Reading Discworld!

[Kato]

Small Gods tends to be regarded as (one of) the best standalone books in the series for good reason. I'm sure there are people who will take offense at it but most consider it a well done story on the subject, very much representative of the best of his abilities.
I'd say it's the best book to read if you want to get a taste of the man, though not all other stories can quite keep up to the high standard.

[Cozzer]

Small Gods is one of my top-tier Pratchett books. It's either in my personal top five or pretty close.

[lord_khaine]

Small Gods are indeed exceptional in the amount of general wisdom it introduces.
And the last scene is one of the most awesome ones in all of Discworld.

[Lemmy]

Indeed. It's a dark, but ultimately optimistic book, IMO. It's one of the best Discworld book's I've read so far.

Tomorrow, I'll start on "Lords and Ladies".

[Eldan]

OOh. That one may be my favourite, if only because it riffs on some of my favourite mythology.

[halfeye]

I own five or six of the books, I read many more from libraries, probably as many as half overall.

I'd really like to see a collection, mostly because it ought to be a cheaper way to get all the books. I'm not seeing a complete collection on Amazon, if there ever was one I'm assuming it's sold out.

Comparing the normal size paperback Eric to the rest is a mistake, you have to see the full size (huge) illustrated version.

[Rodin]

I own five or six of the books, I read many more from libraries, probably as many as half overall.

I'd really like to see a collection, mostly because it ought to be a cheaper way to get all the books. I'm not seeing a complete collection on Amazon, if there ever was one I'm assuming it's sold out.

Comparing the normal size paperback Eric to the rest is a mistake, you have to see the full size (huge) illustrated version.

I doubt you would ever see a complete collection. The full list of published Discworld stories comes in at a whopping 47. Now, that 47 does include several short stories, but also omits things like The Science of Discworld series that brings the full list up to around the same number. It's still far too large to sell as a single product. I have two entire shelves on my bookcase dedicated to Pratchett, and my collection is by no means complete. Doing it digitally would work I suppose, but there's no real incentive for the publisher to make a cheap digital collection.

[Cozzer]

Tomorrow, I'll start on "Lords and Ladies".

That's another of my top-tier favorites. Have a nice read!

[Lemmy]

I doubt you would ever see a complete collection. The full list of published Discworld stories comes in at a whopping 47. Now, that 47 does include several short stories, but also omits things like The Science of Discworld series that brings the full list up to around the same number. It's still far too large to sell as a single product. I have two entire shelves on my bookcase dedicated to Pratchett, and my collection is by no means complete. Doing it digitally would work I suppose, but there's no real incentive for the publisher to make a cheap digital collection.

I found it on a bookstore near my house. Apparently the shop also sells used books, and this particular collection belonged to one of the store's owners. I was particularly impressed for it being in English, rather than translated to my country's language. And in great condition too! Later, it turned out to be an edition that keeps a few details like Azazel's Big YES appearing after turning a page, which I've been told was lost in some American editions.

I don't think I had ever spent so much money on books all at once... But my curiosity got the better of me... And I'm happy it did!

Probably the greatest stroke of luck I had in... Well... Ever.

In any case, I've been visiting the shop far more often since then.

[Lemmy]

Lords and Ladies

Finished "Lords and Ladies" today (took me a bit longer than usual because of work stuff).

And by the gods... This is another Pretchett book that entered my list of favorites!

The whole premise is pretty interesting already (witches fending off an invasion by the fair folk), but as usual, it's Sir Terry Pratchett's amazing writing that turns a cool idea into something wonderful!

PTerry's creativity, eloquence and understanding of human nature shine through the story, page after page!

The narration itself is even more fun and poignant than ever. I feel like I could quote a random passage of the book every minute and sound clever every time!

The humor actually made me LOL a few times. Something very rare.

As usual, the characters are so unique and well-written that they almost feel like real people. It's always fun to see Granny Weatherwax, but I was surprised by how much Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick grew on me. I was actually excited with almost childish glee whenever they did something badass... Which is almost all the time in the last 1/3 of the book.

Magrat's growth, in particular was an unexpected but welcome development. The scene where she gets fed up and casually (and mercilessy) kicks the asses of the elves who took Shawn hostage was amazing. I remember whispering the equivalent in Portuguese of "Holy ****ing ****!" to myself when the scene starts with an elf getting a bolt to the eye!

Once again, a Discworld book does a Shakespeare parody way better than I ever thought possible!

Now, on to "Men at Arms", which I'm guessing stars the City Watch, so I'm already hyped!

