Admiral Euphoria's Random Banter Thread of Delusional Grandeur #124

[CurlyKitGirl]

I've heard a few chaps and ladies here mention some obscure fellow named Terry Pratchett as a sort of man who occasionally writes a few words that are nice to look at, and I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion as to where I should should start with his pretty scribbles. I think they'd make a decent enough gift for myself, as I am fond of the occasional scribble.

Move over!
Resident Pratchett fangirl and 'expert' coming through!

There are several arcs in the Discworld series as well as standalones. The arcs are:
Rincewind/Wizards Arc: The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic (these two are the first two books, directly follow on from one another and are generally regarded as some of the poorest in the series; a more straight up parody of the heroic fantasy genre. Good, but not representative of the series as it grows up) about the world ending, Sourcery (world going to end via magic), Eric (demons!), Interesting Times (potential war must be averted), The Last Continent (Rincewind must save 'Australia'!), Science of the Discworld I, II and III (technically, these three are 50% science, 50% story and very, very good) (save ROundworld (Earth) from various things) and finally the upcoming Unseen Academicals (Wizards + football) to be released in the UK in October.
Generally this is seen as the 'weakest' arc of the lot; but I'd still recommend Interesting Times and The Last COntinent out of these.
The Witches/Tiffany Arc: Equal Rites (non - indicative of how the arc truly is later on - this arc is more about taking and deconstructing literature. Shakespeare, fairy tales and vampires all come under attack), Wyrd Sisters (Macbeth + Discworld), WItches Abroad (fairly tales + Discworld), Lords and Ladies (Midsummer Night's Dream and faery lore (especially Celtic) + Discworld), Maskerade (Phatom of the Opera + Discworld), Carpe Jugulum (vampyres + Discworld). The witch arc then fades into the Tiffany series 'for children'; this goes: The Wee Free Men, A Hat Fll of Sky, Wintersmith and the upcoming I Shall Wear Midnight to be released next year.
This is a divisive arc, some like it, others don't; but I'd recommend all of them except Equal Rites.
The Death Arc: What's it like to be Death? This arc finds out. Mort (Death gets an apprentice), Reaper Man (Death is made redundant and mortal, things stop dying and a subplot happens), Soul Music (Death goes on holiday and his granddaughter takes over. Rock music is involved), Hogfather (Death takes over the Hogfather's (Discworld Father Christmas') job, Thief of Time (time starts going wrong. The civil service is involved. And monks). The latter can also be argued as a stand alone, but Susan is involved heavily so I class it here.
This is one of the best arcs in the series and pretty much everyone loves it. Mort is definitely the weakest of them; Reaper Man is often touted as one of the best book in the entire series. A view with which I agree. Death appears in every single Discworld book bar one, and he's probably the most popular character; definitely in the top three for most.
The Watch Arc: Mystery and political intrigue in Ankh - Morpork (mostly). Guards! Guards! (here be dragon. Vetinari demonstrates how awesome he is despite being a minor character.), Men At Arms (a new weapon is going around assassinating people. The Watch investigates), Feet of Clay (who's going around killing harmless old men? Who's trying to kill the Patrician? Vetinari displays more awesome despite being a minor character), Jingo (Ankh - Morpork goes to war! Vimes and Vetinari, despite being only a secondary character, displays yet more awesome), The Fifth Elephant (Vimes goes on a diplomatic mission, he displays more awesome. A relic gets stolen), Night Watch (Vimes is sent back in time; he and Young!Vetinari display more awesome), Thud! (species difficulties and an evil entity all revolve around a board game).
Probably the best arc and has a lot of fantastic writing and characters. Vimes is regarded as one of the best, most rounded characters in the series. I'd recommend all these books, but Night Watch and Thud! are probably the best.
The Moist (von Lipwig) Arc: Going Postal (Ankh - Morpork's Post Office gets revitalised), Making Money (same as the previous, but with a Royal Mint). People tend to love the former, and see the second as a rehash. The third is heavily hinted to be about taxes. GOing Postal's the most recommended from here.
Standalone: Pyramids (Egypt + Discworld), Moving Pictures(Discworld + cinema), Small Gods (a novice is on a misson from God Om. Currently a tortoise.), The Truth (Ankh - Morpork gets its first newspaper), The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (a 'childrens' book. Pied Piper of Hamlin + Discworld), Monstrous Regiment (a woman cross dresses and joins the army; Vimes cameos and pretty much steals the book), The Last Hero (a graphic novel which is basically a crossover of the Rincewind and Watch arcs; very, very good and the artwork is amazing).
Hands down, Small Gods is the best of these, then The Truth. Monstrous Regiment is the weakest of these. By miles.

Non - Discworld:
The Johnny Trilogy - kids gets involved in various hijinks.
The Bromeliad Trilogy - nomes [sic] try to find their home.
The Carpet People - his first ever book.
Strata - the very tentative beginnings of Discworld are seen here.
The Dark Side of the Sun - can't remember. Never read.
Good Omens - the Anitchrist has been mislead and the Apocalypse is due to happen in a few days! Cowritten with Neil Gaiman.
Nation - a catastrophe on an islands leads to a coming of age story and revolution of society.
Recommendations: GOOD OMENS and NATION! You read them now! Awesome. Especially Good Omens.

Thus ends my list. And it's entirely complete. Not including the almanacs and extras, Flocklore of the Discworld or the book about the cat. I think.
And see the films.