# I'm getting rady to start the Discworld series... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777 "2008-01-16T20:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/21 "2008-01-17T01:32:34Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Would this be the wrong place to point out the spelling error in the title of the OP? [/QUOTE] Yeah, he obviously meant he’s getting randy to start. 😛 I started with the Fifth Continent, which plunks you down in the middle of the Rincewind saga. It’s a terrible first book to read, but I loved it anyway. I’d go with Guards, Guards. I think it is stronger than the first witch book, and while Pyramids and Small Gods are good, they aren’t connected as strongly to the rest of the books. Plus. Guards, Guards is the first book in his major thread. Plus it’s good of course. I actually like the first two books, and all the Rincewind books, but I’m in the minority on that. ---
**Author:** ![geezermom67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@geezermom67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geezermom67)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/22 "2008-01-17T05:04:52Z")
Interesting thread. I just read The Color of Magic, after hearing about the series for many years and while I liked it, it wasn’t all I expected after the hype. I think I might try out some of the other titles mentioned here before I go to book 2 or give up on the series entirely. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/23 "2008-01-17T05:33:32Z")
This has been The Year of Discworld for me. I’m in the process of reading my last book (I read the latest book, “Making Money,” last week, but had to back up to pick up “A Hat Full of Sky.” Overall, I read them in order, except that I read “Night Watch” and “Small Gods” fairly early on. I’m happy with having done that. True, the first two books are markedly different from the later ones, and Rincewind is generally not considered to be in the same league, as a character, with Sam Vimes or Granny Weatherwax. But you do get to see the Discworld from it’s creation, and it’s interesting to see how Pratchett developed it. Besides, they’re quick reads, and by the time you get to “Wyrd Sisters,” Pratchett has definitely hit his stride. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/24 "2008-01-17T06:01:53Z")
About 15 years ago, I asked a clerk in a bookstore in Heathrow for something funny to read on the plane, and she recommended _The Colour of Magic_. I may have heard of Pratchett at the time, but I didn’t know much about him. I read it, but it wasn’t all that funny and I didn’t enjoy it much. (I wonder now why I even bothered to finish it.) Here at the Dope I kept hearing about how brilliant and hysterical Pratchett is, and for the first few years I just thought, Well, there’s no accounting for taste. But you Pratchett fans just kept saying how funny he is, and loves me some funny. So just a few months ago I decided to give _CoM_ another try, but it still didn’t do anything for me, and I put it down after a couple of pages. > [@Angua](#): > > Do not under any circumstances start with either of those two [_The Colour of Magic_ or _The Light Fantastic_]. They’re weaker than the rest and will put you off the series. Now you tell me! Okay, so maybe I’ll try one of the others that you folks have recommended. But I’m warning you all right now, if I don’t love it, I’m coming after you! Then you’ll be sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/25 "2008-01-17T10:01:37Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Okay, so maybe I’ll try one of the others that you folks have recommended. But I’m warning you all right now, if I don’t love it, I’m coming after you! Then you’ll be sorry! [/QUOTE] Read the first couple of Watch books and then say you’ll be sorry to come after _me_! 😛😃 ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/26 "2008-01-17T10:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=Angua] Read the first couple of Watch books and then say you’ll be sorry to come after me! [/QUOTE] Don’t give it away that your a w. . . What they all said, start with _Guards! Guards!_, _Wyrd Sisters_ or _Small Gods_. And don’t be put off by the goofy covers (like I was) the books are a _bit_ deeper\* than they’d make you think. _though I think Terry_\* denies committing “literature”. \*\*I’m not doing that silly Pterry thing. . . maybe in a tiny footnote. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/27 "2008-01-17T10:49:38Z")
[QUOTE=Small Clanger] Don’t give it away that your a w. . . [/QUOTE] As if Mister Vimes would let one of _those_ into the Watch. He just wouldn’t. I mean in the Watch? A w… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/28 "2008-01-17T10:58:36Z")
Parvenus! Johnny-come-latelys! Why, when I was a lad _TCoM_ and _TLF_ were all we had. And we liked it! I first encountered these in the mid-to-late 1980s not long after _TLF_ had come out and had a few extracts quoted in _White Dwarf_, which in those days was an agreeable role-playing hobby magazine and not just an extended catalogue for Warhammer. Pratchett’s come on since then, but even the very first book had snippets like "Let’s just say that if complete and utter chaos was lightning, he’d be standing in a footbath on a hilltop during a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting ‘All gods are bastards!’ ", not to mention Death being summoned, asked a few questions, and announcing his intention to return to a cocktail party which he expects will go downhill rapidly at midnight: THAT’S WHEN THEY THINK I’LL BE TAKING MY MASK OFF. Hoo boy, was that a sentence or what? ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/29 "2008-01-17T13:06:48Z")
I also started the series fairly recently. I am reading them in publication order. I’m probably one of the few who loved the first two books. Actually, I love them all almost equally - for different reasons. If I had to pick one that I didn’t like as much as the others, it would be _Eric_. If I had to pick a favorite it would be _Moving Pictures_. I just finished _Reaper Man_. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to buy any new books and the library in my town is shit. So, I can only read them as fast as they come in on Interlibrary loan. It took me 4 weeks to get _Reaper Man_. I also got my ex boyfriend reading them. He’s not a big reader. But we were on a long car trip and I started reading _The Color of Magic_ out loud to him. He is now hooked. Sadly, this means that all the books I DID buy are with him in Massachusetts. He is also reading them in order and is up to _Pyramids_. He’s another one who loves them all so far, including the first two. ---
