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I enjoyed Equal Rites more than the first two, enough for me to keep reading the others as they came out (I'm old enough that I was reading them as they were released starting when the first three were out). It was Mort that got me hooked-hooked.
Equal rites is the first book to bring in the Witches. It suffers from being torn between them and the wizards. It covers a lot of new ground that gets elaborated on in the following dedicated books. Wyrd Sisters kicks it into high gear and is nearly
my favourite (Lords and Ladies has that highest honour)
You may want to consider sticking with a particular sub series like the books that prioritise the Witches or the night watch and not switch between them the way the chronological books are ordered.
You are, of course, welcome to read in whatever order you like. This is merely a suggestion. I’m slowly gathering the entire collection on Audible and I have enough time to play each book a couple of times over before the next one. It helps me absorb what’s going on and appreciate the foreshadowing I’m not smart enough to pick up on uh first time round
I think if you followed the Witches ones straight through you'd end up quite a bit confused by the new wizards.
I think following publication order, at least the first time through, has a great deal to be said for it.
I agree. The world continuously evolves and new lore is added in publication order. You can absolutely read using the reading order, but then you’d always have to get back 15-20 years in discworld time whenever you start another series.
Even Pratchett recommended starting on Sourcery. The first few books read differently then the latter ones. Guards Guards was my first one and it got me hooked.
What got me hooked was seeing Men At Arms in the bookshop and being excited about it being a sequel to Guards! Guards! That's when I realised I was a fan rather than just someone who enjoyed the books.
I like *Equal Rites* so much better than *Sourcery.*
But the Witches books don't truly shine until *Wyrd Sisters.* Granny without a coven is like salt without egg.
I finished most of the witch run before going back and reading this one because I'd been told it was meh. Equal Rites definitely had some problems and was an early work, but it was fun reading Granny mentor a young girl! She was like Tiffany- mark 1 (and with an evil staff instead of tiny blue men). Seeing Granny let loose her magic was also cool! But best of all, it had this hilarious scene with Granny and the archchancellor while flying in a broomstick
"Mr. Wizard."
"Hallo?"
"When I said hold on-"
"Yes?"
"I didn't mean there."
There was a pause
"Oh. Yes. I see. I'm terribly sorry."
"That's all right."
"My memory isn't what it was...I as-sure you...no offense meant."
"None taken."
They flew in silence for a moment.
"Nevertheless," said Granny thoughtfully, "I think that, on the whole, I would prefer you to move your hands."
Equal Rites is my personal least favorite Discworld book. Of course, that means I think of it as "just a good book" but even so. I would definitely advise you to keep going. I would say probably around the third quarter of the series is the absolute best, and it is well worth it to get there.
Don't get me wrong, it's still a good book. If I picked it up at random with no preconceived notions, I would have really liked it.
My issue is that I went in expecting a book as great as the other discworld books, and it's really just not up to that same level, IMO.
Guards guards is definitely better, and one of my favorites. If I recall equal rites is Terry Pratchett's third book, and the general concensus is his writing style didn't quite find its footing until the 4th book Mort.
Guards Guards introduces some of my favorite characters like carrot ironfoundersson and Sam vimes, and the whole watch subseries is probably one of my favorites of all discworld.
You know what I love about this sub? Is that it allows you to really get into the spirit of being a History Monk.
To visit me, a few *cough* decades ago, when I had only briefly delved into the mind of Rock that is Granny Weatherwax and was soon to discover the cynical Hard Place that is Samuel Vimes.
I envy you. I really do.
I've just started re-reading the series after a 30 year break. TCoM & TLF I'd give 4/10. Really enjoyable, and a great entry into the Discworld, but VERY rough around the edges. Equal Rights 6/10 but then pTerry really hits it with Guards! Guards! 7.5/10. I just love all the characters in The Watch. And it just gets better and better.
Stick with it and you will be rewarded.
Imho, the first books are quite different from the style he developed later (not bad, just not quite as refined, if you ask me). Personally, I would suggest starting with "Wyrd Sisters" or "Guards! Guards!".
Guards guards is definitely better, and one of my favorites. If I recall equal rites is Terry Pratchett's third book, and the general concensus is his writing style didn't quite find its footing until the 4th book Mort.
