# Discworld. You guys win. Now, what order would you recommend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250 "2008-07-12T18:10:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/1 "2008-07-12T18:10:26Z")
I had read a book or two by Pratchett in the past and thought he was just ok. Because of that experience I never bothered to even try the Discworld books figuring Pratchett was just not for me. But, the way so many of you praise the series, you wore me down. I bought _The Color of Magic_. I am just about done and I am loving it. I cannot say enough good things. It’s cute and clever and a fun read (and I understand that it only gets better from here). I know this question has been asked before, but I think it’s been a while, so I am asking again :p. In your opinion, what is the best order to read them? Should I go in publishing order, read them by series, or just read whatever seems to tickle my fancy at the time I am in the bookstore? I also bought _Going Postal_ at the same time I bought _The Color of Magic_ just because I liked the premise. Can I read that next or would that be too confusing because it’s so far down the line and I would have missed too much? I will be at the bookstore sometime this weekend and I am going to pick up _The Light Fantastic_, because that’s next in both publishing order and in the Rincewind series so I figure I can’t go wrong there. But what should come after that? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/2 "2008-07-12T18:57:20Z")
Matter of taste. The first three Discworld novels – _The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic,_ and _Equal Rites_ – are set in a sort of Hyborian Age sword-and-sorcery melieu. In (most of) the later ones, the level of civilization and technology appears to be more like 18th-Century Europe, though some of the earlier characters remain. The later ones are arguably funnier, but that’s to be expected as an artist learns his craft with practice. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/3 "2008-07-12T18:59:41Z")
[All novels listed here by date of publication.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld#Novels) ---
**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:** [July 12, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/4 "2008-07-12T19:14:55Z")
[Discworld the L-Space way.](http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-1-5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/5 "2008-07-12T21:49:39Z")
I would read them all in the order they were published, with the caveat that everything before Wyrd Sisters is “beta version” Discworld: you need to read them to understand the main characters’ backstories, but be advised that the tone of the series changed a lot afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/6 "2008-07-12T21:53:41Z")
I would be afraid to read them in published order, for fear of being put-off the entire series. I risk saying that I was lucky in that I started out of order, and with one of the good ones (which the majority are) - I took my doper name from it. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/7 "2008-07-12T22:13:23Z")
If you love _The Color of Magic_ I hardly know what to suggest. I’d say, read them in order, but if one isn’t appealing to you, feel free to put it down and go on to the next! Or just read _Guards! Guards!_ and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/8 "2008-07-12T22:14:27Z")
I’m happy I read _ **Reaper Man** _ first. It gave me a very good perspective when reading the rest of the series. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/9 "2008-07-12T22:25:19Z")
If it’s Rincewind you like, try _The Light Fantastic, Sourcery, [del]Faust[/del] Eric, Interesting Times, The Last Continent,_ and _The Last Hero_. (Preferably in order, but no worries.) If you like the squabbling wizards, try _Sourcery, Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Lords and Ladies, Soul Music, Interesting Times, Hogfather,_ or _The Last Continent_. (Again, preferably in order.) If you like the character of Death, he’s everywhere. But you’ll find him specially in _Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather,_ and _Thief of Time._ (In order, preferably.) If you like the pointed parodies that Pratchett is so good at, try _Hogfather, Soul Music, Carpe Jugulum, Maskerade, The Last Continent,_ or _Small Gods._ (In no order.) You haven’t really got to the Witches or to the City Watch bits yet, so I won’t recommend those for now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/10 "2008-07-12T22:36:07Z")
