As a long-standing TP fan his books had slowly been becoming an ‘oh look - there’s another one’ thing until I read The Truth.
It’s his best work since Mort (which is his best work ever) and so I’m currently looking at my copy of Night Watch with trepidation as, for the first time in years, I may be disproportionately disappointed 
In keeping with the thread title - the “Witches Triology” are the worst TP’s by far - I barely got through those…
TTFN
JP
If I really had to, I would vote for Eric, no reason really, it just did not really strike a memorable note with me.
The second one I did not enjoy as much was Soul Music. Though I was happy to read about Susan again, there were a little to many puns of the “elvish” kind in it to be enjoyed wholeheartedly. I almost kept waiting for TP to acknowledge readers who sent in puns…
This is a tough question. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. Mort is probably the weakest as far as plot is concerned, and reading the comic didn’t help matters.
What I like best about Pratchett is that he seems to have a pretty good command of a wide variety of subjects. I don’t claim any expertise, but my impressions and knowledge of Australia, rock music, opera behind the scenes and university politics seem spot on with his. I’ve spent a number of years in journalism, and he’s nailed the excitement and limitations of the profession in The Truth. Knowing that he’s getting the facts right contributes greatly to my enjoyment of these books.
He’s also capable of writing a book with very different shadings. People expecting the funny Pratchett to show up may not react well with something more thoughtful like Feat of Clay. Those who like quick slam-bang pacing will probably cry (like I did) through about the first two-thirds of Small Gods. I persisted through blind faith that, by the end, TP would make it worthwhile; and by the gods, he did.
I read a lot, and I’m hard on a lot of authors, but Pratchett has so worked his way into my affections that I willingly read and enjoy everything he’s written. He’s earned my free pass, alongside Mark Twain and George Macdonald Frasier (may be a few others, but can’t think of them at present).
The only explanation I can think of for the American covers I see most often, the ones that are mostly one color but with some kind of iconic representation of the theme or title of the book, is that they make the books look less like fantasy novels. Some people might be ashamed to read a book with a colorful cover showing trolls, dragons, warrior women, etc.
Such people, of course, are idiots. I’m not ashamed to be seen reading a fantasy novel, as long as the cover isn’t of the cheesecake variety that Pratchett himself alluded to in The Light Fantastic. And the UK Discworld covers are unquestionably far more attractive than the American ones. At the end of my trip to London I spent my last few pounds buying Discworld novels in the bookstore at Heathrow rather than have them changed back into dollars, so I’m now the proud owner of three Discworld British editions!
Well put. I enjoy them all, frankly. I just finished Night Watch and thought it was great.
I’ve only read one of the Discworld books (the second one), and the version I bought had very colorful cover art, with about every major character riding on the luggage in a rather nice painting.
There are three I don’t really like as much as the others.
Hogfather took the whole “Oh God of Hangovers” thing way too far, and generally I disliked most of the characters Susan meets. Takes most of the fun out of it, I think.
Lords and Ladies was just not up to par for a Witches book. I’ve loved every other Witches book, including my favourite Discworld of them all, but this one just didn’t ring the bells for me.
Interesting Times just failed to grab me at all. The cultural stabs seemed kind of tryhard, and the idea of seeing TwoFlower again didn’t really fill me with interest, so I went in with a halfhearted feel anyway. And there is such a thing as too much of the Luggage.
My favourites include, in this order:
Maskerade is just excellently written from go to whoa, the characters are spot on, the references are brilliant. As someone who has worked in Theatre (it was small and localised, but it operated just like any other theatre, from ego to backstabbing, from success to failure) I found it totally perfect in every detail. Love it.
Men At Arms was the first Murder Mystery, and I loved the change of pace from the ‘huge powerful magic gets awoken and takes over Ankh Morpork’ angle that was getting a bit samey. Great characterisations, and more Carrot/less Vimes, which I prefer.
The Truth is a lot like Men At Arms, in that it’s quite a change of pace, and the new characters were very likeable. Not so sure about the increasing use of Igors and Vampires lately, but they were funny at least.
Small Gods I have warmed to. Initially I didn’t like it at my first reading, but it’s grown on me since.
The plot is the wizards messed up things during The Creation and it was up to Rincewind to fix it. Of course, it would be better if he didn’t just do it accidentally.
I totally agree with everybody who hates The Last Continent, but I’m shocked that there’s no vote for the couple books around it - there was a period there where his books relied far too heavily on the jokes, with cobwebs of plot there to take him from joke to joke. Likewise, the problem with the first few books is that there’s too much overdetermined story with not enough character and humor work. He’s gotten better, and I very much liked Night Watch, but didn’t much care for The Truth. Jingo rather blew, except for the inclusion of old favorite characters and the lucky exclusion of Rincewind, who can choke on his own blood for all I care. Also, you can’t really write a book about Carrot. Carrot is not funny. Other people around Carrot are funny, but Carrot himself is a bit of a snooze.
And don’t nobody be talking smack about Maskerade. I read it while I was an intern at an opera house and thought it absolutely hilariously funny.
Okay, see, Lords and Ladies is one of my favorites. The Truth has gotten better with readings, but at first it was one of my least. On the whole, I haven’t found any of the books to be bad, rather, some are just not as strong as others. Maskerade was good, and so was Jingo, but LaL and Guards! Guards! are both stronger. I also thoroughly enjoyed The Fifth Elephant.
Like the Simpsons, the Discworld is going to cause a lot of disagreement, but I’m always glad to see so many people here love it.
I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve felt similar to TheRealJohnPeat… the books started to loose their interest for me (but still bought them of course, as one never looses hope).
With the Night Watch I feel Pratchett’s back again, writing in a settings he’s comfortable with and on a topic he feels is important. That really shows. There mighnt laugh-out-loud stuff, but you still get a genuine grin on your face, which isn’t hard to get with the matter fealt with in the book. Not a comedy, but a very satisfying read because of that.
I like them all.
The wizzards (sic!) are great. The banter and ongoing jokes are beautifully paced and lined out. Under the surface, Pterry mostly gets in quite a few deeper things. Interesting times take a very good look at politics and heroism, as does Jingo in the Watch series. Which also has a lot of fun things to say about cultural clashes. Rincewind was not so much fun in Last Continent, but the faculty was totally hilarious.
The witches are fun too, and even though I didn’t get it at first, Granny W and Nanny Ogg are great characters. The Death/susan series is also fun. So how to pick the least good?
From the Witches - Lords and Ladies. Granny and Nanny are fun, but the plot really is so-so.
The Watch - no particular book, but I’m getting tired of the theme where evil men plot to overtrow Vetinari and Vimes saves the day. I read the Watch series more for character and fun, than for plot. And Angua… mmmmm.
The Wizards - Sourcery leaves me cold.
But overall, the worst in the series - plot, character, jokes - is Thief of Time. Had not Susan been in the book, it would’ve been a huge disappointment.
Woff, bloody woof.
Had to have the breastplate hammerd to fit, and the helmet barely contained the thick curly blonde hair. Yep. :homer:Angua…mmmm…drool:homer:
Well, I didn’t care for The Last Continent nor Jingo. Both of those felt almost as though they were written by someone else – the characters didn’t quite ring true.
In Jingo, for instance, I’m not sure that I see The Patrician doing bazaar magic in a Tommy Cooper voice, and the whole story just didn’t quite work.
In The Last Continent, which I just finished last night, I didn’t get the Rincewind character at all. Now he’s not my favorite, but even the dialog with the wizards felt un-natural.