h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I haven't read many of Terry Pratchett's books -- just "Going Postal," "Making Money," and "Good Omens." The Disc World series alone seems to exceed 30. For the moment, I'm planning to read "Guards! Guards!" [which my brother-in-law suggested as a starting point] and work forward chronologically from there. Does that make any sense?

There are no Pratchett books you should miss.

I read at the beginning of one of the books that Terry recommends reading The Color of Magic first and The Light Fantastic next in the Disc World Series. After that any which way you please

Here is an interesting resource http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ch.cgi?155

Guards! Guards! is a good one. For me, the next book was my first Pratchett book. "Men at Arms" is what is is called.

That is not a bad starting point. What you may already know is that on the Discworld, Pratchett has a few different threads of stories that he follows. There are the stories about the city watch, such as the one you are about to read. Then there are the stories about the witches, and the ones about the wizzards of Unseen University, and the ones about Death, and a number of stand-alone ones.

One of the best Discworld books for me is "Thief of Time" which features Death and his granddaughter, a Chinese monk type of guy, Death and chocolade. You might try this one because it is sort of out of chronology's way and contains some of Pratchett's best storytelling.

There are no bad Pratchett books, just as there are
no bad Shakespeare plays. But 400 years from now,
not all of them will be read as widely as today.

It will boil down to a couple dozen Discworlds,
especially the more accessible ones like the
Tiffany series for young girls and the Watch
series for young coppers.


The (soon to be) 4 volume Science of Disworld series
will become a cult favourite among Science sophomores
as a 'fair cheat' to learning the history of Science.


~jwf~

Anything with the Watch, but I've been reading them in publication order just so I don't miss any. Just finished Monstrous Regiment which is one of my favourites.

I really liked Mort too and Hogfather. In fact, after the Watch I like the ones with DEATH and Susan.

My favourite is probably Reaper Man because I really like Death as a character. like the others I would also recommend Hogfather and Men At Arms.
Of the witches you should read Wyrd Sisters, I think, although I can't remember a lot about Lords And Ladies anymore so can't say how good it was.

I have (surprise surprise) a strong opinion on this.

You MUST read "The Colour of Magic", "The Light Fantastic" and "Equal Rites" in that order, first.

There are a number of reasons for this. First, they set up the world. They do the exposition that the later books take for granted.

But more importantly they're... differently good. Pratchett was visibly still working out what he was doing. The humour is more broad, and the parodies more on-the-nose, in the first two books. He even has a go at chapters, or at least sections. The main witch in "Equal Rites" is quite a different Weatherwax from the woman we encounter later.

Personally, my favourites are "Pyramids" (where he has another go at chapters, or sections, or something), "Men At Arms", which is as good a whodunnit as anything you'll find in a crime section, and "Feet of Clay".

And standing apart from the rest as a piece of work, and the one which, if the universe works properly, is the Pratchett they'll still be talking about in three hundred years, is "Small Gods". I'm amazed it's legal to sell it in the USA, and that there haven't been huge bonfires of it surrounded by incensed Christians who've never read it, but been told it's the work of Satan. Or for that matter bonfires surrounded by brick-throwing Muslims in Bradford, again (I might travel to see that, for old time's sake...). I can only assume that not a single one of the people who normally whip up such manufactured outrage have become aware of it (possible), or if they had, they just laughed at the jokes and didn't understand the point of it (probable).

"I can't remember a lot about Lords And Ladies anymore so can't say how good it was"

I think that tells you all you need to know...

I recommend that you give Strata and The Dark Side of the Sun a miss. (They're not part of the Discworld series and they're very poor in quality).

I also recommend that you don't start reading the Discworld series at the start with The Colour of Magic, as it is one of the worst in the series and will really put you off. It was only in about the fourth or fifth book in the series that he developed his comic style.

Other than that, I think you're better reading early ones before late ones as the characters develop as the series progress.

The non-Discworld books Nation and Good Omens are well worth reading.

I msut agree with Gnomon that you should better *not* start with the Color of Magic. I had an equally bad start myself with Moving Pictures but fortunately it didn't stop me from reading more Discworld books.

You are probably right about Lords and Ladies.

I think you can safely miss out 'The Unadulterated Cat', 'Where's My Cow?', 'Strata' and 'The Dark Side of the Sun'.

But definitely read the rest - especially the Science of Discworld books - they're not like other 'Science of ...' books, but are brilliant!

<BB<

I would also say don't start with Colour of Magic - I tried and failed (and I can count the books I've started but not finished in the past 40 years on the fingers of one hand). I then picked up Mort (I was tickled by the idea of Death taking on an apprentice) and from then on read them in a totally random order, dictated by what was available in the library (and so did come back to Colour of Magic, and enjoyed it very much). Eventually I started buying them (beginning with the ones I hadn't been able to borrow, so still in a random order) and then *eventually* I went back to them in chronological order (the Watch ones at any rate - I wanted to read Vimes's story, really). I'm still collecting, slightly hampered by the fact that Pratchett almost *never* turns up in charity shops. But my 'have' list is now longer than my 'need' list, and I should have included 'complete TP collection' in my 13 for 13 challenge, really.

I'd struggle to pick a favourite - possibly Thud, if I was absolutely pushed - so make sure you read them all. Including Lords and Ladies - it's entertaining to see Elves as the wicked evil ones, makes a nice counterbalance to LoTR. And what's the fairy-tale one, with Granny Weatherwax's sister? Witches Abroad?

I also like the Truckers series and other non-Discworld stuff.

And the DVDs are worth a watch too ... Have they made any more since Going Postal?

Mol

The first one I read was 'The Light Fantastic', which I'd been lent by my sister's (now ex) boyfriend, and wasn't that impressed, and didn't pay any attention to Terry Pratchett until the animation of 'Wyrd Sisters' was on TV, which I was hooked on.

I managed to pick up the first 20 second hand over a period of a few months (I can't believe the number of second hand book shops that have closed in the last 15 years) and read the first 20 chronologically, with many in a day.

I think the latest Terry Pratchett book has appeared on my Christmas list every year for at least a decade now...

<BB<

>> And the DVDs are worth a watch too ... Have they made any more since Going Postal?

Not yet, but Terry Pratchett now has his own production company (http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html) so there is hope for more to come.

Interesting Times is well worth a read and I think it is the funniest of the disc world books - although Small Gods and Good Omens are a bit deeper.

I'm with the ones who say "start with The Colour of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic". And totally agree with Hoo that Granny Weatherwax has morphed quite a lot (not for the better)

But Nanny Ogg has improved a lot.

Oooh, waily waily all this talk and no mention of the wee free men?!

(proceeds with the arm crossing and the toe tapping)

I just read "the world of poo" quite a sweet story really once you get past the name
the amazing maurice and his educated rodents gave me rat shaped nightmares

Don't forget Tiffany Aching!

I love all his books. My favourite of the Discworld series is possibly Soul Music - mainly because I get more of the references than in any other one.

The one that I find myself thinking of because it reminds me so much of things that happen in real life is "Truth". This is possibly one of the best because it tackles the world of journalism, which Pratchett is very familiar with.

As one of the few remaining members of Pratchetts Anonymous, could I humbly invite you all to come and busy the place up a bit? We can be found over at A640360. It has been a bit quiet for the last 5 years, and so could do with being a bit noisy now.


Geggs