Damnit! Don’t make me laugh out loud like that! You’ll get me fired, you will.
Dull as Death? Read Reaper Man or Mort or (my fave) Hogfather, and you’ll see Death is most assuredly not dull!
Well, when we’re talking about the Smell, I think we can assume we’re talking about Foul Ole Ron … I mean, no one’s going to mix it up with Nice Old Ron’s smell are they?
No, you won’t. By the time you reach the end, you’ve forgotten all the references in the first half you read. Trust me on this.
And then you have to read them over and over, obsessively once a year or something. And the Discworld Companion. And the Annotations on L-space. Not that I would ever do such a thing. Certainy not every year, and certainly, I would never read all of the (let’s say Night Watch) books right before I start the new Night Watch book, or anything. That would just be wrong.
I don’t think I need help. This is perfectly normal. I am not obsessive in the least. Nope, nope, nope.
Inveterate Pterry fan here. Own and have read many times all the Discworlds, and whilst i consider some to be relatively poor, i have never once thought that they had not been penned by Pterry.
Just for reference my order of preference is
Guards
Witches
Death
I class Small Gods as the best of the stand-alones followed by pyramids. Eric, i didn’t like initially, but it has redeemed itself to some extend upon rereading (even mould can grow on you if you give it enough time)
I like the wizards best.
I would say though that over 50% of the books go through a boring stage, usually around the middle or just past the middle. Makes it a struggle to get through them.
You know, Lobsang, the whole premise of this thread is fundamentaly rude. Utterly mean-spirited.
It is well-known that Mr. Pratchett reads Unca Cecil’s column, & almost certainly lurks on the SDMB.
So he may have read this.
Your accusation is one step short of an accusation of plagarism.
And you have nothing of substance, nothing at all, to justify such a nasty crack.
You owe him an aoplogy, right here in this thread.
I say this as a matter of strongly-held principle–you are wrong, and should apologise to Mr. Pratchett.
whoosh.
Did you read the whole thread? (or at least all my posts?) I don’t think I said anything particularly offensive or deserving of an apology. Suggesting the book might be ghostwritten because it is lower than the usual standard is in turn suggesting that Terry has a high standard of writing. It was a genuine question as I genuinelly felt that Moving Pictures was very different to the book I’d finished reading just a day before.
And how many times do I have to say I actually like Moving Pictures?
Is this a joke?
Hmmm…on preview I see that Lobsang has already responded, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I don’t really see anything at all offensive in the OP. It was just honest speculation.
If it pleases you I do apologise for suggesting that someone other than Terry writes some of the books and he puts his name to it. I simply put my foot in it with that. But I will not apologise for suggesting that some books are significantly different than others in quality. I do not kiss asses. Even if Terry does read the boards.
Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor I’d like you to respond (if I was not whooshed) because your post knocked me for six.
pasunejen Thanks for the defence 
No need to apologise for having a sense of taste, Lobsang. I wouldn’t want you to.
But Pratchett is a genuine creative talent, in an era of over-hyped phonies & wannabes.
So yeah–the distinction is important, as is the apology.
And 5 years ago, I’d have knocked you for the full 10 count, not just 6. Damn. I’m gettin old.
I’m probably gonna get jumped all over for this, but…
… I’ve had the same small suspicion regarding Tom Clancy’s last couple of books as Lobsang had about Mr. Pratchett. Of course they are just poorly written contract-fillers, but the difference between Bear and the Dragon and Sum of All Fears is so palpable one can’t help but wonder.
:runs and hide:
Here, at least, I will agree with you. I’ve always enjoyed Clancy on a slightly-above-fluff level. After Rainbow Six, however, the quality went straight into the toilet. Red Rabbit is quite possibly the worst book I’ve ever read. It contains absolutely zero conflict, for one thing. Spoiler (as if it could make it worse): They need to get a guy out. They make a plan for 700 pages. The plan works perfectly. The end.
I’m fairly certain that Clancy has given a rough outline to a ghostwriter and never looked back.
The annotations on L-space which haven’t been updated for the longest time. Makes me sad, since I’m simply not old enough to get a lot of the jokes. On the other hand, Moving Pictures was very amusing to me as someone who’s had to take Film History. 
For once, I was in the know. My faves are The Truth, for writing, and Sourcery, for Rincewind.
I’m pretty surprised that someone had to slog through the books–I tend to read them in a day, less if it’s the earlier ones. Which is a problem, waiting for new books, even with a writer as prolific as PTerry. Small hijack–since I’ve got the outraged defenders of Terry in the room, anyone got any quick recommendations for other authors?
And to hijack this further, could anybody make any recommendations for Pratchett newbies? I’ve read The Colour of Magic and was pretty underwhelmed (I though it was basically Xanth for adults), but have heard that other books in the series are better. If I wanted to give it another shot, what should I look at?
Makes me sad too–I will wait for what I think is more than enough time to update, and check, eagerly. Inevitably I am left with much longing. I get most of the jokes, but some are strictly British, and I miss out on them. I don’t see why other people get to have lives when they could be helping my Pterry fetish. Sheesh.
Any of the one-offs (Pyramids, Moving Pictures, Small Gods, etc) or the first books of the continuing series (Guards! Guards! (policemen), Equal Rights (witches), Mort (the Grim Reaper, etc). Here is an order guide from l-space:
Sorry about the sig clutter. But I am glad to have had my 300th post in a Pratchett thead. 
Hunter Hawk: Well I always point people towards Ineresting Times as one of there first Discworld books, Small Gods is another excellent one, and any one of the Guards, Guards! series delivers.
audreyayn: Despite the naysayers (and I am shocked and amazed to find any). Neil Gaiman does some excellent work, his books aren’t bent towards the comedic unless you have a nice twisted since of humor. But his stories always excite and astound, and are some of the most well written works of literature to come out of anywhere in the last few years. I would suggest Neverwhere by him, it is a book I revisit abouto nce a year.
-Luo out to be helpful
I’m very interested in picking up a Terry Pratchett novel to read sometime. I have a few questions though. Since I tend to be a completist, is there any particular order to the Discworld books (aside from publication date)? And, how important, if at all, is it to read them in a particular order?
The local bookstore only has one copy each of two Discworld novels - The Fifth Elephant and Reaper Man. Books either someone ordered and didn’t pick up, or extra copied the store got with someone’s order.
Anyhoo…
Every Discworld book can be read on its own, but if you read them in order, you’ll pick up more recurring jokes and references than if you read them hap-hazardly. Still, there’s no requirement to read A before B; Pratchett is very good about giving the reader enough information to follow along with stuff.
As for The Fifth Elephant vs. Reaper Man, definitely go with the latter. It’s easier for a newbie to pick up, whereas TFE is better savored after you’ve read a few of the Watch novels and have gotten acquainted with the character of Sam Vimes.
