# The Science of Discworld III Darwin's Watch **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815 "2005-05-20T23:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/1 "2005-05-20T23:43:17Z")
Saw this in Ottakers. How could I _not_ buy it! I’ve read about a third of it in one sitting. That’s not like me, but I couldn’t put it down. It combines two of my favourite things. Discworld and the Theory\* of Evolution This is just about the least creative OP you can imagine. But I wanted to mention the book. The science is just as rivveting as the Humour. [sub]\*Not ‘hypothesis’[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/2 "2005-05-21T06:55:17Z")
How’s it stack up to the first two **Science of Discworld** s? I loved the first one, but I hear the second was dull. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/3 "2005-05-22T00:09:34Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > How’s it stack up to the first two **Science of Discworld** s? I loved the first one, but I hear the second was dull. I haven’t read all of SoD 1 but have read most of it. SoD III so far is more gripping and entertaining. In SoD 1 I didn’t get the sense that the world they created was _our_ world, just that it was a world with similar characteristics. I am an Atheist so the general theme of the book appeals to that side of me particularly. Early in the book the creationism debate that is going on in America is discussed. And the Irony of Britain, being the most secular country in europe (Most brits attend church only for weddings and funerals) while at the same time having a monarch who claims to be appointed by God. And a version of Christianity (Church of England) Hasn’t anyone else bought this book? Or are most of you waiting for the paperback? The book also discusses Quantum. And there are parts where I am left with the same feeling that reading ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’… I.e. complete bafflement. I don’t think I will ever understand quantum or at least ever connect it to my sense of the real. No half-dead cats or pea-brains in my world. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/4 "2005-05-22T00:21:08Z")
If I may bother those in-the-know a moment… what is _Diskworld_ please? What you have said here so far sounds interesting. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/5 "2005-05-22T00:22:20Z")
I’m almost done and it gets a strong “meh” from me. It’s recycled from the other books, Pterry wrote the Wizzard part during a coffee break and Cohen+Stewart doesn’t seem to have a clue where they’re going, or rather why. For those who must have all of Pterry, wait for the paperback. And buy Cohen and Stewart’s Figment of Reality, which is so very much better and vastly more interesting. BTW Lobsang, I wrote about getting it about two weeks ago and didn’t get a single reply back then. At least two people have responded to your thread. You should feel good about that. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/6 "2005-05-22T00:27:12Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > If I may bother those in-the-know a moment… what is _Diskworld_ please? What you have said here so far sounds interesting. > Thanks [Dis **c** world](http://www.ie.lspace.org/) is a series of humourous books abot a fictional world shaped like a disc which sits atop four elephants standing on the back of a turtle. It’s quite popular. It’s author is Britain’s most successful living author. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/7 "2005-05-22T00:35:13Z")
And where light travels at about the same speed as sound. Believing in something brings it into being (There is a God of Hangovers). Magic is as accepted as electricity is in our world. There is a reaper for rats. A talking raven. An order of monks who look after time. Time is a woman. My dope namesake is her son (Thief of Time. Lobsang gets a mention on page 69 of the Science of Discworld III). Trust me, it’s worth it. Don’t start at the beginning. Mr Pratchett’s talent blosoms sometime after his first few discworld novels. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/8 "2005-05-22T01:14:25Z")
Seems like a good a place as any to ask… Is there a Dope consensus on the best and worst Diskworld books? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/9 "2005-05-22T01:14:51Z")
The Disc is also the font of all worthwhile human knowledge, including:[ul] [li]Personal is not the same as important.[/li][li]Million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.[/li][li]Chain mail isn’t much defense against an arrow. It certainly isn’t when the arrow is being aimed between your eyes.[/li][li]Chickens can’t swim.[/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/10 "2005-05-22T01:33:33Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > And where light travels at about the same speed as sound. Believing in something brings it into being (There is a God of Hangovers). Magic is as accepted as electricity is in our world. There is a reaper for rats. A talking raven. An order of monks who look after time. Time is a woman. My dope namesake is her son (Thief of Time. Lobsang gets a mention on page 69 of the Science of Discworld III). > > Trust me, it’s worth it. Don’t start at the beginning. Mr Pratchett’s talent blosoms sometime after his first few discworld novels. Thanks **Lobsang**. If not “at the beginning” (I don’t even know where that is) then can you recommend a title where I can start or will I be lost without the prevous books to understand charictures and references in later books? Also, thanks for the insight. I’ve wondered where your name comes from at times in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/11 "2005-05-22T01:52:06Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > Thanks **Lobsang**. If not “at the beginning” (I don’t even know where that is) then can you recommend a title where I can start or will I be lost without the prevous books to understand charictures and references in later books? > Also, thanks for the insight. I’ve wondered where your name comes from at times in the past. The beginning is a book called “The Colour of Magic”. I bought it, and having read a few of his recent (at the time) books already I just couldn’t get into it. Obviously opinion about Discworld is subjective, but my subjective opinion is that ‘The Nightwatch’ is one of the best. It’s about the police department of Discworld’s main city - Ankh-Morkpork. My favourite character (Samuel Vimes) is the ‘star’ of that book. Other discworld fan dopers may (and probably will) disagree with my opinion that Discworld can easily be enjoyed and appreciated out of order. