Terry Pratchett's Discworld

[Mr Light]

I was completely unaware of this series, but my better half brought home a comic book adaptation of the first two novels (The Colour of Magic – The Light Fantastic ). I'm almost done with it.

For those unaware it's a parody fantasy epic series about a flat world that lives on the back of a giant turtle inhabited by wizards, trolls, etc.

Well this is an interesting series. It's pretty funny and I like the fantasy epic parody stuff. I like the self-parody stuff. It felt a lot like something I'd write.

I just looked this series up on wiki and there's THIRTY-SEVEN BOOKS?!?! My gawd! And they're all written by the same guy? Man he must be quick. So I guess my big question is, does the quality drop off at some point? I read that Rincewind is only in six of the novels, so I would wonder if those without him would be less interesting.

Temis if you're reading this, is this why you're always saying that the Island from LOST is on the back of a giant turtle?

 

[ITL]

The quality in general gets better. Oh, yes.

Nightwatch is the best of the bunch, IMO. Outstanding work.

 

[ljrashkin]

One of my favorite series. And truth be told I blew through most of the books in about a year when I started about 4 years ago. (course there were less of them then).

Amazingly, the books actually gets better the further you get into them.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well, not that quick. Terry Pratchett has been writing the series for getting on for 30 years now, I believe. He announced last year that he has early onset alzheimer's too, but he's continuing to work on his Discworld novels, and hopes to get at least a few more out.

I started reading them a little while ago. A friend gave me Hogfather for Christmas, which I struggled with, but I liked the ideas and humour in it, so I bought Colour of Magic, and The Light Fantastic. I struggled with The Colour of Magic too, so I didn't bother with The Light Fantastic for months, but I picked it up last month and loved it. So I picked up the next three books, and flew through Equal Rites too. I plan to go on to Mort sooner rather than later.

 

[captcalhoun]

the books without Rincewind are often far superior to those with him in.

my personal faves:

Mort
Small Gods
Guards! Guards!
Night Watch
Making Money
Going Postal
Monstrous Regiment
Wyrd Sisters
Moving Pictures

the only one after the first three where the quality drops is Pyramids. but then they're right back up again.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

If you like The Colour of Magic/The Light Fantastic you will LOVE the others - the quality just keeps going up and up. I agree with captcalhoun as well - the books without Rincewind are very often better than the ones with. I actually prefer the other wizards at UU, especially the fantastic Archchancellor.

My favourites are the Watch books (especially Night Watch and Thud!), the Moist von Lipwig books and the Death books (including Reaper Man and Thief of Time).

 

[Mr Light]

So is the series always pure comedy? It never gets serious/dramatic? This would be fine with me, I hate when comedies turn serious.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Oh there are serious topics all right - Thud!, for instance, is based on long-standing racial attitudes and conflict. Or the many books based around the way humans behave and think. But it's always written in a such way that it's funny whilst hitting exactly the right spot at the same time.

The series is full of moments where you'll laugh one page and have a 'wow - that's deep" moment on the next.

And then Moist will leave the room with Drumknott's pen

 

[ljrashkin]

^yeah, but it is fair to say that most of the latter books (post-Small Gods) err on the side of satire rather than parody. Still hilarious though.

 

[Rincewiend]

Here is a good site to find some more about the series...
http://www.lspace.org/

And yes, my name is a slightly altered version of Rincewind...
My first name is Rob and my last name is Wien, so R. Wien + Rincewind = Rincewiend...

 

[Dane_Whitman]

the only one after the first three where the quality drops is Pyramids. but then they're right back up again.

I don't agree. I really liked Pyramids, while I had some serious trouble getting into Equal Rites. I liked Wyrd Sisters, the second Weatherwax novel, a lot better than the first one. But overall I'd say the witches novels are the weakest link, as opposed to the Watch novels, which are generally the best.

 

[Arrqh]

One of the nice things about the series is that it's actually a collection of subseries that exist in the same continuity (more or less)... so you can jump around or even enter the series through any number of books.

There's a good reading guide here. The Death series is my favorite, particularly Mort (the first Discworld book I read) and Thief of Time.

 

[chardman]

The Death series is my favorite, particularly Mort (the first Discworld book I read) and Thief of Time.

Pratchett's Death is a wonderful character. In fact Death speaks what is, so far, may favorite line in all of Discworld, when he stands before Azrael to defend the emotions he feels towards his "clients":"LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?" That line, in its full context, never fails to make me smile, get goosebumps, and cry like a baby, all at the same time.

Pratchett is to high fantasy what Douglas Adams was to science fiction.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

So is the series always pure comedy? It never gets serious/dramatic? This would be fine with me, I hate when comedies turn serious.

He leaves little snippets of serious thought as footnotes or asides.

Like the description of savagery in The Last Continent. I won't spoil it for you because a) these things are always best read yourself and b) I can't remember exactly how it goes.

 

[Darth_Daver]

the only one after the first three where the quality drops is Pyramids. but then they're right back up again.

I don't agree. I really liked Pyramids, while I had some serious trouble getting into Equal Rites. I liked Wyrd Sisters, the second Weatherwax novel, a lot better than the first one. But overall I'd say the witches novels are the weakest link, as opposed to the Watch novels, which are generally the best.

I have to agree here. The only witch novel I really love is Weird Systers (and I can't stand Equal Rites and Lords and Ladies), while even the weakest of the City Watch (maybe Fifth Elephant?) is still incredible. Truth to be told, my favourite is still The Truth, although the new Moist books come close...

 

[captcalhoun]

The Death series is my favorite, particularly Mort (the first Discworld book I read) and Thief of Time.

Pratchett's Death is a wonderful character. In fact Death speaks what is, so far, may favorite line in all of Discworld, when he stands before Azrael to defend the emotions he feels towards his "clients":"LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?" That line, in its full context, never fails to make me smile, get goosebumps, and cry like a baby, all at the same time.

Pratchett is to high fantasy what Douglas Adams was to science fiction.

Pratchett's far and away superior to Adams.

if Pratchett had written HHGTG, Ford Prefect'd be stuck on a planet with his thumb in the air.

 

[Arrqh]

So is the series always pure comedy? It never gets serious/dramatic? This would be fine with me, I hate when comedies turn serious.

He leaves little snippets of serious thought as footnotes or asides.

In many of his books, the serious thought represents significant undertones intertwined in the stories... much more then just footnotes or asides. I consider Small Gods to be actual, honest literature (in the snobbish sense of the word )

 

[stonester1]

My top ones, Small Gods, Night Watch, Guards! Guards, Lords and Ladies, Jingo, the Last Continent.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

So is the series always pure comedy? It never gets serious/dramatic? This would be fine with me, I hate when comedies turn serious.

He leaves little snippets of serious thought as footnotes or asides.

In many of his books, the serious thought represents significant undertones intertwined in the stories... much more then just footnotes or asides. I consider Small Gods to be actual, honest literature (in the snobbish sense of the word )

Indeed, but sometimes he just comes straight out with it, and it's so very nicely done.