Read through of all the books

jasonb

Hi all...

I got The Shepard's Crown for Christmas, but before I read it I realised that it was for 'younger' readers, and while I've read nearly all the Discworld books over the years, I hadn't read that younger readers ones. So, I didn't want to start it until I'd read the others.

It sat on the shelf since then, and a few weeks ago it caught my eye, and this forum caught my eye, so I decided to go back to the very beginning and read them all, leading up to The Shepard's Crown.

I've the first four done, and am about to start Sourcery tonight. The last one, Mort, is probably my favourite so far, probably becuase Death is one of my favourite characters, but also because it felt like Terry was really started to find his feet.

I love little one liners that I know will end up being the subjects of future books, like him mentioning that Gods only exist if someone believes in them, or the first mention of a Nightwatchman, lost in The Shades and ringing his bell: ' 'Twelve o'clock and all's arrrrrgghhhh...' 😊

My favourite bit so far though has been Death and Mort talking:

Death, while looking at a map: YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF THE BAY OF MANTE, HAVE YOU?

'No Sir', said Mort

FAMOUS SHIPWRECK THERE

Was there?

THERE WILL BE, said Death, IF I CAN FIND THE DAMN PLACE.

I do love Terry's sense of humour and turn of phrase. And I love knowing who's to come, the Patrician, Sam Vimes, CMOT Dibbler are all still ahead of me... 😊

johnnyskeleton

Theyre great for the re-reading alright. The only problem i have is figuring out where each volume has gone over the years!

jasonb

I'm relying on the Library and second hand stores. So far it's cost me €8 for the first ten books... ��

This is just a quick thank you for reminding me that there is a world of Discworld books out there

Gonna pick one up today

jasonb

Well, I finished Sourcery last night. I have to say, I didn't enjoy it as much as Equal Rites and Mort. It just seemed a bit disjointed, more like the first two books; it read like a couple of different short locations/adventures joined together rather than a flowing plot.

Of course, I'm also aware that reading 5 books of a series in a row might lead to a little Discworld-lag, so that might be colouring my judgement.

Anyhow, Wyrd Sisters is next, so I'll see how that goes!

johnnyskeleton

jasonb wrote: »

Well, I finished Sourcery last night. I have to say, I didn't enjoy it as much as Equal Rites and Mort. It just seemed a bit disjointed, more like the first two books; it read like a couple of different short locations/adventures joined together rather than a flowing plot.

My second secret shame for this thread is that Sorcery is actually the first Terry Pratchett book I read and it kinda went over my head (I was 11 and hadn't read Colour of Magic/Light Fantastic). When I went back to it at a more bawdy 13 years old having read the first two Rincewinds I loved it!

Whispered

As much as I loved the books the first time I definitely enjoyed them more the second time. I read them in chronological order first then by series (witches, death, the watch, moist Von lipwig and I'm now on the wizards). My favourite changes all the time depending on my mood.

The shepherds crown is fantastic but you are right to reread the others first. It'll make a big difference to your enjoyment of TSC.

martingriff

Never read any discworld books where should someone start and do you have to read them in order. I know its a big universe with games books and tv shows but how many books are there

johnnyskeleton

martingriff wrote: »

Never read any discworld books where should someone start and do you have to read them in order. I know its a big universe with games books and tv shows but how many books are there

There's a chronological list here:

http://discworld.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Discworld_Books

They have also pointed out that you can read them in groups e.g. Rincewind, City Watch etc.

Stripping out the short stories, childrens books etc, the Discworld Series is as follows:

1. The Colour of Magic (1983) (Rincewind)
2. The Light Fantastic (1986) (Rincewind)
3. Equal Rites (1987) (Witches)
4. Mort (1987) (Death)
5. Sourcery (1988) (Rincewind)
6. Wyrd Sisters (1988) (Witches)
7. Pyramids (1989) (One-off)
8. Guards! Guards! (1989) (City Watch)
9. Eric (1990) (Rincewind)
10. Moving Pictures (1990) (One-off)
11. Reaper Man (1991) (Death)
12. Witches Abroad (1991) (Witches)
13. Small Gods (1992) (One-off)
14. Lords and Ladies (1992) (Witches)
15. Men at Arms (1993) (City Watch)
16. Soul Music (1994) (Death)
17. Interesting Times (1994) (Rincewind)
18. Maskerade (1995) (Witches)
19. Feet of Clay (1996) (City Watch)
20. Hogfather (1996) (Death)
21. Jingo (1997) (City Watch)
22. The Last Continent (1998) (Rincewind)
23. Carpe Jugulum (1998) (Witches)
24. The Fifth Elephant (1999) (City Watch)
25. The Truth (2000) (One-off)
26. Thief of Time (2001) (Death)
27. Night Watch (2002) (City Watch)
28. Monstrous Regiment (2003) (One-off)
29. Going Postal (2004) (Post Office)
30. Thud! (2005) (City Watch)
31. Making Money (2007) (Post Office)
32. Unseen Academicals (2009) (The Wizards, Rincewind)
33. Snuff (2011) (City Watch / Sam Vimes)
34. Raising Steam (2013) (Post office)

