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I mean addressing the initial proposition - of course a work of satire/parody of the real world is going to be a better basis for thinking about the real world

I mean addressing the initial proposition - of course a work of satire/parody of the real world is going to be a better basis for thinking about the real world than a work of escapism! The rest of it, I think, won't persuade anyone to read Discworld novels who's resisted them so far. Those who have and love them will find it a pleasant enough survey. Oh and I personally think that Equal Rites is the best entry point to the series rather than Sourcery. But then I was reading them in publishing order anyway and eagerly waiting for each new one to come out. Damn I miss being able to look forward to a new Pratchett novel; he was a Wodehouse for my generation.

teddyh 2y ago
“Equal Rites” is the first in the “witches” series, but is, IIUC, considered a very weak entry. The rest of the witches series don’t really acknowledge the events in it, and they start off the next book with a blank slate, not assuming that you have read the first one. If you really just want to read the witches series, I’d suggest that you instead start with the second book, “Wyrd Sisters”.
- dcminter 2y ago
  His very last book has Esk in it. I understand the view, I just don't agree. It has lots of nice subtle jokes in it and was the first to have a bit more depth to the story rather than being a slightly scattered and episodic parody of thr fantasy genre. But then I like Dark Side and Strata a lot too. Edit to add: incidentally there are a lot of minor throwaway jokes throughout the series that require you to have read the preceding books to get them. That in itself is IMO enough reason to aim to read them in publication order. But you do you, he was very prolific, I can see why someone coming in after the fact might choose not to tackle the whole lot from beginning to end.
- nsbk 2y ago
  What entry point would you recommend to a total newcomer to the series?
  - zabzonk 2y ago
    "Lords & Ladies", and then expand out in both/all directions. Horrible elves, Granny at her best (and Nanny), Magrat the killer queen, Morris dancing, stupid wizzards and lots of other stuff - what's not to like? Probably just because it's my fave. But you can read them and enjoy in any order.
    - nsbk 2y ago
      That sounds like a lot of fun indeed! Thanks for the advice
    - cancerhacker 2y ago
      The only reason I disagree is that L&L jumps in with some very well established characters that had been built up earlier. But I do love his (historically accurate by lore?) description of elves. He put a lot of research into re-establishing the myths and lore of his little corner of the world. (Along those lines I would also recommend Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell” which builds its own parallel history set in the early 1800s Britain, with Fairies taking the same role as elves in discworld.
      - rsynnott 2y ago
        > But I do love his (historically accurate by lore?) description of elves. Yeah, more or less. The “elves/fairies are nice, or at least _good_” thing is a fairly modern creation (owing a lot to Tolkien, really).
      - dcminter 2y ago
        I think Susannah Clarke is the only living author I can think of who would inspire the same enthusiasm from me upon news of a new book from them. Alas, she is not quite as prolific as PTerry :) Mustn't grumble though, it's not like Jonathan Strange was a pamphlet!
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  - 2y ago
lc9er 2y ago
Wodehouse is a great comparison. I typically suggest people start with “Guards! Guards!”, but the Witches or Night Watch books are both great starting points - Granny Weatherwax and Sam Vimes are probably the most explored characters, followed by Death, Tiffany, and Moist. If you like “Guards! Guards!” or “Equal Rites”, then go back and start from the beginning. The first two novels are fun, but sound like Pratchett was channeling Monty Python and Douglas Adams. It took a few books before his own voice really shined through.
asjir 2y ago
Why not start with Colour of Magic? For context, I started with it, then Light Fantastic and I'm finishing Sourcery now.
- Symbiote 2y ago
  Many of the cultural references are to other fantasy books and comics from the 1980s, so they're increasingly lost on current readers. I generally recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters, since many people are familiar with Macbeth.
- dcminter 2y ago
  I did too (a long time ago when I was 13). But I think there was a change in tone with and continuing after Equal Rites, in that the characters and story were a bit more thorough rather than being, essentially, a sketch-show vehicle for parody and quips. Besides, it introduces Granny Weatherwax, who is IMO one of his two greatest creations (the other being Vimes of course). Edit: Oh, by the way, if you're just now working your way through them then (a) I envy you and (b) I recommend reading the Annotated Pratchett File for each book - after you finish each of course: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    > I recommend reading the Annotated Pratchett File for each book - after you finish each of course: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ Sadly, it’s pretty sparse or non-existent for the later books, but the TVTropes pages on them are usually very good, and cover a lot of the same ground.
  - asjir 2y ago
    Ahh, I see, thank you (and other commenters) I was a bit surprised by the change in tone in a way I probably wouldn't've been if I'd read chronologically.
- rsynnott 2y ago
  You certainly _can_, but they’re more or less straight-up parody fantasy, and _very_ different to the rest of the series.
tsumnia 2y ago
I followed the prescribed unofficial Reading Order graphic when I started the series (only 10ish books in), and I've jumped around between all the different protagonists. Color of Magic, Mort, Guards Guards, and the Equal Rites do well enough to show you what the Disc is all about, the absurdity of normalcy, and some of the crazy antics people get into. I think it may be more a matter of what "type" of fiction are you looking for - a constantly terrified Rincewind in a world of magic, a new to the job Mort where no one believes HE is Death, a tired Sam Vimes trying to understand a world that is changing faster than he can keep up, or the witches the reject all the social rules of the land. Really the only one I wouldn't recommend first is Small Gods, but mostly because its very self contained to the Klatchian region while the others are on another continent.
- cyberax 2y ago
  > I wouldn't recommend first is Small Gods, but mostly because its very self contained to the Klatchian region while the others are on another continent. For the same reason, "Small Gods" is actually a great introduction to the series. I think it's really my favorite book in the series.
rsynnott 2y ago
I’d agree on Equal Rites; Sourcery is a _weird_ Discworld book, though I think it’s the one that most blatantly hits the theme, which shows up more subtly elsewhere, that “great men (TM)” are _a bad thing_.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago
  > Sourcery is a _weird_ Discworld book He must have liked it; he rewrote it later as Good Omens.
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    Oh, yeah, I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s… kind of what TVTropes calls Early Installment Weirdness; it feels very different to what comes later.
  - dcminter 2y ago
    Could you explain? I don't see much similarity between them.
    - Detrytus 2y ago
      In both protagonist is a super powerful boy, unintentionally bringing the world on the brink of Armageddon?
      - dcminter 2y ago
        Well, I guess...? Tonally they feel completely different and Good Omens draws a lot of its DNA from The Omen (and, wonderfully, Richmal Crompton) whereas I don't see any of that in Sourcery. I find it hard to see Good Omens as a do-over of Sourcery, but I guess they do have something in common.
        trowawee 2y ago
        Probably worth noting that Pratchett wrote most of the "Adam and the gang" sections of Good Omens, while Gaiman was responsible for the riders and the more "mythological" parts. So I do see a pretty clear throughline from Sourcery to the Pratchett parts of Good Omens.