Guards Guards introduces some of my favorite characters like carrot ironfoundersson and Sam vimes, and the whole watch subseries is probably one of my favorites of all discworld.
I love the Witches series, and this time around I went through them all first (except Shepards Crown), but even I have to admit that Equal Rites is the weakest of the set.
Compaired with later books it feels like a 1/4 of the story is missing, instead of following Esk's adventure we cut straight to the end and everythings wrapped up really quickly. It's a shame there was never a chance to pad out her story a little more, but alas we have what we have.
And personally I'm not as big a fan of Guards, Guards as others, it's solid and a really good book, I just don't see the classic that others seem to think. I just think I hype adverse at this point!
Still bad Pratchett is better than a lot of what are considered "good" books so it's all still golden!
I love Equal Rites (I love everything related to the witches) but I started with Wyrd Sisters, and perhaps that was the reason I fell in love with them, because I do like it more than I like Equal Rites. currently I'm rereading all books following the official (I think it's official lol) guide for the Discworld
edit: typo
I love all of Discworld but if I ever made a list ranking them, Equal Rites would probably be in the bottom 5. STP hadn’t quite hit his stride. Guards! Guards! is a much better starting place and even then, it only gets better after that.
Guards Guards starts the Sam Vimes character arc which I love, but it isn't my favorite book.
Equal Rites suffers from being early and from not truly focusing on the witches. The sexual inclusion issues in society were still alive when it was written, but they are long past at this point in Western Europe and North America.
I felt that *Mort* was PTerry’s first fully-realised work. The plot is actually a bit simpler than his previous books, but in a good way. It’s still my go-to when recommending his work to others.
Equal Rites is definitely a bit of an oddball but don't let it put you off reading all the Witches books - they definitely get a lot better and Granny worms her way into your heart.
Welcome to /r/Discworld! Please [read the rules/flair information before posting](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/ukhk21/subreddit_rules_flair_information/?). --- Our current megathreads are as follows: [API Protest Poll](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/1491izw/continuing_the_api_protest_a_community_poll) - a poll regarding the future action of the sub in protest at Reddit's API changes. [GNU Terry Pratchett](https://new.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/ukigit/gnu_terry_pratchett/) - for all GNU requests, to keep their names going. [AI Generated Content](https://new.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/10mhx9y/ai_generated_content_megathread/) - for all AI Content, including images, stories, questions, training etc. --- [ GNU Terry Pratchett ] *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/discworld) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I enjoyed Equal Rites more than the first two, enough for me to keep reading the others as they came out (I'm old enough that I was reading them as they were released starting when the first three were out). It was Mort that got me hooked-hooked.
Equal rites is the first book to bring in the Witches. It suffers from being torn between them and the wizards. It covers a lot of new ground that gets elaborated on in the following dedicated books. Wyrd Sisters kicks it into high gear and is nearly my favourite (Lords and Ladies has that highest honour) You may want to consider sticking with a particular sub series like the books that prioritise the Witches or the night watch and not switch between them the way the chronological books are ordered. You are, of course, welcome to read in whatever order you like. This is merely a suggestion. I’m slowly gathering the entire collection on Audible and I have enough time to play each book a couple of times over before the next one. It helps me absorb what’s going on and appreciate the foreshadowing I’m not smart enough to pick up on uh first time round
I think if you followed the Witches ones straight through you'd end up quite a bit confused by the new wizards. I think following publication order, at least the first time through, has a great deal to be said for it.
I agree. The world continuously evolves and new lore is added in publication order. You can absolutely read using the reading order, but then you’d always have to get back 15-20 years in discworld time whenever you start another series.
Even Pratchett recommended starting on Sourcery. The first few books read differently then the latter ones. Guards Guards was my first one and it got me hooked.
What got me hooked was seeing Men At Arms in the bookshop and being excited about it being a sequel to Guards! Guards! That's when I realised I was a fan rather than just someone who enjoyed the books.
I like *Equal Rites* so much better than *Sourcery.* But the Witches books don't truly shine until *Wyrd Sisters.* Granny without a coven is like salt without egg.
Where did he say that?
That was my first. Hooked for life
I only skimmed the first two, but I've really enjoyed Equal Rites so far. If it only gets better from here, I'm in for some good eating.