If I were to pick ten or so for you to try out and see if you like them, I'd pick (in no particular order):

1. The Colour of Magic (1983) (Rincewind)
2. The Light Fantastic (1986) (Rincewind)
3. Equal Rites (1987) (Witches)
4. Mort (1987) (Death)
5. Guards! Guards! (1989) (City Watch)
6. Moving Pictures (1990) (One-off)
7. Small Gods (1992) (One-off)
8. Soul Music (1994) (Death)
9. Night Watch (2002) (City Watch)
10. Going Postal (2004) (Post Office)
    

martingriff

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

There's a chronological list here:

http://discworld.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Discworld_Books

They have also pointed out that you can read them in groups e.g. Rincewind, City Watch etc.

Stripping out the short stories, childrens books etc, the Discworld Series is as follows:

1. The Colour of Magic (1983) (Rincewind)
2. The Light Fantastic (1986) (Rincewind)
3. Equal Rites (1987) (Witches)
4. Mort (1987) (Death)
5. Sourcery (1988) (Rincewind)
6. Wyrd Sisters (1988) (Witches)
7. Pyramids (1989) (One-off)
8. Guards! Guards! (1989) (City Watch)
9. Eric (1990) (Rincewind)
10. Moving Pictures (1990) (One-off)
11. Reaper Man (1991) (Death)
12. Witches Abroad (1991) (Witches)
13. Small Gods (1992) (One-off)
14. Lords and Ladies (1992) (Witches)
15. Men at Arms (1993) (City Watch)
16. Soul Music (1994) (Death)
17. Interesting Times (1994) (Rincewind)
18. Maskerade (1995) (Witches)
19. Feet of Clay (1996) (City Watch)
20. Hogfather (1996) (Death)
21. Jingo (1997) (City Watch)
22. The Last Continent (1998) (Rincewind)
23. Carpe Jugulum (1998) (Witches)
24. The Fifth Elephant (1999) (City Watch)
25. The Truth (2000) (One-off)
26. Thief of Time (2001) (Death)
27. Night Watch (2002) (City Watch)
28. Monstrous Regiment (2003) (One-off)
29. Going Postal (2004) (Post Office)
30. Thud! (2005) (City Watch)
31. Making Money (2007) (Post Office)
32. Unseen Academicals (2009) (The Wizards, Rincewind)
33. Snuff (2011) (City Watch / Sam Vimes)
34. Raising Steam (2013) (Post office)

If I were to pick ten or so for you to try out and see if you like them, I'd pick (in no particular order):

1. The Colour of Magic (1983) (Rincewind)
2. The Light Fantastic (1986) (Rincewind)
3. Equal Rites (1987) (Witches)
4. Mort (1987) (Death)
5. Guards! Guards! (1989) (City Watch)
6. Moving Pictures (1990) (One-off)
7. Small Gods (1992) (One-off)
8. Soul Music (1994) (Death)
9. Night Watch (2002) (City Watch)
10. Going Postal (2004) (Post Office)
    

Thanks mate. I have a book on my Kindle at the moment it is the fall and demise of the roman empire (I know a million miles away) @ 126 hrs time (audio book) so need something lite to read in between volumns and these seem the business

johnnyskeleton

martingriff wrote: »

Thanks mate. I have a book on my Kindle at the moment it is the fall and demise of the roman empire (I know a million miles away) @ 126 hrs time (audio book) so need something lite to read in between volumns and these seem the business

I think there are a few audiobooks read by Terry, but to be honest thats probably a bit ghoulish, even for someone who prerecorded his own eulogy/tv retrospective!

Possibly I imagined that, but Baldrick (Tony Robinson) has narrated a few I think!

