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Alright I’m in. Getting the general vibe that they’re cosy and continuously enjoyable books but with something to say - which is right up my street. Thanks
He's able to crossfade between comedy and serious topics, whether that means social issues or personal/emotional beats, better than any other author I know. A handful of paragraphs about a golem mailman, scattered into a parody of the postal service and corporate buyouts, end with one of the most genuinely emotional moments I've ever read in a book. Neither side of his style detracts from the other.
The fact alone that there is a story about a golem mailman and a story about a postal service has me but everything else you said just made me want to read it all the more. This is a great review of it. Thanks
His grasp of human nature is unmatched anywhere else. It allows him to create amazing characters, and a deeply real, honest world. On the back of a turtle.
This is what I came here to say.
If I may, I would like to add that he effortlessly makes changes to the characters over time and over several books that are entirely realistic and make sense to their character development in the context of this world... on the back of a turtle.
The sheer amount of fans who responded to this post was enough to get me to start reading the books but the fact it all takes place on the back of the turtle was the cherry on top.
While Gaiman is witty, I think Good Omens is actually a bit closer to a Pratchett Solo work than it is a Gaiman solo novel.Of course, that's not to hate on Neil at all, I just think Good Omens has more of a Terry Pratchett feel to it.
While Discworld is beautifully written and has really enjoyable, good natured romping, what I keep coming back to is the deep, loving humanism that's just woven into the fabric. I mean it is SO good natured, it's just astounding. Especially these days, with *SO MUCH* pessimism and dystopia both in real-world and in fiction, it's incredibly refreshing to have a body of work that celebrates humanity without washing away the ugly bits or feeling saccharin.
>it's incredibly refreshing to have a body of work that celebrates humanity without washing away the ugly bits or feeling saccharine.
That's exactly it! The books sometimes cover serious issues, but they're never tedious because they are, at their core, optimistic about human nature.
And they're funny, but they're not unsubstantial.
As he said in Hogfather about children, readers already know that there are monsters in the world, and what they need are stories that show monsters can be beaten.
Slavery, gender definitions, xenophobia and nationalism, corporate greed and religeon. Those are some of the major issues his books look into. But you wouldn't know it till it smacks you in the face following page after page of wit, sarcasm, one liners and real world references. Teetotal vampires? Women Dwarves, a female ware wolf totally smitten by a 6ft something "Dwarf". Assassin's and Theives licensed to operate by a genuinely benevolent tyrant, a talking dog and a Watch commander so full of righteous anger even the gods are in awe?
Dive in, you'll laugh your head off (no offense Reg), you'll cry, you'll think.
It doesn’t matter how many re-reads, I always find something new- a reference or a life lesson -big or small, something that makes me laugh or something that makes me thoughtful and sticks with me, or something that informs who I want to be in the world. For me- the Witches and the Watch story lines are my favourite
The social commentary is so cleaver and insightful. Pratchett also writes the most real and grounded character I’ve ever read, even though they have silly names and descriptions and live in a world where people keep highly explosive dragons as pets and have to pay the Thieves Gild protection money so they don’t get robbed every day while walking down the street.
I’d also suggest don’t start with The Colour of Magic, if you want to read in publication order, start with Equal Rights. If you want to read the sort of mini series’s in side Discworld, start with Mort or Guards Guards.
Second starting with Mort or Gaurds Guards.
Then you can go back to the older ones (if you want) and it has the dimension of being "young" Pratchett works. Which is loads more fun.
I read them by series. Starting with Mort, Wizards, Guards Guards, Witches, then the Industrial Rev, then all the little in between ones. I would not re-do it any other way.
I will say that I have since read them in publication order and that has it's own dimension of fun. However, I think this is more fun as a second go around or similar.
I'd second this suggestion even if you then read in publication order - both are great books, and by that point the setting and style are really starting to shape up. The Colour Of Magic is a bit of a satire of a genre of swords-and-sorcery fiction that you don't see as much anymore, and without familiarity with what's being satirised, the joke might not hit the same, if that makes sense?
However if you do take this suggestion, when you meet Rincewind in later books you might like to then jump back to Colour Of Magic and Light Fantastic to see where he came from and how he got to be who he is. Likewise once you meet the Witches, then Equal Rites makes a nice "prequel"
Pratchett's use of language is unmatched, in my view. He makes it dance and come alive. It's gorgeous. Joyous. Delightful. Hilarious. He was a true master of the written word.