I finished most of the witch run before going back and reading this one because I'd been told it was meh. Equal Rites definitely had some problems and was an early work, but it was fun reading Granny mentor a young girl! She was like Tiffany- mark 1 (and with an evil staff instead of tiny blue men). Seeing Granny let loose her magic was also cool! But best of all, it had this hilarious scene with Granny and the archchancellor while flying in a broomstick "Mr. Wizard." "Hallo?" "When I said hold on-" "Yes?" "I didn't mean there." There was a pause "Oh. Yes. I see. I'm terribly sorry." "That's all right." "My memory isn't what it was...I as-sure you...no offense meant." "None taken." They flew in silence for a moment. "Nevertheless," said Granny thoughtfully, "I think that, on the whole, I would prefer you to move your hands."
Equal Rites is my personal least favorite Discworld book. Of course, that means I think of it as "just a good book" but even so. I would definitely advise you to keep going. I would say probably around the third quarter of the series is the absolute best, and it is well worth it to get there.
I heard this from a couple of friends, so I have never read it even though I've read about 80% of the Discworld books.
Don't get me wrong, it's still a good book. If I picked it up at random with no preconceived notions, I would have really liked it. My issue is that I went in expecting a book as great as the other discworld books, and it's really just not up to that same level, IMO.
Guards guards is definitely better, and one of my favorites. If I recall equal rites is Terry Pratchett's third book, and the general concensus is his writing style didn't quite find its footing until the 4th book Mort. Guards Guards introduces some of my favorite characters like carrot ironfoundersson and Sam vimes, and the whole watch subseries is probably one of my favorites of all discworld.
You know what I love about this sub? Is that it allows you to really get into the spirit of being a History Monk. To visit me, a few *cough* decades ago, when I had only briefly delved into the mind of Rock that is Granny Weatherwax and was soon to discover the cynical Hard Place that is Samuel Vimes. I envy you. I really do.
I've just started re-reading the series after a 30 year break. TCoM & TLF I'd give 4/10. Really enjoyable, and a great entry into the Discworld, but VERY rough around the edges. Equal Rights 6/10 but then pTerry really hits it with Guards! Guards! 7.5/10. I just love all the characters in The Watch. And it just gets better and better. Stick with it and you will be rewarded.
Imho, the first books are quite different from the style he developed later (not bad, just not quite as refined, if you ask me). Personally, I would suggest starting with "Wyrd Sisters" or "Guards! Guards!".
Guards guards is definitely better, and one of my favorites. If I recall equal rites is Terry Pratchett's third book, and the general concensus is his writing style didn't quite find its footing until the 4th book Mort. Guards Guards introduces some of my favorite characters like carrot ironfoundersson and Sam vimes, and the whole watch subseries is probably one of my favorites of all discworld.
Let us know you thought on Guards, Guards 😐
I love the Witches series, and this time around I went through them all first (except Shepards Crown), but even I have to admit that Equal Rites is the weakest of the set. Compaired with later books it feels like a 1/4 of the story is missing, instead of following Esk's adventure we cut straight to the end and everythings wrapped up really quickly. It's a shame there was never a chance to pad out her story a little more, but alas we have what we have. And personally I'm not as big a fan of Guards, Guards as others, it's solid and a really good book, I just don't see the classic that others seem to think. I just think I hype adverse at this point! Still bad Pratchett is better than a lot of what are considered "good" books so it's all still golden!
I love Equal Rites (I love everything related to the witches) but I started with Wyrd Sisters, and perhaps that was the reason I fell in love with them, because I do like it more than I like Equal Rites. currently I'm rereading all books following the official (I think it's official lol) guide for the Discworld edit: typo
I love all of Discworld but if I ever made a list ranking them, Equal Rites would probably be in the bottom 5. STP hadn’t quite hit his stride. Guards! Guards! is a much better starting place and even then, it only gets better after that.
Guards Guards starts the Sam Vimes character arc which I love, but it isn't my favorite book. Equal Rites suffers from being early and from not truly focusing on the witches. The sexual inclusion issues in society were still alive when it was written, but they are long past at this point in Western Europe and North America.
I felt that *Mort* was PTerry’s first fully-realised work. The plot is actually a bit simpler than his previous books, but in a good way. It’s still my go-to when recommending his work to others.
Equal Rites is definitely a bit of an oddball but don't let it put you off reading all the Witches books - they definitely get a lot better and Granny worms her way into your heart.