What is the best Discworld thread?

Cafe Society
1

(That ponderance came completely out of the blue)

And another one has just come - where does the phrase ‘out of the blue’ come from? and why blue? why not red, or green? (If my guess is correct, and it refers to the sea, then the Discworld phrase would be ‘out of the green’… That is if I am correct in believing the sea in Discworld is green. If not, blame Josh Kirby for my incorrect knowledge)

Anyway, back to the thread…

The definition of ‘best’ in the Subject is very loose. There is no criteria. What was the best Discworld thread?

2

I have yet to find out if my threat-of-suicide/physical-self-harm technique yields results. So I must try again.

If no-one answers me I am going to find out if long kitchen knives are a good tool for removing bogeys.

3

Actually, I’m sort of curious about this, too. I’m just getting into Discworld and I’ve just finished and loved Night Watch. So, any suggestions, etc.? I’ll be going off to the library at midday today, so there’s a good chance I’ll be acting on your suggestions.

CJ

4

There really aren’t as many threads on this as you’d think. I like the one about which book is worst. It’s not quite as predictable as the other ones.

5

A rather complicated, but comprehensive, reading order guide.

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cjhoworth - On the back of the one I am currently reading - some guy from some newspaper said it is the best thing Pratchett has written yet.

It is Small Gods. So far I am enjoying it thoroughly.

The best I have read is probaly Nightwatch. A very close second is Jingo, a close third is Hogfather,

I have also read Thief of Time, a tiny bit of the first Discworld book the name of which escapes me, a non Discworld book (‘Good Omens’ - very very good).

7

Read the books in any Gods-damn order you like! That’s the beauty of them!

8

Ah, but does Strata come before or after the rest of the series? Or is it a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT Discworld that is visited by Kin, Marco, and Silver in Mr Pratchett’s third book?

My favorite disworld thread in my limited SDMB tenure was the worst DW book thread.

And, IIRC, “out of the blue” was originally a WWII pilots term. Enemy fighters could pounce on one “out of the blue”, ie, out of the sky. But then again, this is Cafe Society, not GQ, so i could be wrong.

9

“Strata” is a proto-pre-discworld book. It takes place in a different multiverse than the discworld novels. No turtle, you see. IMHO.

10

See, that was pretty much my conclusion. But a friend of mine made a very persuasive argument based on a few quotes from “Small Gods” that indicate that the form of the discworld could change based on the beleifs of the populace. Thus, if the discworld-dwellers no longer beleived in the great A’tuin, then no turtle.
If you think that’s bad, you should see my peers and I argue about the simpsons. We put alt.tv.simpsons to SHAME.

11

On a related note, who else opened Night Watch and did a double take? So much for “There are no maps,” eh?

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You mean, other than the four that were published years ago?

Ankh-Morpork … grew. It needed to be thoroughly mapped just to stop all the nitpickers catching Pterry in a mistake.

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I like maps. I refered back th othe one in Nightwatch quite a few times while reading it.

As to the surprise in seeing one - I was not. I did not think twice (or even once) about it. Since I was not aware of any “There are no maps” statute

14

OK, this time I added the link Smeghead posted to my favorites so I can find it in future. I didn’t get to the library today because I got to go to work (given my current lack of employment, that’s a very good thing!). I’ve read Interesting Times, Eric, Truth and Nightwatch in that order and enjoyed them, although Eric is the weakest so far. Sourcery’s high on my list, and I’d like to get to know Sam Vines better.

So, I’ve now got no idea when I’ll get to the library, but it might be tomorrow, so get your suggestions in. Right now, thanks to my aforementioned lack of employment, buying isn’t an option, but I’ve got four libraries which I frequent, and I wouldn’t mind an excuse to seek out more.

CJ

15

Evil Death, I’m gonna bite the bullet, admit my ignorance, and ask- where were these four maps you mention published? who published them? how can I get them? I’ve been reading DW since I was but a tot, and have never even heard of published maps. Please share.

16

It finally happened.

Somebody posted a thread about favorite threads about a book series.

The SDMB servers must be close to collapsing under their own weight.

17

Give me a second to whip them out.

Right - now to find the maps.

<rummage rummage>

Hmmm - Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters. Indispensable reading for any man, woman or child who doesn’t want their brains sucked out via their anus, but not what I need right now.

<rummage rummage>

Big Book of Feminist Graffiti…

<rummage rummage>

Ah - got them.

The Streets of Ankh-Morpork (1993)
ISBN 0-552-14161-5

The Discworld Mapp (1995)
ISBN 0-552-14324-3

A Tourist Guide To Lancre (1998)
ISBN 0-552-14608-0

Death’s Domain (1999)
ISBN 0-552-14672-2

18

I was going to say that it’s probably related to “Out of the clear blue sky”. Similar expressions.

19

I haven’t read it for a while, but I thought that was Earth. As in, our Earth. Hence all those stories of sailing off the edge of the orld used to be true, but now we’ve been moved to a round one. Insert your own explanation for various myths and legends (the transfer could easily be the Flood for a start).
Dunno how long they’ll leave us be though.
Anyway, I thought Strata and the Dark Side of the Sun were in a different universe, on the other hand there’s a Pratchett quote that goes something like: “There are no inconsistencies in the Discworld books; occasionally, however, there are alternate pasts.”

20

A different part of the same universe, maybe. Also, remember that

the discworld in Strata is an artificial construct of science with no turtle or elephants and a complex life support system, whereas the Disc itself is purely magical.