Terry Pratchett virgin here. Where do I start?

[Littlefiendsusan]

Over the last few days I've come across Granny Weatherwax in various places and learning about her has piqued my interest in TP.
So, which book would I best start off with? I have absolutely no idea!

I want the luggage so much. I love travelling and the luggage would be fantastic.

Oh wow, I walk the dog, do the school run and all the TP fans have been out! Thank you!

@CaribouCarafe is The Hogfather a stand alone book? I think I've read Good Omens- the one about all the Gods and the sinister car on the iced over pond each year? Was a while ago now and my memory is hazy.

@AiryFairy1 would this be too grown up for my 8 yr old?

I think I've read Good Omens- the one about all the Gods and the sinister car on the iced over pond each year? Was a while ago now and my memory is hazy.

That's Neil Gaiman, American Gods.

Hogfather isn't really standalone as it revolves around Susan and Death, and Susan's story really starts in Mort. You can read it as standalone, but I think it helps to have been there at the beginning.

I haven’t read any either and after all these responses am none the wiser as to where to start

@WeeMadArthur that's my evening sorted, thank you, v helpful list.

And thank you all for your pointers and advice. I've had friends in the past rave about him but I didn't think it was for me.

@dementedma

I haven’t read any either and after all these responses am none the wiser as to where to start

I think tbh @dementedma it doesn't matter too much. I always assumed they were a load of crap (due to them being loved by the nerdiest boys I knew) and randomly picked one out in the library and was amazed to find myself hooked. I think it was Equal Rites actually, it was about whether a girl could be a wizard I think.

You can read any of them as standalones really.

I have read LOTS of them all in the wrong order and it didn't really affect how much I enjoy them, especially because they centre around different sets of characters (the witches, the city watch, the wizards, the sheep farmers) who sometimes interact with each other across the different books.

If I was starting somebody off now, I'd probably suggest The Wee Free Men (witches/sheep farmers) because it's utterly brilliant and hilarious. TP at the height of his powers.

Yes, don't start with TCoM unless you have read loads of classic fantasy. It sets up the basis of the city and a few of the recurring characters but it's not necessary to appreciate the later ones.

The Witches books start with Equal Rites but it's more of a prologue - the story arc starts with Wyrd Sisters, followed by Witches Abroad the Lords & Ladies.

The City Watch series starts with Guards! Guards! and continues with Men At Arms and Feet of Clay.

The Death / Susan series starts with Mort (though proto-Death is in the earlier books) and moves through Reaper Man and Soul Music to Hogfather.

The Wizards series - as opposed to the Rincewind series - starts with Moving Pictures which introduces the particular Archchancellor, Ponder and various other characters. They also appear and are developed in Reaper Man.

I read The Shepherd's Crown. It was really sad: throughout the book you could clearly see where Pterry would have been setting something up, and then nothing came of it. It was still a good story and a good book, but it was a Ghost of A Pratchett Book.

then, damn

The problem with where start with Pratchett is twofold. Firstly there's the fact that although the books are all set in the same world, there are distinct strands of books- the witches ones, the watch ones etc. So do you read them in the order they were written or do you pick a strand and follow it?

Secondly, Pratchett got much better at writing as he went along, so although it's tempting to start at the beginning because it sounds like the logical thing to do, I hesitate to recommend it because the earliest ones might not get you hooked like you should be.

Here is a diagram which shows the various strands and off-shoots. Personally I'd recommend starting with the Watch strand (my fave) and The Witches strand, and then go on to the Industrial Revolution off-shoot, which is fab.

Definitely also read good omens though it's Neil Gaimon and Terry Pratchett and is brilliant ! Read the book before watching the TV show, both are good but the book is better ! I've read most of TP at least once but I re-read Good Omens yearly 😁

Re. Someone's question about the hogfather, I read that one first, as it was Christmas and (then) dp recommended it. I didn't get all the connections to the different narrative strands / characters, obviously, but it was still a great read. I now go back and read it every year in the run up to Xmas. I love it!

I'm now going chronologically, having hopped about a bit to start with. Have got as far as Going Postal. I am dreading getting to the end so I only let myself read a couple of new ones a year so that I can drag out the whole thing. Definitely don't want to read The Shepherd's Crown yet 😥.

@ScarfaceCwaw I see, thanks, and because of the map @lazylinguist provided, that made sense!

@Littlefiendsusan my 8 and 10 year olds love it!
The main character is a feisty 9 year old girl. It gets a bit wordy in places but there’s plenty of light relief to keep their interest. We’ve read it twice!

