# Discworld Latecomers Ongoing Discussion (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [January 12, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979 "2017-01-12T18:35:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/261 "2019-10-23T17:04:44Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I’m the only person on the planet that found Small Gods boring…I would shot myself in the foot before I read that slog again. Not alone, my dude(tte). I even read it a second time because people here kept splooshing about it and I figured I must have missed something but nope. Still a snoozefest. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/262 "2019-10-23T17:37:52Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Not alone, my dude(tte). I even read it a second time because people here kept splooshing about it and I figured I must have missed something but nope. Still a snoozefest. Vorbis is one of the scariest antagonists and I find Brutha to be an admirable protagonist. So much to hate about Vorbis. So much to like and admire about Brutha. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/263 "2019-10-23T19:46:44Z")
I don’t think that I would call _The Truth_ my favorite, but it is certainly one of the better ones, good enough that I don’t think anyone else is crazy for calling it their favorite. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/264 "2019-10-23T20:04:41Z")
Today my Top 5 would be: 1. _Night Watch_ 2. _Soul Music_ 3. _Reaper Man_ 4. _Lords & Ladies_ 5. _Going Postal_ _Jingo_ and _Feet of Clay_ flirt with the Top 5 on any given day. _Unseen Academicals_ has never budged from the absolute bottom of my list. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/265 "2019-10-23T20:09:35Z")
Small Gods is far and away my favorite, but number two, above anything else, is The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/266 "2019-10-23T22:38:56Z")
[quote=“silenus, post:264, topic:776979”] Today my Top 5 would be: 1. _Night Watch_ 2. _Soul Music_ 3. _Reaper Man_ 4. _Lords & Ladies_ 5. _Going Postal_ /QUOTE] My thoughts 1. _Night Watch_ - yes, very good book 2. _Soul Music_ - yes, good, but I don’t think of it often 3. _Reaper Man_ - love the ending, liked the book 4. _Lords & Ladies_ - one of the best 5. _Going Postal_ - not read yet ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/267 "2019-10-25T00:35:18Z")
I see that **Mahaloth** hasn’t read it yet, so I’ll say no more about any details of it, but is there any love here for _Making Money_? I found it to be very good. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/268 "2019-10-25T00:55:27Z")
I’ve found that it improves on re-reading. I wasn’t very impressed the first time through. After re-reading it several times over the years, it has grown on me. Pineapple cream pie. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/269 "2019-10-25T02:26:25Z")
Yeah, I’ll just say this: it’s a great combination of serious bits and some really funny bits. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/270 "2019-10-25T06:51:41Z")
I positively \*love \*the first two Moist books. _Raising Steam_… not so much. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/271 "2019-10-25T10:46:02Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > I see that **Mahaloth** hasn’t read it yet, so I’ll say no more about any details of it, but is there any love here for _Making Money_? I found it to be very good. I like it well enough, but I’m not a _huge_ Moist von Lipwig fan. I felt like I was being forced to accept him as the lead protagonist of his book series by author fiat, if you know what I mean. I didn’t feel he earned my sympathy or admiration, the way say Vimes or Granny or Susan or even Rincewind had. “Cocky bugger who always somehow gets away with everything” is \*not \*my favourite archetype at all. I guess I like the Moist books in spite of Moist, rather than because of. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/272 "2019-10-25T10:58:16Z")
Whereas I’m an absolute sucker for panache, bullshit artistry and giant brass balls :). Reinforced, in Moist’s specific case, by his crisis of conscience upon being made aware of the real impact of his “victimless” cons. He’s not just a magnificent bastard, but a \*moral \*magnificent bastard. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/273 "2019-10-25T12:03:37Z")
It’s not the trickery (I mean, that’s all headology is, after all). It’s the inevitability of it all. I don’t like Lucky as a prime character trait. It’s boring. And \*all \*Pratchett’s leads are moral, that’s nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/274 "2019-10-25T12:04:30Z")