**Author:** ![beanpod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9adbd/32.png) [@beanpod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beanpod)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/30 "2008-01-17T14:59:36Z")
Lots of people apparently agree, but _Hogfather_ and _Small Gods_ are my favorites, and I always recommend them as starting points. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/31 "2008-01-17T15:09:11Z")
_Small Gods_, maybe. But _Hogfather_ is too far along to make a good starting point. I think you kinda need to have some background with Susan and Death to really get everything out of the book. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/32 "2008-01-17T15:31:09Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] I started with the Fifth Continent [/QUOTE] Surely you mean The Last Elephant! 😉 Such a pity that PTerry has Alzheimer’s… :mad: :mad: :mad: ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/33 "2008-01-17T15:32:18Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] Yeah, he obviously meant he’s getting randy to start. 😛 I started with the Fifth Continent, which plunks you down in the middle of the Rincewind saga. It’s a terrible first book to read, but I loved it anyway. I’d go with Guards, Guards. I think it is stronger than the first witch book, and while Pyramids and Small Gods are good, they aren’t connected as strongly to the rest of the books. Plus. Guards, Guards is the first book in his major thread. Plus it’s good of course. I actually like the first two books, and all the Rincewind books, but I’m in the minority on that. [/QUOTE] The Fifth Continent, and The Last Elephant. Hmm… Are those like Thief of Clay and Feet of Time? :dubious: _grins_ I third? fourth? nth? the votes that say start with Guards! Guards! The story arcs are only tangentially connected to each other in that they occur in the same universe - you can switch from one arc to another (and by and large from one book in an arc to another) without losing continuity. They’re not a series in the sense of having a continuous story that you lose out on by skipping books, or reading them in the wrong order. Each book stands by itself. Sure, you might have some small revelations related to previous books, but you won’t miss anything, and you’ll get the aha! so that’s what that was all about! feeling when you re-read. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/34 "2008-01-17T15:40:13Z")
But I think it would be rather jarring to go from Vimes in **Guards! Guards!** to Vimes in **The Fifth Elephant** without the intervening development of the character. Not to mention the progression of Lance Corporal Carrot. The Rincewind arc is the easiest to take out of order, methinks. \*\*Eric \*\* is better after **Sourcery** , but that’s about it. Then the Witches, although **Lords and Ladies** _has_ to be read after **Witches Abroad** , since it occurs immediately thereafter time-wise. Of course, the stand-alones can fit in anywhere. **Moving Pictures, Small Gods, Pyramids, The Truth** all fit whenever you read them. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/35 "2008-01-17T15:50:02Z")
One advantage of reading in chronological order is so that you can track the development of Unseen University politics. There was a time when wizards advanced up the career ladder, especially to the Archchancellor post, by assassination. Then along came Mustrum Ridcully, who proved surprisingly hard to assassinate, and the whole tone changed - the senior faculty still squabble a lot among themselves, but it’s only bickering these days. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/36 "2008-01-17T17:55:35Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Surely you mean The Last Elephant! 😉 [/QUOTE] :smack: Well, like I said I read Last Continent a long time ago, and I didn’t much like Fifth Element. When I read Last Continent, I had no idea of how Rincewind got there, or the Luggage - until I read the one before years later. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/37 "2008-01-17T18:05:03Z")
I hate reading anything out of order. If you have every intention of reading all of the them I would recommend reading them in order. Even if the plots are one off there are jokes you won’t get if you didn’t read earlier books. To me early Discworld was funnier. Later Discworld is better. I loved Going Postal, Monstorous Regiment, The Tiffany Aching books. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/38 "2008-01-18T20:31:34Z")
Start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start… …I hear. That’s what I did, although it _would_ also help if you’ve read and absorbed Leiber, Lovecraft, McCaffrey, Frazier, Howard and Tolkien before attempting _CoM_ & _LF_. Just saying. Actually, I started with _Strata_, but that’s not _this_ Discworld… ---
**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:** [January 18, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/39 "2008-01-18T20:34:58Z")
I started with **Reaper Man** , and I’m glad I did. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777/40 "2008-01-18T20:37:10Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] Start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start… …I hear. That’s what I did, although it _would_ also help if you’ve read and absorbed Leiber, Lovecraft, McCaffrey, Frazier, Howard and Tolkien before attempting _CoM_ & _LF_. Just saying. Actually, I started with _Strata_, but that’s not _this_ Discworld… [/QUOTE] Of those, I’ve read Tolkien. (Yes, I realize that I’m actually saying this on the Dope. Please be gentile.) I got about 10 pages into The Colour of Magic before the power went out. I have to thank those of you who did your best to set my expectations rather low. As a result, it’s better than I thought it would be. Of course, it’s only 10 pages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-rady-to-start-the-discworld-series/433777.md?page=3)