Just to say that I started off with CoM and LF back before it was cool, and I read 'em in publishing order and liked it that way! 
You and me both Mal. A minority of two, apparently. I even liked Eric!
I’m not really sure what going spare actually means. I suspect I don’t want it demonstrated, though.
I started at the beginning, too. I read a review in Analog, and bought the book, and laughed my way through. Eric was all right, for anyone else, but I felt it was a disappointment from Pratchett.
It was recommended that I start the DW series with Mort, but they didn’t have it, so I started with Reaper Man. Then I pretty much went in publishing order. I humbly submit that it took a couple novels until PTerry, as I tend to think of it, “found his voice” with the Discworld.
*CoM *and TLF are both definitely books where Pratchett was feeling his way around this new world. Same with Equal Rites, Granny Weatherwax was not really the same person that she was in later books. It’s just that I started reading the books as they were first published, so naturally I read them in publishing order!
It means to throw a wobbly.
I trust that clarifies things for you.
Well, one of Vimes’ grandfather’s, Old Stoneface Vimes’ claim to fame was beheading the last king of Ankh Moorpork, King Lorenzo the Kind.. While Corporal Nobbs probably wasn’t the best history student in grade school, he is a survivor and as such was pretty aware of the sorts of things that could result in him wondering where his head had gone rolling away. Like having Commander Vimes find out Nobby was king.
I cannot think of Vimes as wobbly. Unless it is the early Vimes who drinks. I expect that he got pretty wobbly in those times.
Vimes at the beginning of G!G! tended to get wobbly. He seemed to be a white ribboner by the end of that story.
To “go spare,” and to “throw a wobbly,” is to get upset, or lose your temper.
I think my favourite bit is the theological debate at the end.
“Break Me In Pieces, Crush Me Into Pottery, And You Will Find Not One Atom Of Consciousness.”
“That’s right!”
“Of Course, To Be A True Test, One Of You Must Undergo The Same Procedure.”
“But that’s not fair! All someone would have to do would be to bake your pottery again and you’d be …umm…is it just me, or are we on tricky theological ground here?”
Not to mention…
HUGE ENORMOUS CRATER-INDUCING LIGHTNING-BOLT
“I Don’t Call That Much Of An Argument.”
Personally, I always read a series in publication order. In cases like Discworld, I ask around to find out how long it took the author to hit his stride, and then give him that long of a chance before I pass judgement.
And I though Eric was a bit weak, but the only Pratchett I was actually disappointed with was Pyramids.
Naah. Although I started Pratchett with Carpet People, I read the DW stuff in publication order. So did all my friends at school and Uni. And we didn’t see the need to disown the earlier books as he got better.
As an SCA Herald, I loved the heraldry jokes.
Yeah. I sort of think that CoM, LF, and ER are the beta version of Discworld. Not that they’re not enjoyable books, just that things shifted after. The first two are straight parodies of other fantasy series and fantasy tropes. And Rincewind and the luggage get their first good run. If you’re up for that, they’re fine.
Sometimes I’ve wondered why COM and LF are 2 separate books. Anyone else?
Because he published the one before he was finished writing the other. They could very well be bound together, though: They’re a lot more directly related than any other Discworld books
It’s possible to get them together. Also, apparently, as a graphic novel. I wonder if that’s any good.
I’ve got *CoM *in graphic novel form and I liked it. I don’t know if it’s the same edition as the one you linked to.
This is really one of my favorite Discworld quotes ever. EVER.
Of course, one of my others is another Dorfl quote, though for a very different reason:
“Undead Or Alive, You’re Coming With Me.”
Feet of Clay is actually one of my favorite Pratchett books, comprising a strong example of what I call “Middle Pratchett” - “Early Pratchett” (Up to, roughly, Guards! Guards!) is when the books are straight up fantasy parodies, and, honestly, are a little flat as a result. “Late Pratchett” (Starting with, roughly, Night Watch) is… significantly less parody, where everything is VERY real with a sort of thin coat of Fantasy over the top. The stuff in the middle is the sweet spot for me.