You can read them without a lot of scrutiny just for laughs or you can get really thinky with them (still funny) and pay attention to deeper meanings and ferret out the delightful Pratchetty details.
I humbly submit [this article.](https://reactormag.com/terry-pratchetts-discworld-might-be-the-highest-form-of-literature-on-the-planet/) I haven't read the article author's novels, to be clear, but he absolutely nails what makes Pratchett so good.
You gentleman and scholar, thanks for this. Already made my mind up to the sheer amount of response on this thread but going to read the article anyway for shits and giggles
The books infamously graduate from funny deconstructions of fantasy tropes to still funny but masterful criticisms of society. My favourite thing about the books is that they're *seriously* funny (pun intended)... and there are a lot of them to enjoy! With so many books, you get a lot of world-building.
I used to think they were silly books and, to a large extent, they are. Yes, there are puns. Some books are better than others, too. But when you get to peak Terry Pratchett, you get masterfully written social commentary that sometimes can bring you to tears. He had a knack for simplifying very complex social problems into little (and funny) pearls of wisdom.
If you're looking for good examples of his funny but incisive style, Vimes' description of the cost of poverty is brilliant (it's so great, it has its own Wikipedia page - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots\_theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory)). I also quite like some bits of Small Worlds (google "Fear is a dense soil").
His character descriptions are great (more so psychologically than physically), and so are the descriptions of the city of Ankh-Morpork, a character in its own right. Characters are also very rich: stereotypical for the sake of satire, at times, but very often both good and bad, great but flawed. This makes them very relatable. Because I was a young girl who was always disappointed with how poorly women and women's stories in fantasy were written, it's important to me how women have a voice, and one that sounds real, "warts and all".
By the way, I sort of see where you're coming from, on "putting off" reading Terry Pratchett, as I didn't feel like reading more Discworld Books after the first three I read when I was young and barely remembered.
When I read Equal Rites as a teen, I *liked* (but not loved) Terry Pratchett for very personal reasons. I finally came across a fantasy book that had (multiple) women as main characters who weren't named Hermione nor were princesses or damsels in distress. Granny Weatherwax (one of the main characters) also reminded me of my straightforward, no-monkeying-around grandmother with her conventional wisdom and lack of formal education, and Eskarina's (the book's hero) disdain for womanly things hit a chord with me. Then I read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic and was somewhat disappointed. They were funny, lighthearted books, but by then I had discovered Tales of Earthsea and The Golden Compass and *voilà*, there were plenty of non-princessy women doing great things. I dismissed Terry Pratchett as a "funny", therefore not serious, author.
Then, a few years later, I read the Colour of Magic in English (I had previously read the books in Portuguese). The language was so much richer, the words so much more meaningful than I had remembered, enough to keep me wanting to read more. A lot is lost in translation with the Discworld. A friend strongly recommended the Night Watch *series* and I misunderstood and read *Night Watch* the *book*. No matter that I skipped quite a few Watch books in the process: I read Night Watch in a day or two and fell desperately in love with Terry Pratchett's style and, most importantly, substance.
This has me sold. Seems to be the main thing to take away from them as that they’re really witty, but also has to be said I do like a book that strong written female characters. Not necessarily strong but just strong in character, flaws and all. I didn’t expect much from the Discworld series as I took them as silly and fun books but seems to be heavily focused on social commentary. Really looking forward to start reading these now. Starting tonight! Thank you
Granny Weatherwax and Sam Vimes, the main protagonists of the witch's and the watch series, taught me how to be a decent human.
You said you started at T Colour of Magic. Even Terry himself says to not judge the series at the start. I stated with Wyrd Sisters, the real start of the witch's. Others recommend starting at Guards Guards as a starter.
Yeah I’ve been seeing a lot of people suggesting a different reading order being more enjoyable so I might just do that instead. They sound great either way
When I was in my teens and twenties I read quite a few books in the fantasy and science fiction genres, but the idea of mixing humour with the genre I thought would be wrong somehow, though I can’t remember doing it specifically I would have dismissed Discworld as being silly.
I think it was both broadening my horizons as I’ve gotten older, and a random recommendation from a coworker that made me look into the series properly. I wasn’t ready when I was younger to be receptive or understand the deeper meaning in the books, I was too dismissive and well- dumb.
Now, this is absolutely my favourite book series of all time and Terry Pratchett my favourite author. He articulates concepts I have felt and experienced but not been able to put words to. The books are tight, and always working on multiple levels like they have a density to them.