Star Lord

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Possibly I imagined that, but Baldrick (Tony Robinson) has narrated a few I think!

Yeah, Tony Robinson was the main go-to guy for the Discworld audio books I believe.

[edit]
Looks like most of the ones I can find at the minute were by either Nigel Planer or Stephen Briggs!

jasonb

Finished Wyrd Sisters last night. Really enjoyed it, when I think back over all the books the Witches were never my favourite, I think I prefer life in Ankh-Morpork than up in the Ramtops, but I really liked the interplay between the three of them in this book. It was a longer book, and a much more coherent plot, running through the whole story, rather than a collection of scenes/set pieces. Also the first book that has the familiar glimpses of 'our' world, transferred to the Discworld (all the references to Will Shakespeare and the plays etc.).

My favourite part has to be near the end, when Death goes on stage in the play, and gets stage fright 'cos everyone can see him. The logic is that normally no-one see him, but as everyone was expecting to see him (or, at least, an actor playing him) they then all see him, and he freezes in the spotlight and forgets his lines.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed it, and next is Pyramids, which I believe is one of the 'stand alone' ones so we'll see how I feel about it.

johnnyskeleton

jasonb wrote: »

Anyhow, I really enjoyed it, and next is Pyramids, which I believe is one of the 'stand alone' ones so we'll see how I feel about it.

It's great. Religious parody at its very best.

jasonb

Well, finished Pyramids, and I did enjoy it. While all the characters were new, the world was the same. Loved the insight into the Assassins Guild, the 'science' behind the Pyramids, and all the ancestors getting out of their tombs.

I've now got into the habit of reading the Book's Wiki page, and the Annotated Pratchett File, to spot anything I've missed, be it minor plot points

(I didn't realise at the end that the High Priest had travelled back in time to start the whole cycle over again)

or just the many little references and nods that Terry put in to his books.

My favourite line from Pyramids was

when all the Gods come back...

'No-one is more worried by the actual physical manifestation of a god than his priests; it's like having the auditors in unexpectedly'

Next is Guards! Guards! and Sam Vimes' first appearance. I haven't yet found the book, so I may have to read it online unfortunately; it's just not the same thing...

beauf

I only read the characters I like, and I don't read the ones I don't like. Love the guards, wizards dislike the witches. I'd ever read them all. Some of them just don't float my boat.

Avatar MIA

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

It's great. Religious parody at its very best.

By far the least favourite of mine. I think the witches were my favourite. Not surprisingly, I don't think the latter books had the same spark as the middle books.

Would love to have seen Rincewind as Archchancellor :pac:

Pawwed Rig

Whispered wrote: »

then by series (witches, death, the watch, moist Von lipwig and I'm now on the wizards). My favourite changes all the time depending on my mood.

Don't forget the standalone volumes. Pyramids and Small Gods are 2 of the best imo

johnnyskeleton

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Don't forget the standalone volumes. Pyramids and Small Gods are 2 of the best imo

I always think of Soul Music as a stand alone, although most people characterise it as a death novel.

Whispered

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Don't forget the standalone volumes. Pyramids and Small Gods are 2 of the best imo

Small gods is one of my favourites too

jasonb

Well, I finished Guards! Guards! a couple of nights ago.

Really enjoyed it, I always liked Vimes and the Watch. I must admit, I'd forgotten how much of what I know about his story happens in the first book. For example, I'd forgotten that Carrot arrives in the first book, that we find out

he's the true heir

, that Vimes meets Sybil in the first book, we meet CMOT Dibbler for the first time too etc. etc. To me, Guards! Guards! is classic Discworld, with the Watch on the job in Ankh Morpork!

Next up is Eric, which I remember not being mad about the first time, but we'll see how it goes now. It's only short, so shouldn't take long...

Avatar MIA

jasonb wrote: »

Well, I finished Guards! Guards! a couple of nights ago.

Simply love that book. Probably the best in my mind.

beauf

I've read them but use some spoiler Tags for others...

jasonb

beauf wrote: »

I've read them but use some spoiler Tags for others...

My apologies, they're all so old at this stage that it didn't even occur to me.

johnnyskeleton has already spoilered some for me, and I spoilered another, and I'll keep that in mind from now on.

Thanks...

jasonb

Well, Eric didn't take me too long to read, as expected. And as expected, I didn't think it was great, so my memory of it was true. It's just a chance to bring Rincewind back and to have a couple of adventures that are very loosely tied together. All in all, the worse one so far. Some funny lines/ideas of course, but not a great Discworld book.

