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Topic: T. Pratchett's Discworld books

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ruthy avatar
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Subject: T. Pratchett's Discworld books
Date Posted: 5/22/2010 3:46 AM ET
Member Since: 12/9/2007
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I'm interested in reading some of this series.  But I need to find a good 1st book to try.  Any recommendations for a good place to start?

Ruth

Melanti avatar
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Date Posted: 5/22/2010 6:28 AM ET
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Whatever you do, don't start with Colour of Magic (the first one).

I asked something similar a few months ago and here were everyone's suggestions for me:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/forum/topic.php?t=187215

ruthy avatar
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Date Posted: 5/22/2010 12:32 PM ET
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Thank you, Melanti, for the link to that thread.  I'm not sure I'm all that clear now about a place to start since like everything else there were some disagreement about a couple of books.  All I really want is a fun intro to the series.  I get that Colour of Magic isn't the best one to start with.  Which did you go to, Melanti?  

I don't have any of the books yet so I'm completely open to suggestion.

Ruth

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Date Posted: 5/23/2010 10:40 AM ET
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Hahahhaa. I was just about to suggest you start at the beginning [the colour of magic] :-)  I love the first arc in the discworld series [the Rincewind the Wizzard arc] more than the later.

Just goes to show that different people like different stuff...

Melanti avatar
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Date Posted: 5/23/2010 12:15 PM ET
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I'm probably no help you you in deciding.  I ended up reading Wyrd Sisters.  I got Guards! Guards! but haven't read it yet.

I liked Wyrd Sisters a lot more than Colour of Magic but since I don't really have all that much desire to read Guards! Guards! anytime soon, I'm guessing Terry Pratchett just isn't my thing.



Last Edited on: 5/23/10 12:19 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
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Date Posted: 5/23/2010 2:56 PM ET
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I love'em all.  Try Wyrd Sisters first, then Pyramids Pyramids, if you like them I'd say go back to Color of Magic and Light Fantastic just so you get familiar with some of the main characters that show up later, then do them in order or at least story arc order.

Margaret 

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Date Posted: 5/25/2010 6:51 PM ET
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Wyrd Sisters was ok. I liked Pyramids, Pyramids.. If you have netflix you can get the Color of Magic on DVD, very similar to the book and goes quicker..LOL 

I have read all the books in the series and like them all for various reasons.  Its not the type of series that reading one or two out of order will ruin the series.

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Date Posted: 5/25/2010 6:56 PM ET
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Wyrd Sisters was my first Prachett book, and I loved it, going on through that whole storyline with the witches.  Although overall, Pyramids was my favorite book in the whole series, with Small Gods being a close second, and both work as individual stories (i.e. you won't feel lost in the storyline if you read them first).

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Date Posted: 5/25/2010 11:46 PM ET
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Hogfather and Reaper Man are my favorites... I've read the series so often my books are falling apart.

ruthy avatar
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Date Posted: 5/30/2010 11:26 PM ET
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I really appreciate the recommendations.  I found a HC compliation of early books - Rincewind the Wizzard.  I may put it on my WL.  I'll also look into the others.  It's so great of you all to help me out. ;D

Ruth

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Date Posted: 4/16/2012 9:24 PM ET
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I read Colour of Magic first and liked it well enough to try some others and now I'm hooked.  I've read Mort, Carpe Jugulum and have Small Gods to start next and I can't get my hands on them fast enough.  What's everyone's favorite in the series?

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Date Posted: 4/17/2012 6:38 PM ET
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I never could get into the Disc World series.  When I read them, I feel like the author is trying way too hard to be funny.

I enjoyed "Monstrous Regiment" (the only one I've read), but I felt like I really had to slog through it.

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Date Posted: 5/8/2012 8:22 PM ET
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I was hoping there'd be a discussion on Discworld on pbs and i've just found it!  my first venture into the discworld was to watch "Going Postal" from netflix, then I watched the Color of Magic, then Hogfather" so i'm definitely hooked on Terry Pratchett's stories and films. I then found Going Postal and read it, i'm now on my 7th book and trying to find as many of the series as I can. It's so addictive and such a fun series to read. I love the witticism's and play on words that Terry Pratchett uses, wished I had found him sooner.  I think it helped me to get into the spirit of the series though by first seeing a movie and kind of figuring out "just a little" what the series might be like, I didn't have a clue when I got the movie from netflix, but i'm so glad I did.

Brenda (brenda's books)

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Date Posted: 5/24/2012 12:22 AM ET
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I would definitely start with "Guards, Guards".   I agree with several posters that "Colour of Magic" isn;t the best place to start. 

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Date Posted: 5/31/2012 1:39 PM ET
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I am one of those "start at the beginning" kind of people so I started with Colour of Magic and was hooked from the get-go. That said, as you've probably ascertained, it's possible to read each of the books in the different sub-groups out of publication order without much consequence with this series. My favorites are the Witches and those with DEATH...also the newer Tiffany Aching sub-series for younger readers. I am not crazy about the Night Watch books that much but I am currently working my way through the whole series--again--from the beginning. The Luggage and The Librarian are still my all time favorite characters though....OOOK! :)

Cheryl

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Date Posted: 6/25/2012 5:52 PM ET
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Several of my friends who are Pratchett fans told me to start with Guards, Guards! and I think it was a good suggestion.

Also, this might help you, what with the sheer number of books in the series!

http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-20.jpg

ExPeruanista avatar
Subject: Discworld films
Date Posted: 7/20/2012 12:40 PM ET
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Thanks, Brenda, for revealing the existence of Discworld movies. Until I read your post, I had no idea that such a thng existed. I ordered a couple from Amazon and hope to watch them this weekend.

 

 

I'm with Cheryl - the Luggage is my favorite character, and I only wish I'd had one when I used to travel a lot. How do you think the Luggage would respond to Transportation Security?

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Date Posted: 7/23/2012 3:37 PM ET
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I don't know if you've started your reading yet but if not ... I tend to recommend different books depending on the person's reading tastes:

If you like fractured fairy tales and/or witchcraft, start with "Wyrd Sisters".
If you like fantasy detective/police stories and/or pre-industrial urban settings, start with "Guards! Guards!"
If you like paranormal stories about the human side of Death and similar supernatural types, start with "Soul Music" or "Mort."

If you absolutely must read things in chronological order, start with "Equal Rites". That's his third book and IMO the one where Pratchett first finds his own voice. (The first two are very pun-centric -- they're not bad per se, but not really typical of his later style which is a lot more character focused.)

My own first Pratchett experience was "Small Gods" -- and the only reason I don't list it as a starter is because it has almost none of his main characters in it. (Ditto with "Wee Free Men" which I also love and would recommend as a present for everyone's daughter because we need more stories about pluckly lasses resucing kidnapped princes. ;) )