[Tvtyrant]

I doubt you would ever see a complete collection. The full list of published Discworld stories comes in at a whopping 47. Now, that 47 does include several short stories, but also omits things like The Science of Discworld series that brings the full list up to around the same number. It's still far too large to sell as a single product. I have two entire shelves on my bookcase dedicated to Pratchett, and my collection is by no means complete. Doing it digitally would work I suppose, but there's no real incentive for the publisher to make a cheap digital collection.

Most of the books aren't that long though. This website makes some weirdly deep analytics of diskworld novels. In 10 pt calibri font you could fit the longest novel into 150 pages, the shorter ones under 100. You could by some simple breakdowns stuff the whole collection into a 5 volume hard bound small font collection, each roughly 1,000 pages long and on bible paper. This would involve really smushing and rearranging the pages, but it is doable.

[Lemmy]

Well... Every Discworld book has an audio-book version. Does that count as "cheap digital collection"?

[Rynjin]

Now, on to "Men at Arms", which I'm guessing stars the City Watch, so I'm already hyped!

Yeah! All the Watch novels are great, and consistently get better with each iteration.

The Watch (and Vimes especially) are my favorite batch of "main characters" in the Discworld series, closely followed by Moist, then Weatherwax and co.

[Cozzer]

Men at Arms is a contender for my favorite Discworkd book, period. It helps that Carrot is my favorite character.

[Wraith]

I'm going to suggest a possibly controversial opinion - Men At Arms is better than Guards! Guards!.

Don't get me wrong; I like Guards! Guards! a lot. I just happen to like jaded, angry Sam Vimes quite a bit more than when he's sober and prone to monologue as sometimes happens in later books, and Men At Arms is peak-jaded mixed with a more refined and fleshed out version of trolls, dwarfs and Ankh Morpork in general.

The Watch (and Vimes especially) are my favorite batch of "main characters" in the Discworld series, closely followed by Moist, then Weatherwax and co.

I have to admit, I'm a little bit surprised - yet gratified - to hear that. I too am a big fan of Moist, but at the same time, a lot of people I've spoken with don't like him very much. Then again, this was back when Going Postal! had not long come out, so it's nice to see a bit of a shift since then.

[Evil DM Mark3]

I personally prefer Night Watch of the Watch books, although I have a soft spot for almost all of the Discworld books. I lost interest in the Science of the Discworld books and there are four main (ish) series books I've never re-read, Colour of magic, Light Fantastic, Soul Music and Amazing Maurice (hence the ish).

If you are new to Discworld my usual recommendation for a starting point is actually The Truth. Its a good story from the more developed but pre-enbuggerance era so the writing is at its best, its a standalone so you have no continuity to worry about, it is in and spoofing a genre most are familiar with and while it does use the Discworld setting it eases you in slowly, rather than a lot of the books where a lack of familiarity with Discworld can be a bit jarring.

[tyckspoon]

I personally prefer Night Watch of the Watch books, although I have a soft spot for almost all of the Discworld books.

Most of the people I know who read Discworld share this opinion, but I think a lot of it is because Night Watch is in a lot of ways the conclusion of the Watch books. I don't think it'll have the same weight if you try to jump to it without reading most of the previous Watch ones, especially where Sam's story is concerned.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I'm going to suggest a possibly controversial opinion - Men At Arms is better than Guards! Guards!.

Not sure that's so controversial? While they are all easily in my top 10, G!G! < MaA < FoC. I have all three as an omnibus edition, and it just keeps getting better and better. Jingo, after those three, is quite the disappointment, and I've only felt the need to re-read it once, which is honestly a mark of shame for discworld novels. Fifth Elephant is back to good (although not as good as G!G!), but it's more the first novel of the solo adventures of Vimes (which reaches its personal apex in Nights Watch).

Grey Wolf

[farothel]

I like Men at Arms because it's the first appearance of delphine angua von überwald. She's a good counterpoint to both Carrot and Sam.

[The New Bruceski]

I'm going to suggest a possibly controversial opinion - Men At Arms is better than Guards! Guards!.

Don't get me wrong; I like Guards! Guards! a lot. I just happen to like jaded, angry Sam Vimes quite a bit more than when he's sober and prone to monologue as sometimes happens in later books, and Men At Arms is peak-jaded mixed with a more refined and fleshed out version of trolls, dwarfs and Ankh Morpork in general.

I think Vimes goes through the biggest changes in his books. They're not unearned and they're (usually) logical but with every book it takes me a bit to adjust to the "new" Vimes.

[Wraith]

Not sure that's so controversial?