Next up though is Moving Pictures, which is possibly the first one I ever read. I have good memories of it, I loved all the Golden Age of Hollywood references (like the film 'Blown Away'!), and aspects of Wyrd Sisters aside, this is the first book that takes a real world concept/event and transplants it to the Discworld. Looking forward to reading it, if I can find it!

Avatar MIA

jasonb wrote: »

Some funny lines/ideas of course, but not a great Discworld book.

And the only book published by a different publish, can't remember the reason for that.

jasonb

I did read that it was originally an Illustrated book, and then got reprinted as a standard book. That probably explains why it's shorter, due to the different format, and possibly explains why it's a different Publisher too?

Blackhorse Slim

The illustrated edition was pretty good, done by the artist who drew the cover art at the time. The story doesn't stand up very well on its own, but it was never intended to. Kind of like reading the story parts from Science of Discworld, without reading the science parts.
Worth picking up if you can find it, particularly if you're collecting Discworld books.

jasonb

Well, I have to say, I really struggled with Moving Pictures, which was surprising, 'cos I loved it when I was younger. I finished it about a week ago, so it took me a lot longer to read, mainly 'cos I wasn't that fussed if I picked it up at night or not.

Part of the issue might be that it was my 10th Discworld book in a row, and maybe I was a little jaded. But part of it was also the sheer amount of references to Hollywood in it. There were so many that I almost felt like I was drowning in them, and it went from 'ah, that's a cool take on that', or 'that's a funny way of referencing it', to 'oh, here's another one'.

But I got it read in the end, and I did enjoy it really, but not as much as I thought I would. Don't really have a favourite part, though I do like that they couldn't record sound, and two of the ways they tried was using Parrots to listen during filming and then go to the showings and repeat what they heard (though the parrots tended to add their own risqué lines here and there) or use sub-titles, which worked fine as long as the actors didn't walk too close to the front of the set and knock the words over! So I also liked the way near the end of the book that

the fact they never could record sound meant that when the line between the real world and Holy Wood disappeared, no-one could speak, and horses made no noise as they galloped by etc.

.

Next up is Reaper Man, and Death is one of my favourite characters so I'm hopeful that will get me back on Binky, so to speak. That said, I can't find a copy of it in the libraries/charity shops etc., so I might have to resort to online again.

jasonb

Finished Reaper Man last night. I struggled with it a little, but that was because I was reading it online, which means you lose the flow of it, it’s not obvious where a paragraph ends and another begins, so you have to really concentrate on the structure of the book, and therefore concentrate less on the story itself.

But it had Death, which is always good, and I find that He always adds a depth and soul to a story which you don’t get if it’s just a human character feeling or doing the same things. It was good to meet the undead characters too. And, I think, it’s the first story where

main characters that you get attached to during the story die, like Windle Poons and Ms. Fillworth, which once again adds more depth and soul to it.

So all in all, I enjoyed it, though I struggled with the format I had it in. Next up is Witches Abroad, which should be interesting, as the Witches were never my favourites, but I really enjoyed Wyrd Sister this time around. Now I just have to see if I can find the book anywhere...

jasonb

Bit of a delay since I last updated this thread!

I've finished Witches Abroad and Small Gods since then. I really enjoyed both, once again I found the Witches characters really interesting, whereas I wasn't that mad about them when I was younger. I loved the different angles to the fairytales we all know, as well as the bigger idea of the power of stories and their life cycles. The little nods that you'd recognise (like the

very brief appearance of Gollum

were much better than the 'in your face references' in Moving Pictures. And I loved Nanny Ogg trying on the Glass Slipper and

it fitting because it's a very common shoe size!

All in all a good book, and while I read it online, I paid the money for the Kindle version and it was well worth it, as it was a much better format.

Small Gods was even better, a standalone one really (apart from Death of course) but even without the other well known characters it's just a great story and excellent satire. Terry clearly had strong opinions on Religion, and maybe the fact I agree with them helped me enjoy the book even more. I have this one in paperback so the format wasn't an issue. Really loved the switch of

gods needing us, not the other way around

. Just satire at its finest really! And I love this quote from it:

'Bishops move diagonally. That's why they often turn up where the kings don't expect them to be.'

Next up is Lords and Ladies, I had asked the library to order it, but never heard back from them, so I'll have to chase it up. I can't remember anything about this one, so I'm going in like Blind Io...