# I think I figured out what I don't like about Terry Pratchett **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2004, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171 "2004-10-14T08:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/41 "2004-10-15T18:07:26Z")
> [@](#): > > “Fabricatvs Diem, Pvnc.” Heh. My sister made me a t-shirt that says that. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/42 "2004-10-15T19:59:25Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’ve read a few Pratchett books. I find them somewhat amusing, but no where near Douglas Adams (for example). I really did enjoy the first two books (‘Color of Magic’ and ‘Light Fantastic’). I read ‘Small Gods’ and I didn’t find it as good. It was a decent story, but some of writing I found similar to the first two books. Then I picked up ‘Equal Rites’ a bit later (I picked up ‘Color of Magic’, ‘Light Fantastic’, and ‘Small Gods’ at the same time basically) and it was “eh”. The books are amusing, but I wouldn’t spend full price on another paperback… perhaps get another one at a used bookstore. _Small Gods_ is my personal favorite, but the other three books you read are generally held to be the worst books in the Discworld series. Not that they’re _bad_, per se, just that they don’t hold up at all compared to his later work. Then again, I don’t think much of Douglas Adams, so we might be working from totally different directions. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/43 "2004-10-15T20:04:21Z")
Just to note, _The Colour of Magic_ (which is, by the way, octarine), _The Light Fantastic_ and _Equal Rites_ are the first three Discworld books published\*. Pterry was just finding his footing on the Disc at that time, so they’re nowhere near as polished or firm as the later ones. \*I think. _Sourcerer_ may be in there between TLF and EqR… ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/44 "2004-10-15T20:53:10Z")
I think there’s a vital difference between Adams and Pratchett. If you took all the funny out of an Adams book, you’d be left with an okay story and a kind of randomish plot. If you took all the funny out of a Pratchett book (except maybe the first few Discworld books, which were more about parodying fantasy literary conventions than being strong in their own right) you’d still have a pretty good book. I read them in kind of a random order, starting with _Wyrd Sisters_ and over the next several years picking up whatever books appeared at the used book store and occasionally filling in the gaps with non-used ones. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/45 "2004-10-15T21:07:25Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Interesting. I wonder what the Watch books parody? Vimes is such a Clint Eastwood-esque character, I’d guess movies and/or television, but I don’t know if I could support that. The Watch books seem to meander a littler more inwhat types of things they parody. A lot of detective/crime fiction, also some history (Men at Arms has a lot to do with the Kennedy assasination)(the grassy gnoll bit was priceless). ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/46 "2004-10-15T23:08:21Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Just to note, _The Colour of Magic_ (which is, by the way, octarine) It was a rather disappointing purple color. –_The Color of Magic_ > [@Odinoneeye](#): > > The Watch books seem to meander a littler more inwhat types of things they parody. A lot of detective/crime fiction, also some history (Men at Arms has a lot to do with the Kennedy assasination)(the grassy gnoll bit was priceless). **Vimes:** “Well … see which way the wind is blowing. Very carefully. And – trust no-one.” **Carrot:** “Er … I can trust Angua, can’t I?” **Vimes:** “Well, of course you–” **Carrot:** “And you, presumably.” **Vimes:** “Me, well, obviously. That goes without say–” **Carrot:** “Corporal Littlebottom? She can be very helpful–” **Vimes:** “Cheery, yes, certainly you can trust–” **Carrot:** “Sergeant Detritus? I always thought he was very trust–” **Vimes:** “Detritus, oh yes, he–” **Carrot:** “Nobby? Should I–” –_Jingo_ (Can I plug my [collection of Terry Pratchett quotes?](http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/closet/Closet.html#Pratchett)😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/47 "2004-10-15T23:37:20Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > (Can I plug my [collection of Terry Pratchett quotes?](http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/closet/Closet.html#Pratchett)😃 ) No you can’t. Not unless you update it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/48 "2004-10-16T00:17:17Z")
> [@Dragonblink](#): > > I think there’s a vital difference between Adams and Pratchett. If you took all the funny out of an Adams book, you’d be left with an okay story and a kind of randomish plot. If you took all the funny out of a Pratchett book (except maybe the first few Discworld books, which were more about parodying fantasy literary conventions than being strong in their own right) you’d still have a pretty good book. And the Pratchett books would be…basically the same length. I like Pratchett but if you guys are going to keep mentioning his hilarity then I’m going to have to ask for specific cites. I’ve just never seen it. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/49 "2004-10-16T00:35:47Z")
See\*\* rjung’s\*\* plug for his quote list. It’s sadly dated, because **rjung** is a slacker 😃 , but it has any number of short examples of Pterry’s wit. ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/50 "2004-10-16T00:36:26Z")
I think the funniest books are the earlier ones. Not the earliest, but those beginning from Guards! Guards!. Guards! Guards! in particular is very often lough out loud funny. The newest ones have become much more serious. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/51 "2004-10-16T02:00:30Z")
Also the [L-space web’s Quote File](http://www.ie.lspace.org/books/pqf/index.html) It seems to be pretty updated. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/52 "2004-10-16T02:21:02Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > And the Pratchett books would be…basically the same length. I like Pratchett but if you guys are going to keep mentioning his hilarity then I’m going to have to ask for specific cites. I’ve just never seen it. If you personally don’t enjoy his style of humor, how is it going to change matters if we type out a quote that we think is funny but you don’t? There are things in the world of comedy that fail to amuse me, but if other people tell me they think they’re funny then I just have to accept that the intended humor succeeds with some people and I am simply not one of them. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/53 "2004-10-16T03:50:08Z")
Yeah, but it gives us a chance to trot out our favorite Pterry quotes. 😃 “…and then Jack chopped down the beanstalk, adding murder and ecological vandalism to the theft, enticement and trespass charges already mentioned, but he got away with it and lived happily ever after without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done. Which proves that you can be excused just about anything if you’re a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.” – **Hogfather** ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/54 "2004-10-16T04:04:29Z")
“The Assassin moved quietly from roof to roof until he was well away from the excitement around the Watch House. His movements could be called cat-like, except that he did not stop to spray urine up against things.” -Nightwatch ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/55 "2004-10-16T04:48:20Z")
Hey, lookit that! L-Space finally updated their annotations page! Heh. Reminds me of another of my all time favorite Pratchett lines: “’‘We have the gloomy and purposeless trousers of Uncle Vanya,’ said one, doubtfully.” Trust me. In context, it’s _hilarious_. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/56 "2004-10-16T05:46:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > _Small Gods_ is my personal favorite, but the other three books you read are generally held to be the worst books in the Discworld series. Not that they’re _bad_, per se, just that they don’t hold up at all compared to his later work. > > Then again, I don’t think much of Douglas Adams, so we might be working from totally different directions. I guess that’s the funny part ;). I really liked ‘Color of Magic’ and ‘The Light Fantastic’, but not ‘Small Gods’ so much. Though I liked his collaberation with Neil Gaman in ‘Good Omens’. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/57 "2004-10-16T07:33:46Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > No you can’t. Not unless you update it. 😃 Some people are never satisfied… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171/58 "2004-10-16T22:21:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Either you mean _The Thief of Time_ or _The Colour Of Magic_. Drat. You’re right. _The Colour of Magic_. Thanks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-figured-out-what-i-dont-like-about-terry-pratchett/269171.md?page=2)