Maybe it's just the circles in which I hang out? The general consensus that I have come across is that the earlier books are better, with a peak somewhere around Interesting Times or Hogfather.

Personally I find that far too cynical - the first book I particularly disliked was Monstrous Regiment, but even that was followed up with Going Postal and Making Money which were all great.

Your Mileage May Vary, of course.

[Rodin]

Maybe it's just the circles in which I hang out? The general consensus that I have come across is that the earlier books are better, with a peak somewhere around Interesting Times or Hogfather.

Personally I find that far too cynical - the first book I particularly disliked was Monstrous Regiment, but even that was followed up with Going Postal and Making Money which were all great.

Your Mileage May Vary, of course.

Having Interesting Times (1994) or Hogfather (1996) as the peak still leaves Men At Arms (1993) on the upwards slope, and at a significantly higher position than Guards Guards (1989).

For me, Guards Guards is at the tail end of Pratchett's "figuring out what I have created" phase, with Men At Arms being the first of the Watch novels to truly define the characterization of the Watch going forward. My somewhat controversial opinion is that it's better than Feet of Clay.

I would peg the downward slope as being around the same point as you - I still really enjoyed Monstrous Regiment, but it wasn't as good as Night Watch and I never enjoyed Moist's adventures as much as some.

[Cozzer]

Personally, I loved both Monstrous Regiment and Going Postal and consider them both as part of the Discworld "golden era", but I found Making Money pretty forgettable and even boring at times (which is a pity, because Moist had a lot of potential as a main character).

Regarding the Watch books, Men at Arms and Feet of Clay are my favorites. I agree that Jingo is a bit sub-par, though I still like it, and Fifth Elephant is almost as good as my favorites. I could never get into the later ones as much... Night Watch is a great book, but I like Vimes as leader of the Watch rather than as a solo protagonist. He gets a bit... dare I say it, Mary-Sue-ish in later books.

[Friv]

Honestly, I've never felt there was a golden era; it was ups and downs all the way through. Re-reading Interesting Times was a little bit painful; it is not actually a very good book. On the other hand, I think Monstrous Regiment is one of my favourites.

I don't think there's a real decline until Unseen Academicals, which is just a bit too complicated to fully gel for me, and then after that things start to get worse.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Side-plug, while I haven't re-read Soul Music, if you can track it down and can get past the Cosgrove Hall style animation, the Cosgrove Hall adaptation is very good indeed. My feeling is that that story is so much about the music that the inability to hear it is a real hindrance.

[Calemyr]

Moist as a character is one of my favorites, but his books kinda let me down. This is mainly because they follow the same opponent type and pattern. They're political stories in a setting where politics is usually the punch line, so enemies like Gilt and the Lavishes fail to carry the heft they by rights should. However, I adore Moist's ability to think, his sense of theatrics, and just the mentality that says "if you're falling to your death, turn it into a swan dive - make your last moment your finest". Raising Steam is the one Discworld book I just couldn't bring myself to finish - it didn't feel right.

The Watch strike me as always a good read. Yes, Vimes does get a bit Mary Sue-ish in the later books, where the narrative bends over backwards to give him his way. Thud! is the start of it, with the Where is My Cow scene being awesome in the small scope but absurd in the broader scope. Although Jingo's ending was a little Sue'd, the baked in What-If component made it rather powerful to me. Even then, however, the whole team dynamic of the line really is fantastic - the story rarely lets you focus on one character long enough to get bored of them, but does focus on them long enough to really get a feel for them. I must say, though, that Angua is always at her best as a cameo in non-Watch books. She is a special treat that just makes Monstrous Regiment so very much better.

[Lemmy]

Men at Arms

So... I finished "Men at Arms" last Friday, but didn't really have time to post before now.

The plot itself isn't very interesting IMO, but that is more than compensated by the fact that apparently the Night Watch books have the highest concentration of cool character per page.

Carrot, Vimes and Vetinari (whose name I just now realized is a pun with the Medici's family name) are all among my favorite characters in the Discworld series. I find it fascinating how all three of them really do care about Ankh-Morpork, but have completely different approaches when it comes to leadership and how to best serve the city and its population. Every time I think the characters can't get more interesting, PTerry finds a way to prove me wrong.

The new recruits are also a delight to read. Angua in particular made for a great read, and I liked seeing Gaspode again (I love how he describes dogs... Half-wolves, half-humans). Cuddy and Detritus' developing friendship, although predictable, was fun and heart-warming... And Cuddy's death saddened me greatly (I half-expected him to return as a ghost or zombie when he complained about not being properly buried, but alas, Carrot made sure he went to the grave very well armed, so I guess Cuddy's journey on the Discworld is over).