teddyh 2y ago

“Equal Rites” is the first in the “witches” series, but is, IIUC, considered a very weak entry. The rest of the witches series don’t really acknowledge the events in it, and they start off the next book with a blank slate, not assuming that you have read the first one. If you really just want to read the witches series, I’d suggest that you instead start with the second book, “Wyrd Sisters”.

dcminter 2y ago
His very last book has Esk in it. I understand the view, I just don't agree. It has lots of nice subtle jokes in it and was the first to have a bit more depth to the story rather than being a slightly scattered and episodic parody of thr fantasy genre. But then I like Dark Side and Strata a lot too. Edit to add: incidentally there are a lot of minor throwaway jokes throughout the series that require you to have read the preceding books to get them. That in itself is IMO enough reason to aim to read them in publication order. But you do you, he was very prolific, I can see why someone coming in after the fact might choose not to tackle the whole lot from beginning to end.
nsbk 2y ago
What entry point would you recommend to a total newcomer to the series?
- zabzonk 2y ago
  "Lords & Ladies", and then expand out in both/all directions. Horrible elves, Granny at her best (and Nanny), Magrat the killer queen, Morris dancing, stupid wizzards and lots of other stuff - what's not to like? Probably just because it's my fave. But you can read them and enjoy in any order.
  - nsbk 2y ago
    That sounds like a lot of fun indeed! Thanks for the advice
  - cancerhacker 2y ago
    The only reason I disagree is that L&L jumps in with some very well established characters that had been built up earlier. But I do love his (historically accurate by lore?) description of elves. He put a lot of research into re-establishing the myths and lore of his little corner of the world. (Along those lines I would also recommend Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell” which builds its own parallel history set in the early 1800s Britain, with Fairies taking the same role as elves in discworld.
    - rsynnott 2y ago
      > But I do love his (historically accurate by lore?) description of elves. Yeah, more or less. The “elves/fairies are nice, or at least _good_” thing is a fairly modern creation (owing a lot to Tolkien, really).
    - dcminter 2y ago
      I think Susannah Clarke is the only living author I can think of who would inspire the same enthusiasm from me upon news of a new book from them. Alas, she is not quite as prolific as PTerry :) Mustn't grumble though, it's not like Jonathan Strange was a pamphlet!
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- 2y ago

