Pratchett is near the top of my to-read list, but I don’t know which book(s) to start with. Color of Magic was the first in the series, but it doesn’t seem like the kind of series that needs to be read in order. Mort, Hogfather, Wee Free Men, and Witches Abroad have all been mentioned favorably on LW, so maybe one of those? Recommendations?
I started with Color of Magic, but didn’t really get into it much. It was fine writing, but nothing very special. Then I read some later works and realised that he got much better. As there’s no reason to read them in order (as you say), this means that you probably shouldn’t!
(My favourite is Night Watch, but I’ve still only read a few, so you should probably ignore that.)
There are more connections between the books than are laid out in that chart though. The Last Hero, for instance, features members of the Night Watch cast about as strongly as the Wizards cast, and other books have minor connections to each other that are simply inconvenient to draw out because they’re far away from each other on the chart.
Rincewind’s stories are pretty much all in the vein of fantasy novel satire, while later books tended more towards social commentary in a humorous fantasy setting, so they do end up being a bit disconnected from the books that come later in the series.
I started with Color of Magic, but didn’t really get into it much. It was fine writing, but nothing very special. Then I read some later works and realised that he got much better.
I went to a talk by Pratchett and he pretty much admitted the same thing. He suggested starting with book 6 or so. :)
Read the Tiffany Aching ones. They’re not just for children, but especially read them if you have or ever expect to have children. These are the stories on which baby rationalists ought to be raised.
I have read the first three since I left that comment (so all but I Shall Wear Midnight,) and I thought they were, at least pretty good, as all the Discworld books were, but as far as younger-readers’ Discworld books go, I rate The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents more highly.
I started by reading a few from around the middle in no particular order (starting with Soul Music), then bought the whole series and read them from the start. Reading them in the disorder is not much of a problem, even books that are part of the same series with the same characters have stories that stand up wholly on their own.
The series:
The Rincewind series: the first Discworld books are in it, but it’s not the best; I’d recommend the others first. It’s probably best to read the books in this series in order.
The Witches series: starts with Equal Rites, but starting with Wyrd Sisters is fine (Equal Rites is one of the early books, and not very heavily linked to the rest). I’d recommend reading Wyrd Sisters ⇒ Witches Abroad ⇒ Lords and Ladies etc. in order. Probably my favorite series.
The city watch series: starts with Guards! Guards!, I’d recommend reading them in order. A pretty good series.
The Death series: has several books, but they aren’t heavily linked to one another, except maybe towards the end (I’d recommend reading Soul Music before Hogfather).
Standalone books: Small Gods, Moving Pictures, Pyramids … not part of any series, but quite good.
Pratchett is near the top of my to-read list, but I don’t know which book(s) to start with. Color of Magic was the first in the series, but it doesn’t seem like the kind of series that needs to be read in order. Mort, Hogfather, Wee Free Men, and Witches Abroad have all been mentioned favorably on LW, so maybe one of those? Recommendations?
I started with Color of Magic, but didn’t really get into it much. It was fine writing, but nothing very special. Then I read some later works and realised that he got much better. As there’s no reason to read them in order (as you say), this means that you probably shouldn’t!
(My favourite is Night Watch, but I’ve still only read a few, so you should probably ignore that.)
This question comes up a lot! A fan has come up with a very sensible and helpful chart, in many languages no less! http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/
There are more connections between the books than are laid out in that chart though. The Last Hero, for instance, features members of the Night Watch cast about as strongly as the Wizards cast, and other books have minor connections to each other that are simply inconvenient to draw out because they’re far away from each other on the chart.
Rincewind’s stories are pretty much all in the vein of fantasy novel satire, while later books tended more towards social commentary in a humorous fantasy setting, so they do end up being a bit disconnected from the books that come later in the series.
Thanks! (distributed also to the other replies)
I think I’ll start with Mort and then go from there.
This confirms my vague feeling that Rincewind’s stuff is not particuarly well connected to the rest of Discworld.
I went to a talk by Pratchett and he pretty much admitted the same thing. He suggested starting with book 6 or so. :)
I’ve read all of them except the Tiffany Aching ones, and Night Watch is still my favorite.
I think it’s better if you’re already well familiar with the Night Watch books and the setting of Ankh Morpork before you read it though.
Read the Tiffany Aching ones. They’re not just for children, but especially read them if you have or ever expect to have children. These are the stories on which baby rationalists ought to be raised.
I have read the first three since I left that comment (so all but I Shall Wear Midnight,) and I thought they were, at least pretty good, as all the Discworld books were, but as far as younger-readers’ Discworld books go, I rate The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents more highly.
Same here. I never finished CoM, but became hooked after picking up Equal Rites.
I started by reading a few from around the middle in no particular order (starting with Soul Music), then bought the whole series and read them from the start. Reading them in the disorder is not much of a problem, even books that are part of the same series with the same characters have stories that stand up wholly on their own.
The series:
The Rincewind series: the first Discworld books are in it, but it’s not the best; I’d recommend the others first. It’s probably best to read the books in this series in order.
The Witches series: starts with Equal Rites, but starting with Wyrd Sisters is fine (Equal Rites is one of the early books, and not very heavily linked to the rest). I’d recommend reading Wyrd Sisters ⇒ Witches Abroad ⇒ Lords and Ladies etc. in order. Probably my favorite series.
The city watch series: starts with Guards! Guards!, I’d recommend reading them in order. A pretty good series.
The Death series: has several books, but they aren’t heavily linked to one another, except maybe towards the end (I’d recommend reading Soul Music before Hogfather).
Standalone books: Small Gods, Moving Pictures, Pyramids … not part of any series, but quite good.
Moist von Lipvig—Going Postal, Making Money. Don’t miss them.
Thief of Time (standalone but loosely related to the Death books) is a favourite of mine too.