@ScarfaceCwaw

I think I've read Good Omens- the one about all the Gods and the sinister car on the iced over pond each year? Was a while ago now and my memory is hazy.

That's Neil Gaiman, American Gods.

Hogfather isn't really standalone as it revolves around Susan and Death, and Susan's story really starts in Mort. You can read it as standalone, but I think it helps to have been there at the beginning.

Good Omens is Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, a fantastic amalgam of two brilliant authors. Neil Gaiman has written a new foreword to Good Omens about how it was written and their experiences together afterwards.

It does sound like you have read American Gods, itself a brilliant book.

Oh you are so lucky to have the pure delight of all those wonderful books ahead of you! My favourites have to be the Witches series. I love TP for so very many reasons but particularly as a love of his writing united me and my late DM when our tastes didn’t often converge.

The Hogfather is bloody hilarious, and will definitely hook you to read the others!
I loved Death best as a character, he is so deadpan and sepulchral (all his speech is written in upper case) but he has some of the funniest lines. His attempt at jollity when he fills in for the missing Hogfather (Discworld’s version of Santa Claus) had me in hysterics.

@AppleJane

Who is Granny Weatherwax? I've never read any either but you've got me wondering if I should.

The character Rincewind rings a bell. Maybe a computer game I played once. Did he have a huge bottomless bag?!

There was a discworld point-and-click adventure game starting Rincewind (back in the 90s maybe!) so you could well know him from that. I’m still haunted by trying to figure out out to make the dribbly candles 😂.

@TigerDragonMonkey I loved point and click back in the day so that sounds right! Broken sword was my favourite. Wish I could still find stuff like that these days!

There were three Discworld computer games back in the 90’s. Chris Barrie (Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf) voiced Rincewind, who didn’t have a bottomless bag, he had a little trunk on legs called the Luggage, made of “sapient pear wood”.
The games were brilliant, and included the travelling shop, (a magical brick building, not a van!) which materialised at different locations every time you played. My kids adored them, and it took us ages to solve all the puzzles in them.

Oh, I am so jealous OP!

Definitely skip the first two books. Eyes Sisters would be a great point to start with the Witches series (Equal Rites is good but Wyrd Sisters is a lot funnier. And also a reworking of Macbeth. The opening chapter sets up the sinister gathering of the trio of witches on a bleak and stormy moor.

I'm paraphrasing:

"When shall we three meet again?" ( In an eldritch scream)
In a far more ordinary voice, "Well, I could do next Tuesday"

🤣

Reading the series chronologically is great because you see the move from semi medieval society, to an industrial revolution, a sort of steampunky Victorian age to the steam age. It all fits together as an enormous history of the Discworld. It's wonderful.

Saying that, I would start with Guards, Guards! as its the beginning of Vime's journey and is established enough that it's wonderfully full story. The Colour of Magic, great as it is, is in a completely different writing style and is still finding it's feet.

I avoided the Discworld for years, largely because of the old 'booby' covers but my husband got me into it when we met and I fell in love with it!

Needhelp101 “I’m babysitting on Tuesday. For our Jason’s youngest. I can manage Friday.”

Wyrd Sisters was wonderful, wasn’t it!

Years ago I bought a load of Discworld books. I started at the beginning and read The Colour of Magic but really couldn't get into it. And because of that I didn't read any more.
So I'm happy to have read this thread and think I may now try either Equal Rites or Mort.

@Tempusfudgeit

DON'T start at the beginning! Read the Witches' trilogy, then Guards! Guards! I'm so jealous, I'd love to read all the books again for the first time!

I have a pristine copy of The Shepherd's Crown that I can't bring myself to read 🙁

Me too! It sits on my bookshelf in a place of honour.

@HesterLee

Years ago I bought a load of Discworld books. I started at the beginning and read The Colour of Magic but really couldn't get into it. And because of that I didn't read any more. So I'm happy to have read this thread and think I may now try either Equal Rites or Mort.

Yes, definitely. The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are, you know, fine. But they are a parody of a distinct genre of sword-and-sorcery, and in many ways Rincewind is Pratchett's weakest main character. The way the series develops later is much more complex and gripping and has a lot more to say about our society in general.

I think the Watch strand is Pratchett's strongest, and it starts at Guards! Guards! which is his 8th book. But I would also agree with PP that Mort is where Pratchett really hits his stride, and it's a good intro generally. Your choice.