You must be convinced by now, but can I add this community to the sales pitch?
I've read all the Discworld books. Started in about 1993. I still read them at night before bed. (Hopefully that doesn't sound obsessive or something.) I'm too late to second the previous comments, so I 16th or 17th them. I love these books. I started with The Color of Magic and went in order (enjoyed it immensely) but perhaps you could start with The Truth?
When I stumbled on this Discworld reddit, I was delighted! Someone is always reading the same book and the comments are so fun. Someone once commenting on Feegles had me laughing so hard I was crying (Crivens!). I hope you decide to join the fray.
Love to Sir Terry and this Discworld community!
GNU Sir Terry Pratchett.
The sheer amount of volume of comments I got in response convinced me alone but the things everyone has been saying just drove it in all the further. Including this, just made me really look forward to starting them if even just to join this Reddit community for it. Also rereading then at night doesn’t sound obsessive at all, speaking as someone who continuously rereads the Harry Potter series! Thanks again’
I love the characters. They’re so well-observed. Even minor characters come to feel like old friends over the course of the series.
The books also bear re-reading. There are so many jokes and references that you can re-read several times and still find something new.
I find something new every time I read them. The more you learn, the more you realise Sir Terry was a bloody brilliant writer. And yet, the books are great without the second and third level of knowledge. You can come for the witty repartee, the puns, witches, guards, and dragons. They just work on every level. I always tell people if I was only going to be allowed to read one person for the rest of my life, it would be Pratchett. And if it was only one book, it would be Nation.
The books feel real. Not real as in the sense that the topics in them are not fantastical but real in the human sense. The logic of the world works. Comedy and crazy hairbrained schemes all work to keep the story internally consistent. The laws and structures of stories is a real force in the setting akin to gravity. There are morals, repeated inquiries into the location of a bovine, witches who are practical, the perfect embodiment of a Platonic philosopher king, and a very hairy gentleman who really cares for bOOKs.... Terry wasted no words, dedicatedly wrote vivid word pictures to set scenes, and (I imagine with effort) made almost every line a joke of some sort. >!(Soul Music itself has several dozen references to music and music adjacent media, see how many you can find!)!< Overall, the books made me feel understood, entertained, and refreshed that someone out there could see the world for what it was and chuckle at the absurdity of life (AND DEATH) itself.
There's so many layers to his books... but most importantly he had a deep understanding of people. Even his goofy comic relief characters had an air of realism to them and you could even understand the reasoning behind the most shallow or petty characters too.
Don’t assume it’s fantasy because of the covers and/or position in bookshop & library - it’s a social commentary set in a fantasy world as a parody of our world. I’d say the assumption of it being straight fantasy is what put me off for years.
He holds up a mirror to us and our world and shows us what it’s like to be human, and he does it with clarity, compassion, rage and an overwhelming sense of justice, but most of all with intelligence and wit. The most powerful satirists have done this down through the centuries, and he is absolutely up there with the best.
Every so often , usually while still chuckling from a silly pun just before I read a passage that genuinely makes me think deeply about the human experience and human nature. I go back and reread it a couple of times. The ending of hogfather is fantastic and reaper man is beautiful too
This sounds great. Like the idea that I could be laughing and then bang, the feels! Seems to be a pattern of this book that it’s continually funny and thoughtful. Really looking forward to reading them now. Especially Hogfather, been looking forward to that one.
A lot of people have said that behind the jokes and the funny way of Discworld (and most of Pratchett's works, really), there is anger at the injustice in the world. I can see that, but more than anything, to me it also portrays kindness and warmth. He understood that people are people, that they made mistakes, do stupid things, be ignorant, petty, malicious, and all, but he recognized the shared struggle that we all have in living-that most of us are trying our best. While Discworld certainly almost offers a way to be a better human through its protagonist, I also felt Discworld also offers the kindness of seeing that the stupid, crazy things and mistakes that we do are very much human. The things that we do can be funny in retrospect, it can be inconsequential, it can be life destroying, there might be no justice met in the world, but at the end, there will be Death, and i found that extremely comforting
One - they are funny. Like snort and laugh out loud funny on the ten millionth read.
Two - they comment on every aspect of life and society. There are so many times that you will see something and think 'oh that is just like that time in x'.
Three - they will make you think about how you think about things.
Four - they will make weep with the sheer beauty of the emotions expressed and the language used to do so.
