Adaptations available on YouTube:
Oh, that reminds me, Truckers had a Cosgrove Hall stomo adaptation, but it’s not on youtube.
I started with “Guards, guards” because it was the one being advertised at the time I met and was picked to escort Pratchett & wife in a literary convention (I was the only member of the public to understand his opening remarks before the translator’s equipment got fixed). Why no, I never tire of trotting out that story, why do you ask?
Agreed. These are the only ones of his books that I’m super enthusiastic about–and I do think they’re marvelous.
A lot of the world of Conan goes in there, though the parody character Cohen appears much later.
But the ones who think it’s not as good are wrong. It’s just different. He turned more general on some subjects later, and specific on some genres (movies for instance). It’s good to have been introduced to death via the earlier novels before you get to read his own set of novels. The Watch is an organic development from the main set of novels too…
I agree with this.
Yes, but according to the chart, even Pterry thought you should skip the first two books. His rec was to start with Sourcery. And really, the first two aren’t as good. They are episodic, skimpily developed in places and and lack the characterization that Pratchett excelled at later on. Not saying CoM and TLF are bad, just not as good.
I also disagree with those who are suggesting the Tiffany Aching books as starters. They are excellent in their own right, but reading them to the finish will absolutely ruin the Witches series.
The Atlanta Radio Theater Company did a great audio adaptation of Guards! Guards! - dunno if you can still get it via podcast (this was 8-10 years ago).
Nice!
My recommended starting points:
Small Gods is an easy first, because it’s completely standalone and top-tier on most lists. Only caveat is that it’s not AS funny as many of the others.
Guards Guards is great if you like police procedurals or urban fantasy.
Wyrd Sisters is great if you like more classic medieval fantasy / romance. Or Shakespeare references.
Wee Free Men is an okay choice if you prefer YA-style writing and only intend to read a handful of books.
And if you’re somehow already completely onboard, just start with Colour of Magic and read in order. You’ll get the best experience of watching Pratchett figure things out and there’s a certain rhythm natural and meandering of topics that works nicely. Just know that the first few books are the roughest of the bunch.
Thanks! I’m looking for an audio book version, so cross your fingers.
The unabridged audio versions of (most of) the earlier Discworld books are read by Nigel Planer (best known to some as Neil from The Young Ones), and the later ones are read by Stephen Briggs. Both do a fine job.