So Benton asks me...
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You're a Pratchett fan, eh? I've never read any of his stuff. What all of his would you recommend? I know there are like forty books in his Discworld series; have you actually read all of them?
I 've read just about all of them from "The Light Fantastic" to "Snuff". I've only read one of the Tiffany Aching series (the YA one), but would not mind reading more. Looks like I'd have to order them special though since I haven't seen any of them local.
The main thing I enjoy about Pratchett's books is that even though they're funny, they're also thoughtful, containing themes and observations on many things on life, religion, politics, etc.
As for the standard Discworld series, here's a brief (HA) overview...
The earliest books are mostly stand-alone, but as characters started to reoccur and grow and change, you need to be more aware of the backstory to understand maybe not what's going on, but the character's role in the fictional universe. The later ones often follow a set group of characters: The Watch, The Witches, Death and his family, Rincewind, and lately, Moist Von Lipwig and cast. I 'll get into the specifics of each of these in a moment. Just so you know, much of the Discworld books centers around the city of AnkhMorpork, a massive city under the rule of the Patrician, a man who makes Machiavelli look like a remedial student. The cities workings make for much of the plotting in the series..es, ah whatever.
If you're looking for a standalone...
- Pyramids - A story about a prince (trained as an assassin) and the traditions of his homeland and what happens when the latter gets out of hand.
- Small Gods - A young monk meets his god, and it isn't what he expects. Some interesting thoughts on religion and belief.
- Moving Pictures - Predates the previous two I mentioned, and IMO not quite as good as the previous two I mentioned, but still pretty fun. Basically, where do movies come from (you don't want to know the answer).
- The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents - A surprisingly dark book for one about a talking cat and talking mice, but pretty good. A little hard to find.
- Monstrous Regiment - A rare recent one that is almost stand-alone (though does featured a couple of preexisting characters. Still pretty accessible) In the nation of Borogravia, Polly disguises herself as a boy to join the army and what came of it. One of my favorites.
- The Truth - Introduces William DeWord and his cast, though isn't as accessible as any of the ones I already mentioned.
- Unseen Academicals - features the members of the Unseen University. Requires knowing something of AnkhMorpork as the previous one did, and in truth, this one didn't click with me very well so I can't really recommend it.
Now onto the groups I mentioned...
Rincewind - a cowardly wizard who has managed to survive all kinds of crap by wits and running like hell. Rincewind is also one of the first recurring characters to appear in the Discworld series. If you've ever seen a picture of a travel trunk with lots of little legs, this is where it comes from. The first two are a bit rough since these are the first two Discworld books and Pratchett's style was still evolving, but the later ones are much stronger. His books include
- The Color of Magic
- The Light Fantastic
- Sourcery
- Eric
- Interesting Times
- The Last Continent*
- The Last Hero (thought this is primarily Cohen the Barbarian's story)
(* - confession time: this is probably one of my least favorite of his books since it's primarily a travelogue with very thin plot)
Death and family - Another long running character who appears in every book I think. Death TENDS TO SPEAK IN ALL CAPS TO INDICATE THE KIND OF VOICE HE HAS, but is a gentle figure who takes great pride in his work. At one point he adopted a daughter, but that didn't end as well as it could. Even so, his granddaughter turns up now and again. A very solid collection of stories. These include
- Mort
- Reaper Man
- Soul Music
- Hogfather
- Thief of Time
The Witches - Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and at one time Magrat, but now Agnes. Granny is probably one of the most powerful witches in the world, though prefers to use "headology" instead of power and leads the coven. She originally appeared solo, but in later books was joined by the others. This is a great cast to follow. Their books include
- Equal Rites
- Wyrd Sisters(a nod to Macbeth)
- Witches Abroad
- Lords and Ladies
- Maskerade (a nod to Phantom of the Opera (especially the silent film version))
- Carpe Jugulum
The Watch - This is my favorite group and I think it's because Sam Vimes is probably my favorite Pratchett character. Vimes starts off as a poor member of the rapidly dwindling Night Watch which is all but useless in the present state of the city and eventually... well I don't want to spoil it. The supporting cast is a lot of fun too. This includes:
- Guards, Guards
- Men at Arms
- Feet of Clay
- Jingo
- The Fifth Elephant (a favorite)
- Night Watch
- Thud
- Snuff
Moist VonLipwig - The most recent of the recurring characters, Moist's story begins when he gets hung, and it only gets more complicated from there. You see, Moist is a con artist who now has to survive a civil service job, but it's far more interesting that that. It's also one of a series where you really need to be familiar with discworld (primarily the Watch books) to understand a lot of the status quo. His books so far include:
- Going Postal
- Making Money
Tiffany Aching - I know the least about this series as I mentioned. It's the story of a young girl, not yet in her teens who is shown to have the potential to become a witch after her brother is stolen by elves. I've only read the first book, but I did like it. It's one of those YA books that crosses age lines.
I hope that helps you get started. Anyone else feel free to chime in.
I've been reading those since they first came out, but have fallen behind a bit on the series. I enjoyed the Rincewind, Death and Guard books, not so much the Witches or the rest.
I think one of my favorite non-main characters would have to be "Cut me own throat Dibbler" Did he ever get one of his own books? I think I remember him having a good part in "Reaper Man"
There's s few movies and video games out for the books, my favorite being the 2 part live action movie based on "The Color of Magic"and "Light Fantastic",with Sean Astin as Twoflower and in a smalle role, Christopher Lee as Death.
Sometime in the '90s (I think) there were comic adaptations of a couple of them.
Thanks for the detailed info, GG. I've read about a dozen Discworld novels (The Truth and Making Money being probably my favourites, due to the upfront the social commentary); this will help me pick the next ones.