Discworld - Where to start?

Going Postal is a great read and not a bad entry point to the series at all. Making Money was weaker, but still good just because I love the character of Moist Von Lipwig. Possibly more than I like Commander Vimes (heresy I know).

Sorry to bump this after the fact, but in regards to what order to read discworld books in, I found this awesome map here: http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/

Well, I have been eating these up over my vacation. After Thud! I read Going Postal which was fantastic. Then I wanted more Watch so I jumped back and read Guards! Guards! which I agree wasn’t quite as good. Then I read Making Money, which I thought was just as good as Going Postal. Moist von Lipwig is awesome. I think I’ll continue forward through the Watch books in order now (though my vacation is over so my fiction reading will almost grind to a halt).

They aren’t Discworld books, but if you liked Thud! and Going Postal (which are the only books I’ve read from that series), you absolutely have to read The Bromeliad Trilogy and [I]Good Omens.

Good Omens [/I]in particular is one of my favorite books (I’ve read it at least 4 times now), second only to I Am Legend.

EDIT: Actually I’ve also read the book where the young girls join the dirt poor country’s army. That book was also good, but I forget the title.

yes, ian rankin and tom holt are quite enjoyable as well

and i believe you’re thinking of Monstrous Regiment

Look who’s been knighted!

Wow. I remember when he got the OBE ten years ago, and thought that was a Big Deal.

Gratz, pTerry.

That’s awesome.

Awesome. Now they can Knight Samuel Vimes and Lipwig as well!

Samuel Vimes is already knighted, isn’t he? If I remember, It’s a running gag that he gets more and more honorifics heaped on him and has to grudgingly sit through various lavish spectacles in his honour, which he hates. Was sure there’s a knighthood in there somewhere.

Yup, I think he’s up to…Baron? But he still thinks and acts like a street fighter, which is what makes him so much fun.

Just to comment on the original topic: I think if you just skip all the Rincewind books you’ll be fine. Equal Rites (book three chronologically, the first non-Rincewood book) is very readable and I’d agree that Mort (the next one) is the first “great” book in the series. It just keeps going up from there with the exception of a few more forays with Rincewood.

So books to skip:

The Colour of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Sourcery
Eric
Interesting Times
The Last Continent
The Last Hero

One of those might have been worth reading but if that was the case, not enough so that I can remember it. I feel lucky that I was bored enough at the time to continue reading past the first two books. I think Pratchett started out trying to write a fantasy version of Douglas Adams and only really got good when he let go and found his own style.

Personally I’ve always liked the stories about Death and his “family” the best.

I thought Interesting Times was really good, but it builds too much on Color of Magic/Light Fantastic backstory to recommend if you havn’t read those two. Equal Rites had a Granny Weatherwax in it, but she really wasn’t the Granny Weatherwax until Wyrd Sisters, which is another good starting book.

Everybody else seems to like Mort better than I do–I feel like we’re laughing at the title character too much through the first half of the book. But it’s a good place to begin, and kicks off a very strong set of stories, particularly Reaper Man.

I just found the copy of Thud that I’d thought I’d lost.
I’m going to go read that.

NOTE: Do not start with this book.

I dunno. I was just talking to a friend who’s only eposure to the Vimes books was Thud! and she loved it. I’ve been reading the watch books in order- I just got the next two in the mail today, The Fifth Elephant and Night Watch. I’m loving them so far- I haven’t read any other discworld stuff, and don’t plan on it. I like the fantasy police/crime/city thing they have going on.

Something interesting I also got while browsing around on Amazon was a stage adaptation of Night Watch. I’ve got a bunch of Theater geek friends, I wonder what the chances of trying to mount a small production are?

Has anybody seen the BBC made-for-TV movie of the Hogfather? I ran across it while flipping around a while ago, but didn’t feel the need to watch it from halfway through. Anybody know if it was not-terrible?

It’s not terrible.

They got a lot of the art direction right, and some of the feel of discworld is there. Unfortunately, a lot of humour falls flat and the acting leaves a lot to be desired. Generally, I just don’t think it’s possible to film Pratchett’s prose.

He went Captain of the Night Watch -> Commander of the City Guard -> Duke of Ankh Morpork. Though the promotion gag has been played out, I doubt we’ll see him ascend any higher.

I liked Hogfather, and thought the acting was generally quite good. The guy who plays Teatime, in particular, is perfect, as is the guy who plays Alfred. Susan and Death are also fine, and I thought the guy playing Ridcully did a good job. If the delivery has any problems, it’s mostly because it’s a very faithful adaptation of the book, and as with all dialog that is meant to be read, it doesn’t always work perfectly when spoken aloud. I’d definitely recommend the movie if you like the book, though.

I even watched it with someone who reads neither fantasy in general or Pratchett specifically, and she enjoyed it.