Not that I’ve ever heard.
Thanks for the warning! I don’t like “to be continued” endings in books.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes, which is why Vetinari is grooming Moist to take over an leaving Sam to watch him like a hawk. Sam is already #2.
And Sam’s internal Watchman is #2.5. 
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.
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.
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.
Only in the same way that porcupine shit is better than beaver shit. 
Yeah, those two make Eric seem like David Copperfield.
Oook! 
Where would Carrot rate?
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.
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.
Don’t miss the Discworld Gathering at Sasquan 2015 - The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention.
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!
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 and also an ode to football. I don’t expect any American to fully grok the latter bit.