I did it all wrong. Never heard of Pratchett before I picked up Thief of Time at a yard sale in my early thirties. My book collections prior to that were Christie, PD James, Dick Francis, Robert Spencer, etc., nothing…otherworldly. So, ToT. I was hooked forever and at the same time, missed most of the references in it, and spent the next few years answering the question, “what the hell did I just read?”
I binge-read during the winter. Some winters later there’s a collection of Pratchett on my Kindle that looks like I might have read some in order (but I doubt it) or could give you an idea of what happens in what book. Nope. It’s been long enough now that I barely remember Reaper Man - time to read it again.
Sounds like waiting for Tiffany Aching is wise, so I will. I will probably either read Reaper Man or go read the first book involving the Witches.
I have read only one Rincewind book, so I wouldn’t mind reading another with him as well, especially since the Light Fantastic continues from the first one.
My favorite Rincewind book is The Last Continent. Interesting Times is good, too (and reintroduces Twoflowers and Cohen the Barbarian.) And keep in mind that The Last Hero comes in two versions, one illustrated.
For the Witches, I’d recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters, then moving on to Witches Abroad and Lords & Ladies. Rincewind is a bit more problematic. Light Fantastic would be a good continuation. Sourcery comes next in the sequence, followed by [del]Faust[/del]Eric. Neither of those is all that good, IMO. You could skip to Interesting Times quite easily and not be missing much, and it is a much better book.
Considering that I liked both of them just fine, and I have yet to read Soul Music at all, I don’t think this is really true. And Witches Abroad added nothing to my experience of Lord of Ladies, honestly.
Pratchett does a pretty good job of making his books self contained.
Reaper Man is my choice for the next one. After that, I’ll likely jump over to the first Witch novel, or perhaps read the Light Fantastic.
I think my strategy, if there can be one, is to read a bit from each series, kind of jumping around. That kind of keeps me in publication order, but only in the sense that I am reading the earlier ones first.
Or I’ll just read whatever next one in whatever series I want.
I started with Going Postal, but on the recommendations of Dopers I went back and started at the beginning. And …
Small Gods is my all-time favorite. I say that as a Christian, knowing that Sir Terry, an atheist, was addressing the Church. It is a novel I would recommend to my pastor. It was a story that spelled out how a Christian should be.
I love the Night Watch books, having been raised by a cop dad. I would recommend all of them to my dad, who was a cop for 36 years.
And having lived in a men’s homeless shelter for 8 years, I have an appreciation for Foul Ol’ Ron.
FUCK. I didn’t realise he managed to get another book out after the last Lipwig book. Even in that book, I thought he was declining somewhat (I recall it was finished by his daughter?) but if it’s the last chance for some new Terry…
#41 is The Shepherd’s Crown (the final Discworld book and the 5th Tiffany book)
Rhianna did not write or finish any books in the Discworld series. Sir Terry didn’t finish editing Shepherd’s Crown but everything in it he wrote himself.
Be sure to check out:
A Blink of the Screen–A collection of shorter fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day.
A Slip of the Keyboard–A collection of essays and other non fiction by the creator of Discworld, with a foreword by Neil Gaiman.
Also, not Discworld and it is undetermined how much TP actually put into it, but if you want everything with Terry Pratchett’s name attached to it, you should be aware of the Long Earth series, which recently finished up.
Reaper Man was the one that sealed my love for Discworld. And the Tiffany books, they’re more than just a little girl gets into aventures, they’re about responsibility and doing what’s needed even if it isn’t what is wanted.
I went back and reread them in publication order, which worked well for me. I seem to like less popular ones, like Snuff, so you might not want to take my advise.
I didn’t DISLIKE Snuff. But I felt like Mr. Pratchett was getting a bit heavy handed from Night Watch on. (I didn’t DISLIKE Night Watch either, but it’s not one of my favorites like it seems to be for so many others.)
Alright back. I… was ok with Shephard’s crown. It didn’t resonate as deeply as his other books to me, but oh well. It felt like a coming of age story that didn’t quite get there and got interrupted by a Harry Potter style battle at the end.
Guess that’s it then. At least he’s written more than Iain Banks…
Just want to note that the* Science of the Discworld* books often get ignored in reading lists but they are, AFAICT, actually in continuity as far as the UU staff go. And they’re not the first Discworld book to drag real-Earth into things.