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/12 "2005-05-22T02:00:41Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > The beginning is a book called “The Colour of Magic”. I bought it, and having read a few of his recent (at the time) books already I just couldn’t get into it. Obviously opinion about Discworld is subjective, but my subjective opinion is that ‘The Nightwatch’ is one of the best. It’s about the police department of Discworld’s main city - Ankh-Morkpork. My favourite character (Samuel Vimes) is the ‘star’ of that book. > > Other discworld fan dopers may (and probably will) disagree with my opinion that Discworld can easily be enjoyed and appreciated out of order. Thanks, I will probably start with that one on my next trip to Books-A-Million. Also, on an aside, I will be doing your [Poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=317659) when I have a little more time. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo\_ate\_my\_hamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@Torgo\_ate\_my\_hamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo_ate_my_hamster)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/13 "2005-05-22T04:15:33Z")
The good people at L-Space created [the reading order map.](http://www.ie.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-colour-v1-1.gif) The best thing is to start at the beginning of any of the subseries or with a stand-alone book like Pyramids or Small Gods (my favourite). I haven’t bought SoDW3 yet, mainly because none of my friends have gone to Britain since it came out. I usually get the Pratchett and Rankin hardcovers that way because the price of hardcovers in our country can be even double of the original (joining EU didn’t drop the imported books prices :mad: ) plus it gets bookstores about a month to import the newest books, but I own the first two (both paperbacks of SoDW1 - original end revised with additional chapters) and quite liked them both. **The Gaspode** : thanks for the recomendation. I’ll try to get that book. Arf. Woof. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/14 "2005-05-22T04:32:04Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > The beginning is a book called “The Colour of Magic”. I bought it, and having read a few of his recent (at the time) books already I just couldn’t get into it. Obviously opinion about Discworld is subjective, but my subjective opinion is that ‘The Nightwatch’ is one of the best. It’s about the police department of Discworld’s main city - Ankh-Morkpork. My favourite character (Samuel Vimes) is the ‘star’ of that book. > > Other discworld fan dopers may (and probably will) disagree with my opinion that Discworld can easily be enjoyed and appreciated out of order. Nightwatch was my first, and I’ve hopscotched around since then. I’m waiting for the first “bad” Discworld book. Go. Now, your library should have at least Nightwatch. It is a good place to start because it spends a lot of time explaining and tour-guiding around Ankh-Morkpork. Hogfather is a blast too. Anything with Rincewind in it is worth the price of admission. Damn, now I have to put down this damn Mountain Meadows Massacre book and read something fun… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/15 "2005-05-22T07:43:36Z")
If you have to pick one Discworld book to start with, make it **Small Gods.** Insightful, humorous, self-contained, and very representative of the Discworld appeal. On the other hand, I’ll also argue that you can probably pick up almost any random Discworld novel (except perhaps for the first two, **The Color of Magic** and **The Light Fantastic** [sup]_[/sup]) and jump right in anyway – Terry Pratchett usually does a very good job of keeping his novels self-contained, IMO. [sup]_[/sup] Of course, I _did_ start off my Discworld addiction with _The Light Fantastic,_ thus disproving my own advice… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/16 "2005-05-22T16:56:33Z")
I like taking the Guards series from the other end and starting with Guards, Guards. Nightwatch really is the best of the recent novels but I think at least part of its effectiveness is that we’ve watched the characters deal with the consequences of what occurs in that book. Guards, Guards is really good just not quite as good as Nightwatch and I think it makes a better starting point. I also really like Wyrd Sisters (the real start of Witches books), Reaper Man (which stands on its own fairly well), and Small Gods as other good places to start. The first two books, the Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic, really only have appeal to fans of fantasy novels. They’re amusing but lack the same quality that the books pick up later. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/17 "2005-05-23T01:25:39Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > And where light travels at about the same speed as sound. Believing in something brings it into being (There is a God of Hangovers). I think it’s an “Oh God” of Hangovers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/18 "2005-05-25T00:55:03Z")
Thanks to **Lobsang** , **mr bus guy** and others. Went to Books-A-Million today and bought Nightwatch. Having a 3 year old means I might be slow in getting into it but I appreciate the lead. In the first few pages it really has been interesting (the would-be assassin in the cesspool) so I have great hope. Again, thanks. Nic ---
**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:** [May 25, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/19 "2005-05-25T01:20:44Z")
The problem with starting with **Nightwatch** (the best book PTerry has written to date) is that you really need the backstory of **Guards! Guards!, Feet of Clay** , etc. to get the full richness of the narrative. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815/20 "2005-05-25T07:08:38Z")
You’ll enjoy **Night Watch** more if you’re familiar with _Les Miserables._ (I wasn’t, but enjoyed it anyway 🙂 ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-discworld-iii-darwins-watch/304815.md?page=2)