# Terry Pratchett' Discworld Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684 "2015-02-26T17:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [March 1, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/81 "2015-03-01T17:27:46Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I always thought _The Color Of Magic_ and _The Light Fantastic_ was one novel split down the middle by the publisher. Not that I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/82 "2015-03-01T21:38:01Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I always thought _The Color Of Magic_ and _The Light Fantastic_ was one novel split down the middle by the publisher. Thanks for the warning! I don’t like “to be continued” endings in books. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/83 "2015-03-01T21:46:05Z")
But it isn’t. “To be continued” I mean. _CoM_ just stops, all wrapped up and neat. If Pterry never wrote another book, it would stand complete. He just came up with a way out for Our Heroes and wrote another book about them with _TLF_. Granted, the end of _CoM_ was rife with possibilities, but nothing was left hanging. Literally. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/84 "2015-03-02T15:49:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **ftg** : > > As to the “moving forward” issue withing the books. I think Pratchett is trying to get to a key point before he can’t contribute anymore. E.g., when Vimes takes over for Ventinari or similar major shift. The same qualities that make Vimes an excellent Watchman would make him a terrible Patrician. I’m pretty sure that Vetinari is grooming Moist as his successor, not Vimes. > [@](#): > > Quoth **MrDibble** : > > Naah, it starts with the Witches (proper, not Equal Rites) - although there’s obviously continuity in the Rincewind books (hell, TCOM ends on a cliffhanger!) it’s between Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad that there’s a sense of character growth and change. The Witches might show character development, but they still don’t show development of the _world_. They take an active hand in the succession of the crown of Lancre, but it’s still a monarchy. It’s the same old system, just with a different butt on the throne. That’s not the case with the later books. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/85 "2015-03-02T16:33:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The same qualities that make Vimes an excellent Watchman would make him a terrible Patrician. I’m pretty sure that Vetinari is grooming Moist as his successor, not Vimes. That would be my opinion as well. Sam is just too _honest_ to be Patrician and Moist already has the sleight of hand skills a good politician needs. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/86 "2015-03-02T16:47:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The first three aren’t really the Disc. More like the dress rehearsal for the Disc. Things really don’t take serious shape until _Wyrd Sisters_ or _Guards! Guards!_ Even _Mort_ is not quite jelled Disc, IMO. Once you get to _Small Gods_ it’s fully formed, and with _Night Watch_ Pterry commits Literature. The milieu changes: _TCoM_ and _TLF_ are set in a sort of Conan’s-Hyborian-Age Discworld (or Fafhrd-and-Grey-Mouser’s-Lankhmar Discworld, if you prefer). Later – but not much later by internal chronology (Rincewind’s life encompasses the change and he ain’t old yet) – Ankh-Morpork, at least, is as civilized and advanced as any city of 17th-Century Europe. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/87 "2015-03-02T16:53:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The Witches might show character development, but they still don’t show development of the _world_. They take an active hand in the succession of the crown of Lancre, but it’s still a monarchy. It’s the same old system, just with a different butt on the throne. That’s not the case with the later books. I’d argue that Verence is clearly a very different sort of monarch - there’s a shoutout to Prince Charles’s public persona of the well-meaning but bumbling ruler. And Witches Abroad very clearly takes them out of Medievalia into a 1700s, even 1800s (riverboat) setting. This is the start of the modern face of the Disc, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/88 "2015-03-02T17:18:12Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > That would be my opinion as well. Sam is just too _honest_ to be Patrician and Moist already has the sleight of hand skills a good politician needs. Yes, which is why Vetinari is grooming Moist to take over an leaving Sam to watch him like a hawk. Sam is already #2. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/89 "2015-03-02T17:34:39Z")
And Sam’s internal Watchman is #2.5. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/90 "2015-03-02T19:53:37Z")