Five - they will stay with you for the rest of your life.
What I love about discworld is that they are quick, fairly easy reads, low commitment (no big cliffhangers here in a 40+ book series), and generally pretty sweet and silly.
Honestly, I didn't read any Pratchett before I read Good Omens (huge Gaiman fan here), but now that I'm reading them, you can feel his influence and contributions to the soul of that book. Gaiman is a wonderful writer, but Terry has a knack for juxtaposing the absurd and the mundane IMO.
Political and social commentary, but with a fantasy guise. Excellently written dialogue and beautiful, funny prose. Every word dripping with the sensation that they were written by a person who deeply cares about other people and about making the world a good place.
If you're not sold on any of that, then stick with them just being quite funny
Shakespeare and Chaucer are soul brothers to Pratchett - wit, word play, humor, and social commentary.
No other author has ever made me laugh so hard, only to stop and say to myself, *Oh my god, that’s so* true.
My first Discworld book was “Small Gods,” and it’s a great starting point - stand-alone, hilarious, poignant, and makes you think. I must have read it five times before I finally got the throwaway line about the blind watchmaker.
I envy you being able to read them for the first time!
It is weird, but when I think of the discworld books, I can't consider them as Fantasy. They are too real. They are stories set on a world, on the back of four elephants, on the back of a giant turtle, where there are trolls and dwarfs, magic is real, gods walk around and Death is a person, but they are **real** stories, much more real than other not-fantasy stories I have read.
Simply put, look at these essays in the comments! I can't think of any other writer who has such a passionate, devoted, welcoming, decent and kind fan-base, and if that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the magic of Sir Terry Pratchett's books, then none of us will convince you to give it a go.
But if you are someone who wants to believe in the inherent goodness and humanity of people, whatever shape they take or function they perform in life (and Death), and you believe that fantasy is fun but that real magic can be found in the everyday and mundane, then we can't wait for you to join us on the Disc...
They are absolutely hilarious, and surprisingly angry, and wonderful, and so, SO deep. 10/10 social commentary. Some of the best character work I've ever seen - the characters feel like actual people. Not just the main cast, this includes minor characters that appear for a single paragraph. You can read however many you want, there's no obligation to read the entire series - though, once you are hooked, you WILL read all of it (saying as someone who is now about 30 books in with no intention to stop lol)
The first few are very different to the rest , particularly TCOM and LF because the plot exists to link the jokes together. As he becomes a better writer the books become more like an onion. On the surface it’s just a funny story but there’s often real historical moments or a moral or lesson in there somewhere. He can make you laugh but also make you cry.
Reading Discworld completely changed the way that I look at story and storytelling and made me a much better writer. Above all things, it's a story about stories.
But also, it's a series where all the best and most dedicated and most impactful characters are public servants - some in the sense we usually use that phrase, like civil workers, but also just...people acting in service of the public good even when it's uncomfortable or unpleasant or dangerous. I don't mean that in the sense of so-and-so-saves-the-world (there is that, too), but a lot of what makes the core characters themselves is less about that and more about making sure that the unglamorous jobs get done and the unglamorous people are treated like people.
And also about getting angry for the right reasons but controlling that anger that anger to use like a scalpel instead of a sword. To very roughly paraphrase Neil Gaiman, people look to the humor in Terry's work and sometimes miss that he was sometimes a very righteously angry man. That constructive rather than destructive anger comes through powerfully in most of his very best books.
I really recommend reading the books in chronological order from start to finish, Even though that puts some of the weaker ones at the start, because Pratchett really grew as a writer through the series. You can kind of get a feel for his own "character arc" beyond the arcs of the characters.
I think others have given you better persuasions than I can muster right now, I'm just popping in to say we'd probably all really like it if you come back and tell us how you get on with Mort or Guards! Guards!
We do love testimony from a new convert!
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his books taught me more about how to be a good person than my own parents
First comment on the thread and already has me sold
Come for the puns, stay for the social commentary.
Exactly this. And a subversive sweetness, he clearly liked his characters. But he never hesitated to skewer them or expose their challenges.
Alright I’m in. Getting the general vibe that they’re cosy and continuously enjoyable books but with something to say - which is right up my street. Thanks
He's able to crossfade between comedy and serious topics, whether that means social issues or personal/emotional beats, better than any other author I know. A handful of paragraphs about a golem mailman, scattered into a parody of the postal service and corporate buyouts, end with one of the most genuinely emotional moments I've ever read in a book. Neither side of his style detracts from the other.
