I’ve never read any Harry Potter or see the films, but I have read all but 4 Discworld books by Terry Pratchett (there are 27 in total).
Seems to me there are similarities, going on what I’ve heard about Harry Potter. There’s some wizard school in Harry Potter isnt there? Like Unseen University in Discworld books.
What I want to know is how does Harry Potter compare to the Discworld, anyone read both?
There are definitely similarities. I could see someone saying that Discworld is like Harry Potter for adults. Both are excellent, but I think most of Terry Pratchetts jokes would go over the heads of the target audience of the Potter books. Though I know lots of adults who read the Harry Potter books, and I know lots of adults who don’t get the Discworld jokes.
Apart from the idea of a wizarding school The Unseen University and Hogwarts don’t have much in common. Hogwarts has Dumbledore as the wise leader, whereas UU has the Librarian.
Both series are very good and I reccomend them to anyone who hasn’t read anything from either.
I’ve read nearly all the discworld stuff (just got Science of Discworld I & II shipped in from the UK, along with a few missing books of his I can’t find in the US) and all the Potter.
The discworld books have far more depth. More cutting-edge satire, more musings on the nature of morality and reality and all that stuff.
Potter’s a great read, and I tear thru each book at a fantastic rate. But I never return to it. I read the Discworld stuff over and over, and pick up some new insight or perspective each time. In addition to laughing out loud.
For me it’s Discworld first, no questions!
Well, the Librarian’s the most SANE person at UU, but he’s not really the leader…that would be Archchancellor Ridcully.
The HP series is definitely a kids’ series…well, the books have admittedly gotten a bit more mature recently…
It’s not as well-written, as seamless, or as riveting as Discworld. My opinion, of course. But I highly recommend it.
Most of my brain’s leisure time is spent either in Middle-Earth, the Discworld, or the wizarding world. This is probably not healthy.
Disc. It’s the difference between books and literature.
Damn straight! Drop the wizarding world, and pick up time here!
Discworld vs. Harry Potter? What next, the Death Star vs. a WWI biplane? 
Well, I have only read one Harry Potter book; I quite enjoyed it but it did not have anything like the appeal of the Discworld books. Nowhere near it.
I don’t think there are any similarities between Harry Potter and Discworld, except that both series are set in a fantasy world where there is magic and wizards and witches that resemble those of fairytales/folklore, but with a twist. So, pretty much the similarities you’d expect to find between any two fantasy books.
I like the Harry Potter books fine, but they’re nowhere near in the same league as the Discworld books.
Pratchett could do a book about a young wizard called Barry Snotter. That would be pretty funny.
I can’t visualize Pterry doing that. He does a fine job with Juvenile fantasy in his works like “The Amazing Maurice” and “The Wee Free Men”. Why on earth (or on the disc) would he want to satirize Rowling? You’re reducing him to the level of “MAD magazine”.
I read and enjoy both. Again and again. But I have to agree. Discworld beats HP hands down. They’re much more intelligent, more satirical, funnier, and more philosophical.
While I enjoy HP, the books are still popcorn novels. A good read, suspensful and fun.
But Pterry is so much a better writer. Even for the target audience, ‘Maurice’ and ‘Wee Free Men’ both contain a lot more depth than anything Rowling’s written. Also, she can’t write comedy at all, or handle more than one storyline. I just re-read Hogfather (for the 5th time) and TP keeps four lines going, all of them interesting and all of them developing the plot.
I never felt the urge to re-read HP.
I think they’re almost too different to compare. Yes, they both have magic and schools of magic, magical creatures and a few other elements in common but beyond that they seem totally unlike to me.
I love them both, personally. Of course it’s obvious who’s the superior writer (yes of course I mean Pratchett), but I personally wouldn’t want to have to get rid of one and keep the other.
I pretty much agree with everything said here… I mean, Potter’s good fantasy literature, certainly, but Pratchett… there’s not much comparison. One is children’s literature that’s good enough for adults, and the other is largely social satire, and quite good.
The fact that both involve magic and fantasy is pretty secondary.
Discworld hands down
Where else can you find Death working as a short order cook?
HP is fun but as others have said it lacks real depth. Discworld is a parody and a social commentary and a damned funny read…
And the Librarian is the smartest orangutan in the known Universe!
More than anything else, I’d say that Terry Pratchett is the best craftsman of books today. I mean, really, just pick up any of his books (after, say, Mort. He was still getting his sea legs before that). Everything builds so perfectly to the climax that you just never, ever want to put it down. As the Patrician might say, every little wheel turns so that the big machine runs seamlessly.
Contrast that to J. K. Rowling, whose books frequently lose focus and a coherent plot. Yes, we all want to know what happens to Harry next (though, personally, I want to see what happens to Ron and Hermione next, Harry’s just a little brat who got thrown into this hero business…), but it seems to me that we’re only interested because we are so entranced by the idea of a young wizard against the world, not through any special skill by the author.
Plus, as everyone has said, Discworld is much more than just a humorous parody of fantasy literature. We can learn about humanity, morality, and religion from Disworld, among other things. All we learn from Harry Potter is that Muggles and grown-ups are all caricatures.
Uhm, so, yeah, vote me for Discworld.
Almost as funny as the worthless pile of shit that is Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parody, you mean?
I love the Harry Potter books and have read them all at least twice, but you just can’t compare them to the Discworld. Mostly because Terry Pratchett is THE coolest author ever (well … that I’ve read stuff from). So for me, like for many of the others, Discworld wins, hands down.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Little Plastic Ninja *
**Most of my brain’s leisure time is spent either in Middle-Earth, the Discworld, or the wizarding world. This is probably not healthy. **[/QUOTE
Well, if that’s wrong, I sure as hell don’t want to be right…
I love the Harry Potter books and have read them all at least twice, but you just can’t compare them to the Discworld. Mostly because Terry Pratchett is THE coolest author ever (well … that I’ve read stuff from). So for me, like for many of the others, Discworld wins, hands down.
Well, if that’s wrong, I sure as hell don’t want to be right…