Terry Pratchett: Which should I read first?

Cafe Society
21

Vimes is The Man! But he doesn’t really want to be The Man. It’s just that he doesn’t trust anybody, including himself, not to be a Right Bastard if allowed to. :smiley:

Since theis is IMHO, the best Disc books are:

  1. Nightwatch
  2. Soul Music
  3. Small Gods
  4. Maskerade
  5. Going Postal

The worst are: The Light Fantastic, The Colour of Magic (Pterry was still finding his voice), and Monsterous Regiment.

There. If that doesn’t start a fight, nothing will! :smiley:

Oh, and Miller is right. The new series of children’s books are fantastic!

Bigjobs!

22

I started with Mort, and that hooked me. I’d recommend Mort, Guards! Guards! or the standalone Pyramids for a starter, or possibly Equal Rites or Wyrd Sisters. I’d recommend against Colour of Magic as the starter book.

I love Susan Sto-Helit, especially in Hogfather. I love DEATH and I love Vimes. Rincewind just irritates me. Albert and Ridcully are cool, too. I’ll stop now before I start rating each individual character. :smiley:

23

The Reading Order Guides are here (links to the guide in color/greyscale/black & white GIF or powerpoint.

24

Just as a warning: The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are one story arc. If you start with one, you really need to read the other. I’d recommend starting with them if you intend to make a habit of reading discworld books. They’re funny enough, they’re just not as incitefully funny as his later work.

Now, if you’re trying to get someone hooked on PTerry, they’re not the place to start. I’ll grant that. But if you want an overview of the world, they’re great.

I’m beginning to feel undiscriminating. I like most of the main characters.

Hogfather and Small Gods are the books that I re-read most. And I’d recommend against starting with Carpe Jugulum - even though the title reached out from the new books stack and got me started on all of this.

25

I love Vimes. He is my favorite character.

Second favorite would probably be a close tie between Rincewind and Carrot. No, no, Vetinari! Then Rincewind & Carrot.

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Sam on Livejournal just recently wrote a very useful <a href=“http://www.livejournal.com/users/copperbadge/609565.html?style=mine#cutid1”>Guide</a> to the adult Discworld books.

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D’oh. That’s right, this is a messageboard.

Sam’s Guide

28

Dang, I forgot I posted this!

Thanks for the suggestions. I tend to like reading things in order. Maybe I should take Odinoneeye’s suggestion and start with The Colour of Magic? If, as other said, these are not the best of his books, then I can look forward to the books getting better. :slight_smile:

29

Having chosen a nom-de-dope that clearly identifies me as a Pratchett fan, I suppose I’d be remiss not to say something here …

But honestly, I’ve got a lot of reading to do to catch up with most of you. But I’d still recommend Color of Magic and Light Fantastic for the basic background story. And just because they’re not his best doesn’t meant you won’t laugh your ass off!

30

I think Colour of Magic has some excellent bits. Same with the Light Fantastic. I think the later in the Rincewind series are better…but it will give you plenty of background on the world.

Plus, it’s got the Luggage.

31

The first two novels are funnier if you have a decent background in “traditional” fantasy lit, so you know what Pratchett is skewering. If not, the jokes about dragonriders, Conan, and the Grey Mouser will whoosh over your head.

32

The first Pratchett I read was Pyramids, and was hooked instantly. I’ll agree with others that Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic aren’t the best places to start – they’re simply not as good as his later ones. Monstrous Regiment, whilst not as good as The Truth, or Going Postal, is still good, IMO.

Oh, and if you can get hold of the UK or Canadian versions, then do – the cover art is far superior, and a large part of the charm.