My main problem with Making Money is that it was just a re-tread of Going Postal. Very much the Soul Music to GP’s Moving Pictures. I know that you could make the same argument about e.g. the Guard’s books. all of which tend to involve them solving crimes in AM, but each book of those built on the last whereas MM felt like more of a reset. Also: the whole plot with the doggie heir never really went anywhere - a couple of false alarms, but no actual serious threat to be dealt with. And the final confrontation with Moist’s old con rival was just empty - Moist doesn’t talk his way out of it, or use his new-found responsibility to dredge up the inner strength to deal with the threat: the guy’s dentures just blow up in his face. And in the end, the hard-won resolution Moist and Spike have worked so hard for is undercut when all the money magically just reappears anyhow. So in the end, it felt a bit pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/275 "2019-10-25T12:12:10Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > And \*all \*Pratchett’s leads are moral, that’s nothing special. I meant that within the context of literary magnificent bastards in general. The archetype lends itself too easily to cynical or downright unpleasant characters. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/276 "2019-10-25T12:39:58Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > My main problem with Making Money is that it was just a re-tread of Going Postal. Very much the Soul Music to GP’s Moving Pictures. Have to disagree here - _Soul Music_ is \*so \*much better than _Moving Pictures_, it doesn’t feel like a retread at all. Especially since it incorporates Death and Susan to such an extent, whereas \*MP \*is, I suppose, more a wizards arc book. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/277 "2019-10-25T12:45:11Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I meant that within the context of literary magnificent bastards in general. The archetype lends itself too easily to cynical or downright unpleasant characters. Fair enough. I’m not a fan of the underlying type, though, just making this one moral isn’t going to override the rest of it for me. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/278 "2019-10-25T16:39:18Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > My main problem with Making Money is that it was just a re-tread of Going Postal. Very much the Soul Music to GP’s Moving Pictures. I know that you could make the same argument about e.g. the Guard’s books. all of which tend to involve them solving crimes in AM, but each book of those built on the last whereas MM felt like more of a reset. > > Also: the whole plot with the doggie heir never really went anywhere - a couple of false alarms, but no actual serious threat to be dealt with. And the final confrontation with Moist’s old con rival was just empty - Moist doesn’t talk his way out of it, or use his new-found responsibility to dredge up the inner strength to deal with the threat: the guy’s dentures just blow up in his face. And in the end, the hard-won resolution Moist and Spike have worked so hard for is undercut when all the money magically just reappears anyhow. > > So in the end, it felt a bit pointless. I had the same feeling about _Making Money_, so I actaully liked _Raising Steam_ a lot more that _Making Money._ That said, since I am active in several local fan communities, The Moist books give me multiple chuckles as Pterry pokes fun at the various kinds of people you find in any fandom. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/279 "2019-10-25T20:35:16Z")
_Soul Music_, I thought, was a sort of mash-up of _Moving Pictures_ and _Mort_. Viewed each on its own merits, it was probably better than either of its ingredients, but there still wasn’t really a point in the book where I was saying “This is new”. And it also still suffers from the magic reset button common to all the first half of the series. _Making Money_ vs. _Going Postal_ was more in the vein of “here’s another adventure from this character I’ve now established”. It probably wasn’t quite as good, because Moist’s floor was higher, so to speak: Even if he fails as the minter, he’s still the postmaster. But it was still pretty good. _Raising Steam_ was one of the worst Discworld books, and a real disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979/280 "2019-10-26T02:25:07Z")
I really like the throwaway bits that Pratchett put into the stories. In _Thud!_ (okay story, but pretty _deus ex machina_) there’s the bit at the end where Carrot shows Vetinari the device they found in the caves, two cubes that simply spin next to each other. With no apparent energy source, and with no apparent limit on energy output. Magical, in brief, and kind of ‘so what’ for Discworld. Vetinari asks what it’s good for, and Carrot answers a little uncertainly, “Everything?” Um, a true perpetual motion device. Yup, that really would change the rules of the game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-latecomers-ongoing-discussion-open-spoilers/776979.md?page=15)