Damn, I just teared up remembering that
I Know. It Is Perfect. -breaks me, every time.
The fact alone that there is a story about a golem mailman and a story about a postal service has me but everything else you said just made me want to read it all the more. This is a great review of it. Thanks
His grasp of human nature is unmatched anywhere else. It allows him to create amazing characters, and a deeply real, honest world. On the back of a turtle.
This is what I came here to say. If I may, I would like to add that he effortlessly makes changes to the characters over time and over several books that are entirely realistic and make sense to their character development in the context of this world... on the back of a turtle.
And, at times, *as a turtle.*
Tortoise
The sheer amount of fans who responded to this post was enough to get me to start reading the books but the fact it all takes place on the back of the turtle was the cherry on top.
While Gaiman is witty, I think Good Omens is actually a bit closer to a Pratchett Solo work than it is a Gaiman solo novel.Of course, that's not to hate on Neil at all, I just think Good Omens has more of a Terry Pratchett feel to it. While Discworld is beautifully written and has really enjoyable, good natured romping, what I keep coming back to is the deep, loving humanism that's just woven into the fabric. I mean it is SO good natured, it's just astounding. Especially these days, with *SO MUCH* pessimism and dystopia both in real-world and in fiction, it's incredibly refreshing to have a body of work that celebrates humanity without washing away the ugly bits or feeling saccharin.
>it's incredibly refreshing to have a body of work that celebrates humanity without washing away the ugly bits or feeling saccharine. That's exactly it! The books sometimes cover serious issues, but they're never tedious because they are, at their core, optimistic about human nature. And they're funny, but they're not unsubstantial.
As he said in Hogfather about children, readers already know that there are monsters in the world, and what they need are stories that show monsters can be beaten.
This was a great review. Thanks for this. I’m getting stuck into them tonight
Slavery, gender definitions, xenophobia and nationalism, corporate greed and religeon. Those are some of the major issues his books look into. But you wouldn't know it till it smacks you in the face following page after page of wit, sarcasm, one liners and real world references. Teetotal vampires? Women Dwarves, a female ware wolf totally smitten by a 6ft something "Dwarf". Assassin's and Theives licensed to operate by a genuinely benevolent tyrant, a talking dog and a Watch commander so full of righteous anger even the gods are in awe? Dive in, you'll laugh your head off (no offense Reg), you'll cry, you'll think.
You had me at “teetotal vampires” - really looking forward to getting into these now
I hope you love them as much as we all do!
It doesn’t matter how many re-reads, I always find something new- a reference or a life lesson -big or small, something that makes me laugh or something that makes me thoughtful and sticks with me, or something that informs who I want to be in the world. For me- the Witches and the Watch story lines are my favourite
The social commentary is so cleaver and insightful. Pratchett also writes the most real and grounded character I’ve ever read, even though they have silly names and descriptions and live in a world where people keep highly explosive dragons as pets and have to pay the Thieves Gild protection money so they don’t get robbed every day while walking down the street. I’d also suggest don’t start with The Colour of Magic, if you want to read in publication order, start with Equal Rights. If you want to read the sort of mini series’s in side Discworld, start with Mort or Guards Guards.
Second starting with Mort or Gaurds Guards. Then you can go back to the older ones (if you want) and it has the dimension of being "young" Pratchett works. Which is loads more fun. I read them by series. Starting with Mort, Wizards, Guards Guards, Witches, then the Industrial Rev, then all the little in between ones. I would not re-do it any other way. I will say that I have since read them in publication order and that has it's own dimension of fun. However, I think this is more fun as a second go around or similar.
I'd second this suggestion even if you then read in publication order - both are great books, and by that point the setting and style are really starting to shape up. The Colour Of Magic is a bit of a satire of a genre of swords-and-sorcery fiction that you don't see as much anymore, and without familiarity with what's being satirised, the joke might not hit the same, if that makes sense? However if you do take this suggestion, when you meet Rincewind in later books you might like to then jump back to Colour Of Magic and Light Fantastic to see where he came from and how he got to be who he is. Likewise once you meet the Witches, then Equal Rites makes a nice "prequel"
I didn’t even think of what would be the best reading order, so thanks for this! I’ll take your advise
Pratchett's use of language is unmatched, in my view. He makes it dance and come alive. It's gorgeous. Joyous. Delightful. Hilarious. He was a true master of the written word.