lc9er 2y ago

Wodehouse is a great comparison. I typically suggest people start with “Guards! Guards!”, but the Witches or Night Watch books are both great starting points - Granny Weatherwax and Sam Vimes are probably the most explored characters, followed by Death, Tiffany, and Moist. If you like “Guards! Guards!” or “Equal Rites”, then go back and start from the beginning. The first two novels are fun, but sound like Pratchett was channeling Monty Python and Douglas Adams. It took a few books before his own voice really shined through.

asjir 2y ago

Why not start with Colour of Magic? For context, I started with it, then Light Fantastic and I'm finishing Sourcery now.

Symbiote 2y ago
Many of the cultural references are to other fantasy books and comics from the 1980s, so they're increasingly lost on current readers. I generally recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters, since many people are familiar with Macbeth.
dcminter 2y ago
I did too (a long time ago when I was 13). But I think there was a change in tone with and continuing after Equal Rites, in that the characters and story were a bit more thorough rather than being, essentially, a sketch-show vehicle for parody and quips. Besides, it introduces Granny Weatherwax, who is IMO one of his two greatest creations (the other being Vimes of course). Edit: Oh, by the way, if you're just now working your way through them then (a) I envy you and (b) I recommend reading the Annotated Pratchett File for each book - after you finish each of course: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/
- rsynnott 2y ago
  > I recommend reading the Annotated Pratchett File for each book - after you finish each of course: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ Sadly, it’s pretty sparse or non-existent for the later books, but the TVTropes pages on them are usually very good, and cover a lot of the same ground.
- asjir 2y ago
  Ahh, I see, thank you (and other commenters) I was a bit surprised by the change in tone in a way I probably wouldn't've been if I'd read chronologically.
rsynnott 2y ago
You certainly _can_, but they’re more or less straight-up parody fantasy, and _very_ different to the rest of the series.

tsumnia 2y ago

I followed the prescribed unofficial Reading Order graphic when I started the series (only 10ish books in), and I've jumped around between all the different protagonists. Color of Magic, Mort, Guards Guards, and the Equal Rites do well enough to show you what the Disc is all about, the absurdity of normalcy, and some of the crazy antics people get into. I think it may be more a matter of what "type" of fiction are you looking for - a constantly terrified Rincewind in a world of magic, a new to the job Mort where no one believes HE is Death, a tired Sam Vimes trying to understand a world that is changing faster than he can keep up, or the witches the reject all the social rules of the land. Really the only one I wouldn't recommend first is Small Gods, but mostly because its very self contained to the Klatchian region while the others are on another continent.

cyberax 2y ago
> I wouldn't recommend first is Small Gods, but mostly because its very self contained to the Klatchian region while the others are on another continent. For the same reason, "Small Gods" is actually a great introduction to the series. I think it's really my favorite book in the series.

rsynnott 2y ago

I’d agree on Equal Rites; Sourcery is a _weird_ Discworld book, though I think it’s the one that most blatantly hits the theme, which shows up more subtly elsewhere, that “great men (TM)” are _a bad thing_.

thaumasiotes 2y ago
> Sourcery is a _weird_ Discworld book He must have liked it; he rewrote it later as Good Omens.
- rsynnott 2y ago
  Oh, yeah, I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s… kind of what TVTropes calls Early Installment Weirdness; it feels very different to what comes later.
- dcminter 2y ago
  Could you explain? I don't see much similarity between them.
  - Detrytus 2y ago
    In both protagonist is a super powerful boy, unintentionally bringing the world on the brink of Armageddon?
    - dcminter 2y ago
      Well, I guess...? Tonally they feel completely different and Good Omens draws a lot of its DNA from The Omen (and, wonderfully, Richmal Crompton) whereas I don't see any of that in Sourcery. I find it hard to see Good Omens as a do-over of Sourcery, but I guess they do have something in common.
      - trowawee 2y ago
        Probably worth noting that Pratchett wrote most of the "Adam and the gang" sections of Good Omens, while Gaiman was responsible for the riders and the more "mythological" parts. So I do see a pretty clear throughline from Sourcery to the Pratchett parts of Good Omens.