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

I finished "Light Fantastic" a couple of days ago.

I'm halfway through "Color of Magic"

This afternoon I picked up library copies of "Equal Rites" and "Mort" so I can read those next. "Sourcery" is in very tight supply. If it's slow in coming, I may have to read it out of sequence.

"The Wyrd Sisters," which comes next, is already here.

The new 'Long Earth' is not a Discworld novel
but I highly recommended it with a suggestion
that reading Mort and Thief of Time first will
make it more than delightful as your mind soaks up
the bending of Time and Space over a background
of contemporary realities.

~jwf~

So far, I've read:

Color of Magic
Light Fantastic
Equal Rites
Mort
Sourcery
Wyrd Sisters

I'm about 20 pages into "Pyramids" now, and have the next three books on hand for when I finish "Pyramids."

What are your thoughts/impressions so far?

The books are uneven in quality. There are long boring spots in "Wyrd Sisters." I f7nd it hrd to like most of the characters in that book. Tomjon and the Fool were likeable enough, but they mostly took a back seat to the witches.

Rincewind and the Luggage and the Librarian were inspired characters, though. And Twoflowers was my kind of guy. Vetinari has not been developed as a character yet, compared with his prominence in "Going Postal" and "Making Money."

Rincewind and the Luggage got trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions at the end of "Sourcery," which deletes two excellent characters from the next four books.

"Equal Rites" was based on a great idea -- letting girl wizards like Eskarina gain admittance to the male-only university. So, fine, but
then Pratchett didn't follow up by showing her as an adult. What a waste of a perfectly good character!

Well, Wyrd Sisters is a book about the witches, so of course they are the major characters.

The characters get better as they are developed usually.

Unfortunately I don't know what you mean about Rincewind being deleted from the 'next four books'. He's not the main character in every book, just like the witches or the guards are not main characters in every books.

Don't worry, Eskarina does appear in one of the newest books again as a side character. I think in some way she just didn't fit. Tiffany is the much better young witch in my opinion, but ou didn't read about her yet.

"Unfortunately I don't know what you mean about Rincewind being deleted from the 'next four books'"

Rincewind doesn't seem to be mentioned at all for four books. Ankh-Morpork is a destination in all of the books I've read so far. The Broken Drum is often visited -- the Librarian shows up there when the Fool visits it in "Wyrd Sisters."

I just don't like having Rincewind trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions. Is he going to get out? If so, when?

"Pyramids" features a lot of material about assassins. This will be heavy going, I fear.

Don't worry, Rincewind gets out

Pyramids is excellent ... the time-related stuff is just genius.


Mol

Thanks for the reassurance, Mol.

Paulh has just reminded me that Rincewind goes on
to discover "Australia" and to wage war in Mongolia
in two of the later books.

With nearly 42 titles based in Discworld it's hard
to remember all the storylines. It's an entire new
whirled out there on the turtle's back. With a complex
and devious history and timeline, but the characters
really grow and they grow-on-ya.

~jwf~

The assassins are a fascinating lot - the sort of James Bonds of discworld. You do have to suspend your disbelief with them sometimes, though, as you do with James Bond.

I'm about 15 pages further into "Pyramids" now, and starting to enjoy the scenes about the Assassin's Guild school. This is a stretch for me, as I generally avoid movies and books about assassins [unless they're nominated for Oscars, hence I had to see at least the beginnings of "Django" and "Looper"].

Yes Pratchett's assassins can be frightenly cruel and scary
as total sociopaths - which are in such contrast to the type
of reader who enjoys Discworld's mostly charming characters
with all their flaws and foibles. The people of Discworld may
be strange and eccentric but lovable and forgivable, so when
we meet some of the assassins we are struck by their harshness
and hatreds.

Some of the assassins (and other monsters) have made me wonder
at the depths of Pratchett's psyche. I have sometimes felt
the cold darkness of pure Evil shuddering through my soul.

There is one called Teatime that goes beyond the pale in terms
of sadistic brutality and one has to step back and remain objective
to see such monsters as contrasts to the good that prevails and
proof that good will prevail.


~jwf~

I've always seen the assassins in gerneral as gentlemen and businessmen. They are not really cruel as far as I can see, they don't want to torture their 'victims' or enjoy their pain, they just get rid of those who for some reason should rather be dea than alife. In some way they have a very important role in society. Do not forget that Vetinari was trained as an assassin himself. They get a good education.
The fools on the other hand, they are really scary.

I think it's just Teatime who's 'frighteningly cruel and scary' out of the Assassins. He even frightens the head of the Guild. The others are just posh.

Mol

Couldn't put it better myself, Mol.

I was given 'Blink of the Screen' and 'The Long Earth' for my birthday, and a story in 'Blinks of the Screen' features the characters in 'The Long Earth'. I'd read the short story first, before 'The Long Earth' as otherwise you know who the villain is when you first read the short story.

<BB<

I'm having to read "Moving Pictures" out of sequence because it has to go back to its home library and can't be renewed. This sort of thing happens when you are reading borrowed books.....

But that's one of the good things about Pratchett's books. It's not vital that you read them in any certain order. Each one can stand on its own. It's just a bit more coherent to read some of them sooner rather than later.

Dark Side of the Sun and Strata are, I think, very good books. If you've every read any Larry Niven you'll see the huge send-up, especially with the dinosaur holding the "end nuclear testing now" sign!

As others have said, Mort is the best to start the Discworld series on.

And the Unadulterated Cat is sheer genius send up of CAMRA.

Radio dramatisation of Wyrd Sisters:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fgrzn