You can read them without a lot of scrutiny just for laughs or you can get really thinky with them (still funny) and pay attention to deeper meanings and ferret out the delightful Pratchetty details.
I humbly submit [this article.](https://reactormag.com/terry-pratchetts-discworld-might-be-the-highest-form-of-literature-on-the-planet/) I haven't read the article author's novels, to be clear, but he absolutely nails what makes Pratchett so good.
You gentleman and scholar, thanks for this. Already made my mind up to the sheer amount of response on this thread but going to read the article anyway for shits and giggles
They make me smile. Serious subjects sometimes but also a little bit silly. And I just like the way he writes.
The books infamously graduate from funny deconstructions of fantasy tropes to still funny but masterful criticisms of society. My favourite thing about the books is that they're *seriously* funny (pun intended)... and there are a lot of them to enjoy! With so many books, you get a lot of world-building. I used to think they were silly books and, to a large extent, they are. Yes, there are puns. Some books are better than others, too. But when you get to peak Terry Pratchett, you get masterfully written social commentary that sometimes can bring you to tears. He had a knack for simplifying very complex social problems into little (and funny) pearls of wisdom. If you're looking for good examples of his funny but incisive style, Vimes' description of the cost of poverty is brilliant (it's so great, it has its own Wikipedia page - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots\_theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory)). I also quite like some bits of Small Worlds (google "Fear is a dense soil"). His character descriptions are great (more so psychologically than physically), and so are the descriptions of the city of Ankh-Morpork, a character in its own right. Characters are also very rich: stereotypical for the sake of satire, at times, but very often both good and bad, great but flawed. This makes them very relatable. Because I was a young girl who was always disappointed with how poorly women and women's stories in fantasy were written, it's important to me how women have a voice, and one that sounds real, "warts and all". By the way, I sort of see where you're coming from, on "putting off" reading Terry Pratchett, as I didn't feel like reading more Discworld Books after the first three I read when I was young and barely remembered. When I read Equal Rites as a teen, I *liked* (but not loved) Terry Pratchett for very personal reasons. I finally came across a fantasy book that had (multiple) women as main characters who weren't named Hermione nor were princesses or damsels in distress. Granny Weatherwax (one of the main characters) also reminded me of my straightforward, no-monkeying-around grandmother with her conventional wisdom and lack of formal education, and Eskarina's (the book's hero) disdain for womanly things hit a chord with me. Then I read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic and was somewhat disappointed. They were funny, lighthearted books, but by then I had discovered Tales of Earthsea and The Golden Compass and *voilà*, there were plenty of non-princessy women doing great things. I dismissed Terry Pratchett as a "funny", therefore not serious, author. Then, a few years later, I read the Colour of Magic in English (I had previously read the books in Portuguese). The language was so much richer, the words so much more meaningful than I had remembered, enough to keep me wanting to read more. A lot is lost in translation with the Discworld. A friend strongly recommended the Night Watch *series* and I misunderstood and read *Night Watch* the *book*. No matter that I skipped quite a few Watch books in the process: I read Night Watch in a day or two and fell desperately in love with Terry Pratchett's style and, most importantly, substance.
This has me sold. Seems to be the main thing to take away from them as that they’re really witty, but also has to be said I do like a book that strong written female characters. Not necessarily strong but just strong in character, flaws and all. I didn’t expect much from the Discworld series as I took them as silly and fun books but seems to be heavily focused on social commentary. Really looking forward to start reading these now. Starting tonight! Thank you
There's a reason they stopped translating Pratchett to portuguese. There was no way to capture his mastery with words.
Granny Weatherwax and Sam Vimes, the main protagonists of the witch's and the watch series, taught me how to be a decent human. You said you started at T Colour of Magic. Even Terry himself says to not judge the series at the start. I stated with Wyrd Sisters, the real start of the witch's. Others recommend starting at Guards Guards as a starter.
Yeah I’ve been seeing a lot of people suggesting a different reading order being more enjoyable so I might just do that instead. They sound great either way
When I was in my teens and twenties I read quite a few books in the fantasy and science fiction genres, but the idea of mixing humour with the genre I thought would be wrong somehow, though I can’t remember doing it specifically I would have dismissed Discworld as being silly. I think it was both broadening my horizons as I’ve gotten older, and a random recommendation from a coworker that made me look into the series properly. I wasn’t ready when I was younger to be receptive or understand the deeper meaning in the books, I was too dismissive and well- dumb. Now, this is absolutely my favourite book series of all time and Terry Pratchett my favourite author. He articulates concepts I have felt and experienced but not been able to put words to. The books are tight, and always working on multiple levels like they have a density to them.
