with a magnifying glass so you don’t miss anything.