My one complaint is that the book sometimes feel a bit too... implausibly coincidental? I don't know how to explain, like things happen not because they are the organic consequences of past events, but because the author needed them to happen in order for the story to reach the end he had in mind. It's not super bad in that aspect, but it did bother me on occasion.

Still, it didn't detract from my enjoyment, as the true value of this book is definitely the characters (and Pratchett's usual incredibly insightful remarks). It shows that even a very simple plot (a generic murder mystery... one the reader knows the answer for way before the characters do, at that!) can still make an incredible story when you have clever writing and great characters... And if there's something that Sir Terry Pratchett gave to Discworld in spades, it's clever writing and great characters.

All in all, a great book... I feel like the series has been on a roll ever since "Guards! Guards!". Every book since then has been really good! Although some of my favorite character moments in the franchise are from "Sourcery", I can't deny that the writing in general got a lot stronger since that book. To the point where's it's difficult not to devour each new book in 2 or 3 days. I hope this trend never ends!

Next, it's "Soul Music"... Which I would know is a Death book even if the title didn't imply it... Because I have a cool poster of Death playing guitar with the words "SOUL MUSIC" written in bigass letters at the top!

Here I go!

[The New Bruceski]

Be warned, 90% of the words in Soul Music are rock puns. How you interpret that warning is up to you.

[Fyraltari]

the Night Watch books have the highest concentration of cool character per page.

This only gets truer and truer.

And Cuddy's death saddened me greatly (I half-expected him to return as a ghost or zombie when he complained about not being properly buried, but alas, Carrot made sure he went to the grave very well armed, so I guess Cuddy's journey on the Discworld is over).

Oh man, that dwarf was the best.

My one complaint is that the book sometimes feel a bit too... implausibly coincidental? I don't know how to explain, like things happen not because they are the organic consequences of past events, but because the author needed them to happen in order for the story to reach the end he had in mind. It's not super bad in that aspect, but it did bother me on occasion.

Really? I don’t remember anything like that, but it has been a while.

All in all, a great book... I feel like the series has been on a roll ever since "Guards! Guards!". Every book since then has been really good!

And it will stay on that roll for a good while.

Although some of my favorite character moments in the franchise are from "Sourcery", I can't deny that the writing in general got a lot stronger since that book. To the point where's it's difficult not to devour each new book in 2 or 3 days. I hope this trend never ends!

I remember highschool when the friend who had given me a copy of Good Omens started lending me his Discworld books, of which he own the first dozen or so. I’d read them in one night and ask him if he would lend me the next one the day after. Soon enough I had to buy my own and started lending him my books.

Next, it's "Soul Music"... Which I would know is a Death book even if the title didn't imply it...

Who has more business with souls on the Disk?

Because I have a cool poster of Death playing guitar with the words "SOUL MUSIC" written in bigass letters at the top!

Most epic book cover evar. You may be badass, but you will never be

Spoiler: Not until you’re done with the book

Show

Death playing anti-music on a universe-creating guitar using a fragment of his own scythe as a mediator

badass.

Here I go!

I hope you like it!

[kovacsszandra]

Finished "Lords and Ladies" today (took me a bit longer than usual because of work stuff).

And by the gods... This is another Pretchett book that entered my list of favorites!

The whole premise is pretty interesting already (witches fending off an invasion by the fair folk), but https://hu.flatfy.com/ as usual, it's Sir Terry Pratchett's amazing writing that turns a cool idea into something wonderful!

PTerry's creativity, eloquence and understanding of human nature shine through the story, page after page!

The narration itself is even more fun and poignant than ever. I feel like I could quote a random passage of the book every minute and sound clever every time!

The humor actually made me LOL a few times. Something very rare.

As usual, the characters are so unique and well-written that they almost feel like real people. It's always fun to see Granny Weatherwax, but I was surprised by how much Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick grew on me. I was actually excited with almost childish glee whenever they did something badass... Which is almost all the time in the last 1/3 of the book.

Magrat's growth, in particular was an unexpected but welcome development. The scene where she gets fed up and casually (and mercilessy) kicks the asses of the elves who took Shawn hostage was amazing. I remember whispering the equivalent in Portuguese of "Holy ****ing ****!" to myself when the scene starts with an elf getting a bolt to the eye!

Once again, a Discworld book does a Shakespeare parody way better than I ever thought possible!

Now, on to "Men at Arms", which I'm guessing stars the City Watch, so I'm already hyped!

That's more than enough for me to get it and read it in the weekend. Thank you Lemmy, some fun is coming it seems :)