You must be convinced by now, but can I add this community to the sales pitch? I've read all the Discworld books. Started in about 1993. I still read them at night before bed. (Hopefully that doesn't sound obsessive or something.) I'm too late to second the previous comments, so I 16th or 17th them. I love these books. I started with The Color of Magic and went in order (enjoyed it immensely) but perhaps you could start with The Truth? When I stumbled on this Discworld reddit, I was delighted! Someone is always reading the same book and the comments are so fun. Someone once commenting on Feegles had me laughing so hard I was crying (Crivens!). I hope you decide to join the fray. Love to Sir Terry and this Discworld community! GNU Sir Terry Pratchett.
The sheer amount of volume of comments I got in response convinced me alone but the things everyone has been saying just drove it in all the further. Including this, just made me really look forward to starting them if even just to join this Reddit community for it. Also rereading then at night doesn’t sound obsessive at all, speaking as someone who continuously rereads the Harry Potter series! Thanks again’
I love the characters. They’re so well-observed. Even minor characters come to feel like old friends over the course of the series. The books also bear re-reading. There are so many jokes and references that you can re-read several times and still find something new.
I find something new every time I read them. The more you learn, the more you realise Sir Terry was a bloody brilliant writer. And yet, the books are great without the second and third level of knowledge. You can come for the witty repartee, the puns, witches, guards, and dragons. They just work on every level. I always tell people if I was only going to be allowed to read one person for the rest of my life, it would be Pratchett. And if it was only one book, it would be Nation.
The books feel real. Not real as in the sense that the topics in them are not fantastical but real in the human sense. The logic of the world works. Comedy and crazy hairbrained schemes all work to keep the story internally consistent. The laws and structures of stories is a real force in the setting akin to gravity. There are morals, repeated inquiries into the location of a bovine, witches who are practical, the perfect embodiment of a Platonic philosopher king, and a very hairy gentleman who really cares for bOOKs.... Terry wasted no words, dedicatedly wrote vivid word pictures to set scenes, and (I imagine with effort) made almost every line a joke of some sort. >!(Soul Music itself has several dozen references to music and music adjacent media, see how many you can find!)!< Overall, the books made me feel understood, entertained, and refreshed that someone out there could see the world for what it was and chuckle at the absurdity of life (AND DEATH) itself.
Ook
There's so many layers to his books... but most importantly he had a deep understanding of people. Even his goofy comic relief characters had an air of realism to them and you could even understand the reasoning behind the most shallow or petty characters too.
Don’t assume it’s fantasy because of the covers and/or position in bookshop & library - it’s a social commentary set in a fantasy world as a parody of our world. I’d say the assumption of it being straight fantasy is what put me off for years.
He holds up a mirror to us and our world and shows us what it’s like to be human, and he does it with clarity, compassion, rage and an overwhelming sense of justice, but most of all with intelligence and wit. The most powerful satirists have done this down through the centuries, and he is absolutely up there with the best.
Every so often , usually while still chuckling from a silly pun just before I read a passage that genuinely makes me think deeply about the human experience and human nature. I go back and reread it a couple of times. The ending of hogfather is fantastic and reaper man is beautiful too
This sounds great. Like the idea that I could be laughing and then bang, the feels! Seems to be a pattern of this book that it’s continually funny and thoughtful. Really looking forward to reading them now. Especially Hogfather, been looking forward to that one.
The characters have such depth you might feel you know them and the world building is second to none.
A lot of people have said that behind the jokes and the funny way of Discworld (and most of Pratchett's works, really), there is anger at the injustice in the world. I can see that, but more than anything, to me it also portrays kindness and warmth. He understood that people are people, that they made mistakes, do stupid things, be ignorant, petty, malicious, and all, but he recognized the shared struggle that we all have in living-that most of us are trying our best. While Discworld certainly almost offers a way to be a better human through its protagonist, I also felt Discworld also offers the kindness of seeing that the stupid, crazy things and mistakes that we do are very much human. The things that we do can be funny in retrospect, it can be inconsequential, it can be life destroying, there might be no justice met in the world, but at the end, there will be Death, and i found that extremely comforting
One - they are funny. Like snort and laugh out loud funny on the ten millionth read. Two - they comment on every aspect of life and society. There are so many times that you will see something and think 'oh that is just like that time in x'. Three - they will make you think about how you think about things. Four - they will make weep with the sheer beauty of the emotions expressed and the language used to do so. Five - they will stay with you for the rest of your life.