There were a few books of his that seemed to have great beginning hooks, then have filler for the middle parts and a nice wrapups at the end. But then I reread those books a few years later, such as \*Snuff \*and _Going Postal_, and realize they’re works of genius. His first dozen or so books focus on eccentric and silly characters. The later books get more serious and stray somewhat from all the quirky silliness, and leaves the reader to wonder why Pratchett won’t write the way he used to. I say read them again and look for the depth, not the polite discongruity you’ve come to expect. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/91 "2015-03-02T20:07:06Z")
Deep shit is still shit. No amount of measurement will ever make _Snuff_ a good book. Same-same for **your** choice of “worst book,” of course. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/92 "2015-03-02T20:13:11Z")
Hey, at least _Snuff_ was better than _Unseen Academicals_. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/93 "2015-03-02T20:56:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Hey, at least _Snuff_ was better than _Unseen Academicals_. Well that explains it. I have a problem. I used to read voraciously. Then in the age of the Internet, I kinda lost that ability and didn’t read (much) for a long time. I also blame being dead-ass broke for most of that time. Recently I was able to plow through many of the Tiffany Aching books and I love them. However, \*Snuff \*and _Unseen Academicals_ are sitting on my table, because I haven’t been able to get through either one. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/94 "2015-03-02T21:04:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Hey, at least _Snuff_ was better than _Unseen Academicals_. Only in the same way that porcupine shit is better than beaver shit. 😛 Yeah, those two make _Eric_ seem like _David Copperfield_. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/95 "2015-03-02T23:13:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And Sam’s internal Watchman is #2.5. 😉 Oook! 🙂 Where would Carrot rate? ---
**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:** [March 3, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/96 "2015-03-03T01:55:56Z")
Not on the list. Carrot would never deign to be Patrician of Ankh-Morpork any more than Aragorn would deign to be Steward of Gondor. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/97 "2015-03-03T02:11:14Z")
I started with _Thief of Time_, which seems like a totally random place to start. I saw the collection on the shelf at the library and was looking for something a bit Doctor Who-y, so “time” caught my eye :). Then I went back and started with _Mort_, _Reaper Man_, etc. I haven’t finished the series yet. I’ve been sort of rationing them out so that I don’t burn through them all at once. They’re usually like dessert after serious books. I’ve also re-read a few of them more than once. _Night Watch_ is my very favorite and I’ve read it three times. So far, I’ve read all the Death and Night Watch books and several of the standalone ones and am working my way through the Lancre Witches. I’m the only person I know irl who likes Discworld, which is kind of sad. I’ve recommended them to a few people and they weren’t overly interested, so I let it go. I know when I first heard about it, it sounded too nerdy even for me. I’m glad I eventually decided to give it a chance. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/98 "2015-03-03T04:13:43Z")
Don’t miss the [Discworld Gathering](http://it-bodes.blogspot.com/) at [Sasquan 2015 - The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention](http://sasquan.org/). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/99 "2015-03-03T07:00:06Z")
Funny thing… Discworld is the only book series I have ever proselytized. I had a discworld friend who was a bartender at the nearby Ruby Tuesdays, so sometimes when she was working I’d eat my dinner at the bar so we could visit. And one night there was another acquaintance of hers, or a regular customer sitting 2 empty seats away from me at the bar. And She and I were talking about Discworld stuff and he wasn’t following. So we sort of explained some of it to him and eventually she demonstrated the most feared things from DW. First she did the Crossin’ o’ the Arms at him. The she threw in the Tappin o’ the Feet. Then she did the Pursin’ o’ the Lips! And then… she did the Raisin’ o’ the Left Eyebrow!!! Waily, waily, waily!! I was 2 seats away from the guy she directed them to and I got a nervous shudder when she added that final touch. Crivins! ---
**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:** [March 3, 2015, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684/100 "2015-03-03T07:41:48Z")
_De Gustibus_ and all that, but _Snuff_ and _Unseen Academicals_ are great books with depth and character. Especially if you read them with full awareness - _Snuff_ is Pterry giving Vimes his sendoff _and_ a discussion of human worth, and _UA_ is a complete book-length refutation of [this trope beloved of fantasy authors](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlwaysChaoticEvil) and also an ode to football. I don’t expect any American to fully grok the latter bit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-discworld-books/713684.md?page=6)