Doesn’t matter. Nope. Doesn’t matter. Pratchett provides enough exposition in each book that you’d never be totally lost, as long as you can roll with the few things that are just assumed to be. There are very few direct sequels in the collection (_Making Money_ is the sequel to _Going Postal_, for instance), and each story is self-contained as well as being a piece of the larger arc. I would read whichever individual back-cover plot summary strikes your fancy, and branch out as you get to know the setting and characters. That said, my personal recommendation is to start roughly in the middle of the L-space continuum that silenus linked to; _Thief of Time_, _Feet of Clay_, _Interesting Times_, and _The Truth_ are all good novels that don’t rely too heavily on past books. They’re also roughly where Pratchett really gets good and the stories aren’t nearly as shallow or awkward as the earlier ones. Obviously, this really only works if you’re comfortable with knowing how some events turn out before you read about them; I read Discworld novels for the journey, not the result, so knowing how, say, _Soul Music_ finished isn’t nearly as interesting as the rest of the book. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/11 "2008-07-12T22:42:05Z")
[QUOTE=Helena] If you love _The Color of Magic_ I hardly know what to suggest. … … [/QUOTE] I know, I know - I’m totally weird. From reading older threads I get the idea I may be the only one on the planet that really likes it. It’s good to be different 🙂 I picked up _The Light Fantastic_ this afternoon. I hope to start it tomorrow. Thanks, everyone, for the advice. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/12 "2008-07-12T22:52:33Z")
Again, be aware that the first two books are very much Pratchett 1.0. IMO, he really doesn’t hit his stride until _Wyrd Sisters_, _Witches Abroad_, and the City Watch sequence. After those, he starts commiting the odd act of Literature. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/13 "2008-07-12T22:54:34Z")
Thanks, **Bosstone**. That’s good to know. I’m not the least bit spoiler phobic so it’s good to know that if I get the urge to break out and pick a book at random I won’t be totally lost. **Fish** laid out a couple of good looking routes to take. I think I may stick with Rincewind for the time being, although I am a sucker for a good parody… But in the interest of being nosy, if you had to choose one which would it be? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/14 "2008-07-12T23:12:33Z")
Personal favorites of mine are the City Watch sequence. \*\*Guards! Guards!, \*\* then **Men At Arms** , **Feet of Clay** , and the rest. **Night Watch** is the best book Terry has ever written, followed quite closely by **Small Gods** and **Soul Music**. **Small Gods** can be read anytime, as it is pretty much outside the timelime, but you have to read **Mort** _before_ **Soul Music.** And **Hogfather** has to be read after. Otherwise you lose a lot of the effect. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/15 "2008-07-13T00:30:04Z")
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with reading them in order, especially if you have found to like Colour of Magic. I had to, having been a fan since 1987. There is a certain amount of continuity that ought to be followed chronologically, so I recommended it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/16 "2008-07-13T00:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] **Night Watch** is the best book Terry has ever written [/QUOTE] Concur. Absolutely fantastic book, and it marks a turning point in the series, when Pratchett stops relying so heavily on direct real-world analogs and puns and really starts making the plot the centerpiece. I would only recommend that at least some of the previous Watch books be read so you come into _Night Watch_ knowing them already. It makes it that much more powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/17 "2008-07-13T01:02:20Z")
Am I alone in thinking that Pyramids is the most-expendable of the reading list? Not that it wasn’t a perfectly fine read, but it seems like the most “dead-end” of the Discworld stories. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/18 "2008-07-13T01:06:06Z")
Small Gods was the first I read, and was the source of my addiction. I’ll agree with the above comment about Pyramids - save it for last. But honestly, Thud!, and Making Money didn’t do a lot for me. His Alzheimer’s may have seriously kicked in. ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/19 "2008-07-13T01:09:20Z")
Arguably, _The Color of Magic_ is one of the weakest books in the series, but since you enjoyed it, I wouldn’t be concerned with putting you off the series with the earlier stuff. I would suggest reading them in publication order for two reasons: 1. his stuff gets better as time goes on, so you’ll appreciate the earlier stuff more without having to compare it to what comes later. 2. Although the stories can all be enjoyed independently, many of the main characters go through a lot of development as time goes (particularly Sam Vimes. Though I agree that _Night Watch_ is Pratchett’s finest work, I really think it should not be read until one has read the preceding Guards books) on and you may miss out some of that if you read them haphazardly. That being said, don’t worry about it too much. If any of the series don’t appeal to you that much, feel free to skip those books. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250/20 "2008-07-13T01:22:25Z")
I may be the only person in the world who doesn’t like _Night Watch_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-you-guys-win-now-what-order-would-you-recommend/456250.md?page=2)