I read a lot of Fantasy. Never read Pratchett, though. I think I tried his very first Discworld book back in the 1980s and simply couldn't get into it. I had just finished the Hitchhiker's Guide books and had Pratchett recommended to me. At any rate, I never picked up another one of his books. Recently, browsing Netflix instant view, I came across The Hogfather and decided to watch it. I thought it was a fairly charming little adaptation, and after viewing it I have a mind to give Pratchett another try. Recommendations? Should I go back to that first discworld book or is there a really great later novel that I should try?
I've heard from a few people that Guards! Guards! is the best book in the series, but I'm not sure whether it's best to have read the previous books first or whether it doesn't really matter. From the ones I have read, he seems to reiterate a lot of the mythology in each book, so it would probably be fine to start with.
By far my favourite is Wyrd Sisters. If you couldn't get into the Colour of Magic I would recommend it or one of his kids books.
Guards! Guards! is a good one. I liked Small Gods as well as The Last Hero. The Colour of Magic is a bit hard to get into but it does intro you to a few of the mainstays in his world. Light Fantastic is awesome in my opinion as well as Reaper Man . Sorry I'm a huge fan of his and love his style of writing. Mort. Definately Mort
They also say The Colour of Magic is one of the worst in the Discworld series. I know I didn't particularly care for it. You may want to start with another of his books.
THERE IS NO GOOD PRATCHET BOOK HE IS TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can guess I don't read pratchet so I wouldn't know DOWN PRATCHET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you want to start with Colour of Magic may I suggest the TV adaptation it was fun. My kids enjoyed it. His childrens books are really good and easy to read. However Wyrd Sisters is imo the funniest and least Discworld like. Is the Hogfather the one with death's grandaughter ? I do love the one's where death has a big part.
Personally, I loved Thud!. But thats at the end of a chain, so it might not have the same effect just reading it on its own. Anything with Rincewind in it is always a good laugh.
Generally you can say that Pratchett is gotten better with each book. He learned to focus his stories and really explore each concept as he grew better and better. The first book were a bit fussy and sprawling trying to cover a lot, even trough they were funny etc.. And since pretty much any book can stand on it on and you can start exploring his writing anywhere, i would say pick anything that seem interesting produced the last 5-7 years.
However, some of the best books are in the early-ish ones. Guards! Guards! is awesome, and Mort was the first one I read after I failed to get into Colour of Magic. I read all the Death ones, then all the Guards ones, then all the Witches ones (except for Equal Rites - my brother was guiding me so kept me clear from the old ones ) I'd say as a starting point, some of the stand alone ones like Pyramids, Small Gods, Thief of Time, The Truth, or Going Postal (I know it has a sequel now, but the point is it's one of the new ones that starts a new continuity of characters off, so you get the whole world ready-made, but he's kind to the reader. Not that he isn't kind with the others - I don't think I read a single book in order to any of the others. )
I think "Monstrous Regiment" is fairly good, as is "Soul Music." My favorite is "Small Gods." "Colour of Magic" might be easier to read if you're doing it to figure out the background of "Interesting Times." I don't think any book has too many references to previous books without being explained. I never had much problem with reading them in a random order.
I loved The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, and Sourcery. There's one other featuring Rincewind which is also good, but I can't remember the title. I see that a few people really didn't like Colour of Magic, but I suggest at least giving it a try. I find Rincewind and Twoflower very funny.
Rincewind is funny. I love how later on he proudly claims to be a 'racist' because he mistakes the meaning of the word. I just didn't like the Colours of Magic. The plot isn't as focused as some of his later stories.
I think it's mostly the lack of development of the world. He introduces a lot of elements over the first few books, but it takes him a while to start using it - understandably enough, really. But Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, and some of the other earlier ones he's still running around finding himself, cramming ideas which he found funny. I think Mort is the first one with a decent plot (the 4th book), and after that it's really Wyrd Sisters and Guards! Guards! that start doing what he does best - developing a place, a philosophy and people to go with it, and layers in real world experience on top of what initial started as just a satire on fantasy. He really starts digging deep and giving a massive psychoanalysis on everything under the sun, and the early books are really just confidence boosters and places where he made up his setting with all the running around and stuff. I dunno... It's been a while since I've read any Pratchett aside from Monstrous Regiment, which I happened to mix in with a box of books I meant just to be for my dissertation... I didn't have much space in this house. I really need to re-read the whole series then I can talk about it.
