# What a bummer. I'm all out of Pratchett. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896 "2010-04-12T23:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/21 "2010-04-13T20:39:48Z")
You might like the _Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium!_ novels by Sandy Mitchell. It’s soft sci-fi with a sense of humour, focusing on Commissar Ciaphas Cain and his aide, Jurgen. On the downside, they _are_ Warhammer 40k novels, so the whole war thing plays a big role. It tends to be squad-level stuff, if that helps. If you do look them up, I’d probably suggest stopping after the 5th book. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/22 "2010-04-13T21:09:16Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > On the downside, they _are_ Warhammer 40k novels, so the whole war thing plays a big role. It tends to be squad-level stuff, if that helps. Yeah, squad-level is okay. My thing in the OP about “Stories that go into detail describing massive wars” is mainly a dislike of authors spending page after page describing troop movements and the ebb and flow of huge battles, and enumerating the thousands of casualties on either side, etc. I suppose I could sum it up with “I prefer the tactical over the strategic”. Let me know there’s a big war going on, but keep the focus on this individual or core group and their specific, personal part in it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/23 "2010-04-13T22:44:07Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Does that contain actual recipes? Cuz I happen to be a professional cook 🙂 It does. I can’t vouch for any of them, though. I gave the book to my brother many, many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/24 "2010-04-13T23:08:08Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Does that contain actual recipes? Cuz I happen to be a professional cook 🙂 It contains recipes and bits of advice from Nanny Ogg’s experiences. Be sure to read the recipe for Rat Pizza. Notice that I am NOT saying you should try to make it, even with the Substitute Rat. And I tell you, you MUST read John Scalzi. At the very least, you must read _Old Man’s War_. Yes, it’s military SF, and it does get a bit gory. But it’s great. And it’s hilarious. And his aliens are truly aliens, with alien goals and ideals. Other SF/fantasy: Barbara Hambly. I don’t particularly care for her Benjamin January books, or her historical fiction. Dragonshadow and Knight of the Demon Queen were written when she was in the first stages of grieving over the death of her ex-husband (they got divorced for legal reasons, not because they fell out of love), and they’re hard to read. Dragonsbane is the first book in that series, and it was written as a stand alone book, and it’s fine to read it and quit the series. But her other fantasy novels are wonderful. [http://www.barbarahambly.com/hambooks.htm](http://www.barbarahambly.com/hambooks.htm) I’ve only read a couple of her Star Trek/Star Wars novelizations, and while they were well written, I vastly prefer her stories which are set in her own universes. Depending on how much you can tolerate the current vampire/werewolf theme, you might try one of Carrie Vaughn’s books about a werewolf DJ. The first one is Kitty and the Midnight Hour. And you have to try something by Patricia Briggs. Anything will do, but try Raven’s Shadow and Raven’s Strike (in that order) and Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood (again, in that order) in particular. While I like Lawrence Watt-Evans in general, I was quite disappointed in the first two books of the Annals of the Chosen. So much so that I could not bring myself to buy the third book. I do, however, like just about everything else he’s written, so you should definitely read some of his other works, if you haven’t already. Most of the Ethshar books can be read in any order, really. They might reference one another, but reading a later book first won’t contain any spoilers that I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/25 "2010-04-13T23:41:43Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Does that contain actual recipes? Cuz I happen to be a professional cook 🙂 One of the two curry recipes is pretty good (the other is Ankh-Morpork style with lumps in), and I’ve been meaning to make most of the baked goods one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![\_Undecided\_Adrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/eada6e/32.png) [@\_Undecided\_Adrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Undecided_Adrian)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/26 "2010-04-14T11:36:43Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Oh yes, I read all of the HHGTTG books years and years ago, and then read them all again just a handful of years ago when I found them at the bookstore all bound into one volume. And of course, I’ve read _The Meaning of Liff_. I can heartily recommend DNA’s Dirk Gently novels, **Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency** and **The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul**. They are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike HHGTTG. Also great. A fragment of the third installment is contained in the posthumous collection **The Salmon of Doubt**. Another great author is Matt Ruff, and his books **Fool on the Hill** (fantasy with shakespearean elements set at Cornell U.) and **Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy** (postcyberpunk with a sendup of Ayn Rand) should appeal to every PTerry / DNA fan. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/27 "2010-04-14T15:12:43Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > And I had no idea that he had so many, many,more that I hadn’t read! And a good thing, too, because he’s the most inconsistant writer I’ve encountered. Good books, bad books, blah books, good books with one major flaw, funny books that, in hindsight, do not have a coherent plot, bad books with great monologues… ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/28 "2010-04-14T15:23:42Z")
How about Weis & Hickman’s Death Gate cycle? or the 3 trilogies by Robin Hobb starting with the Farseer Trilogy ---
**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:** [April 14, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/29 "2010-04-14T15:55:52Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > And a good thing, too, because he’s the most inconsistant writer I’ve encountered. Good books, bad books, blah books, good books with one major flaw, funny books that, in hindsight, do not have a coherent plot, bad books with great monologues… Glad I’m not the only one that thinks that way about Holt. When he’s on, he’s _on_. You just can’t bet on it for any given book. For a moment I thought you were refering to Pterry, and I was going to be forced to challenge you to a duel. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/30 "2010-04-14T16:06:18Z")
Speaking of **Tom Holt** , I personally find his comic fantasy books to be patchy. I enjoyed **Expecting Someone Taller** and **Who’s Afraid of Beowulf** , but not others I’ve tried. On the other hand, I really enjoyed his historical novel **The Walled Orchard** , set in ancient Greece at around the time of the Peloponnesian War. Has anyone read any of his other historical novels? I tried **Alexander At The World’s End** , but found it disappointing. Edit - simulposted with Silenus, inconsistant is Tom Holt in a nutshell. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/31 "2010-04-14T17:28:48Z")
I’ll pitch in and suggest Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files novels. And I liked David and Leigh Eddings series of novels for The Belgariad and The Malloreon, plus the other “add-ons” for those; the Elenium and The Tamuli novels were good but not up to the quality of the others. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896/32 "2010-04-16T00:44:09Z")
Have you thought about Jasper fforde’s several series? If you like quirky Pratchett-esque universes, you might like _The Eyre Affair_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-bummer-im-all-out-of-pratchett/535896.md?page=1)