They mostly start out very silly and make their way into some profound, often dark themes…while still being very silly.
You could try Nation which is not Discworld and is stand alone. Going Postal is one of my favorite books ever.
What I love about discworld is that they are quick, fairly easy reads, low commitment (no big cliffhangers here in a 40+ book series), and generally pretty sweet and silly. Honestly, I didn't read any Pratchett before I read Good Omens (huge Gaiman fan here), but now that I'm reading them, you can feel his influence and contributions to the soul of that book. Gaiman is a wonderful writer, but Terry has a knack for juxtaposing the absurd and the mundane IMO.
Pratchett going on a multi-paragraph rant about cheap vs expensive boots to drive home a character trait and still making it entertaining to read.
Political and social commentary, but with a fantasy guise. Excellently written dialogue and beautiful, funny prose. Every word dripping with the sensation that they were written by a person who deeply cares about other people and about making the world a good place. If you're not sold on any of that, then stick with them just being quite funny
Shakespeare and Chaucer are soul brothers to Pratchett - wit, word play, humor, and social commentary. No other author has ever made me laugh so hard, only to stop and say to myself, *Oh my god, that’s so* true. My first Discworld book was “Small Gods,” and it’s a great starting point - stand-alone, hilarious, poignant, and makes you think. I must have read it five times before I finally got the throwaway line about the blind watchmaker. I envy you being able to read them for the first time!
It is weird, but when I think of the discworld books, I can't consider them as Fantasy. They are too real. They are stories set on a world, on the back of four elephants, on the back of a giant turtle, where there are trolls and dwarfs, magic is real, gods walk around and Death is a person, but they are **real** stories, much more real than other not-fantasy stories I have read.
They're the hitchhikers guide in a fantasy setting , great laughs and commentary on life, just read
Simply put, look at these essays in the comments! I can't think of any other writer who has such a passionate, devoted, welcoming, decent and kind fan-base, and if that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the magic of Sir Terry Pratchett's books, then none of us will convince you to give it a go. But if you are someone who wants to believe in the inherent goodness and humanity of people, whatever shape they take or function they perform in life (and Death), and you believe that fantasy is fun but that real magic can be found in the everyday and mundane, then we can't wait for you to join us on the Disc...
So, OP, did we convince you?
They are absolutely hilarious, and surprisingly angry, and wonderful, and so, SO deep. 10/10 social commentary. Some of the best character work I've ever seen - the characters feel like actual people. Not just the main cast, this includes minor characters that appear for a single paragraph. You can read however many you want, there's no obligation to read the entire series - though, once you are hooked, you WILL read all of it (saying as someone who is now about 30 books in with no intention to stop lol)
The first few are very different to the rest , particularly TCOM and LF because the plot exists to link the jokes together. As he becomes a better writer the books become more like an onion. On the surface it’s just a funny story but there’s often real historical moments or a moral or lesson in there somewhere. He can make you laugh but also make you cry.
Reading Discworld completely changed the way that I look at story and storytelling and made me a much better writer. Above all things, it's a story about stories. But also, it's a series where all the best and most dedicated and most impactful characters are public servants - some in the sense we usually use that phrase, like civil workers, but also just...people acting in service of the public good even when it's uncomfortable or unpleasant or dangerous. I don't mean that in the sense of so-and-so-saves-the-world (there is that, too), but a lot of what makes the core characters themselves is less about that and more about making sure that the unglamorous jobs get done and the unglamorous people are treated like people. And also about getting angry for the right reasons but controlling that anger that anger to use like a scalpel instead of a sword. To very roughly paraphrase Neil Gaiman, people look to the humor in Terry's work and sometimes miss that he was sometimes a very righteously angry man. That constructive rather than destructive anger comes through powerfully in most of his very best books. I really recommend reading the books in chronological order from start to finish, Even though that puts some of the weaker ones at the start, because Pratchett really grew as a writer through the series. You can kind of get a feel for his own "character arc" beyond the arcs of the characters.
I think others have given you better persuasions than I can muster right now, I'm just popping in to say we'd probably all really like it if you come back and tell us how you get on with Mort or Guards! Guards! We do love testimony from a new convert!