Discworld

[BenLuke]

Considering my avatar is Commander Sir Samuel Vimes himself, I'm certainly a fan.

I really need to get back to my odd reading them, right after i finished the ten or so books in my backlog right now. . .

[Astro Creep]

Thanks for the recommendations! I decided to pick up Guards! Guards!, and I'm halfway through Reaper Man at the moment. Gotta say, Death might become my favorite fiction character ever if things keep up.

God I love the art on the earlier books. That style is seared into my brain. At first I couldn't figure out why they changed it... then I found out the guy who made them died.

Look at this cover art for Small Gods:

http://www.fusiondro...l1c8o1_1280.jpg

Most genre book covers seem to be by artists who don't know nad don't care about the books, but these covers have a ridiculous amount of detail that comes directly from the pages of the book. I wonder if he read all of them or if they just gave him some highlights or something.

Hah, one of his covers depicts a character with glasses with four actual eyes because I suppose he was described like that in the book: http://www.lowbird.c...t-fantastic.jpg

Yeah, Kirby's work was phenomenal. It's really disappointing that the only paperbacks that are readily available in my area are ones with covers like this:

http://www.lspace.or...-of-magic-2.jpg

There's just no excitement in that cover style.

Also, I found out just a few days ago that there were a few animated miniseries that aired back in the 90s. Bit of a neat coincidence, since I had Christopher Lee's voice in mind when reading Death's lines in Mort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB85j6EfotA&feature=share&list=PL63A2ADA5525B939E

[Sorbicol]

Comes late to the conversation:

As one of the UK listeners of idle thumbs (arriving via 3 moves ahead) Terry Prattchet's Discworld series is a sequence of books I've grown up with and been reading since I hit my teenage years. I'm now well into my late 30s. They are, in my opinion, some of the best works of UK fiction over the last 30 years or so. Some of them are genuine delights and well worth any book review: Mort, Guards Guards, Small Gods and my personal favourite Moving Pictures, are some of the most point satirical ruminations on the nature of death, authority, religion and Hollywood you are ever likely to read anywhere. To be sure the are a few disappointments in the series - Pyramids and Jingo spring to mind - but only really when taken in context of just how good the rest of the books are.

Since his diagnosis of early onset Altzimers his output hasn't noticeably dropped yet (although I know he dictates his books now rather than typing them himself) but the quality has improved once again. He has also concentrate on clearly his favourite character, His Grace Sir Samuel Vimes which is no bad thing. I suspect of all his characters he is the one he most identifies with in the end.

If you can find them, Sky TV over here in the UK did a series of adaptations of some of this books a few years ago. Some are better than others - The Colour of Magic didn't really hit the mark, but the Hogfather and Going Postal are both much better efforts and, if you can track them down that side of the Atlantic (which shouldn't be that hard considering Sky and Fox are owned by the same antichrist) then I would recommend them.

[BenLuke]

The Discworld TV adaptions are both on US Netflix, which reminds me a really should get around to watching them at some point, since the first part of Colour of Magic is the only one I gotten around to so far.

[Merus]

I think the Colour of Magic adaptation suffered from being based on some of the weaker material; The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are both fantasy parody rather than the satirical fantasy the Discworld became.

[tegan]

I just recently read Equal Rites. Early Pratchett is a little hard to get into at times. I'm currently reading Small Gods and enjoying it, though. It's particularly to read after having read Carpe Jugulum a few weeks back.

[Ucantalas]

Well, this is quite the coincidence. Last night I started reading "The Colour Of Magic". I had read one of the Discworld books a few years ago ("Making Money", I believe it was called?) and loved it, so I decided to start reading more of the Discworld books.

And then this popped up today. Neat!

[Merus]

I find it ironic that Pratchett appeals most to nerds but the nerd way to read long-running series, by starting at the beginning and going on, is the sub-optimal way to get into Pratchett because the later books are so much better than the earlier ones. Even Monstrous Regiment, which I didn't much care for, is better than The Colour of Magic.

[TheLastBaron]

Well at least that's better than if you did the same thing but the later books were the worse ones.  If you're going to read his early books the best time is before you've read his stronger ones.

[Twig]

I'd rather read shit before gold than gold before shit. U:

 

Also Color of Magic is still really good to someone who hasn't experienced his later stuff where he's much improved as a writer. I struggled through it when I started rereading the series, but that's mostly because I KNEW it got better, and not because it was strictly BAD. Though I suppose an argument could be made in that regard.

[Ucantalas]

Well I finished Color of Magic and am about halfway through "The Light Fantastic".

I am loving these books so far.

[Badfinger]

My favorite Discworld novels are definitely the Night Watch books, with Night Watch probably being my favorite. Thud! is also a great read. The first one I ever read was Thief of Time, so that has a special place for me. Rincewind seems so long ago and far away now.

 

As much as Vimes is my favorite engine for a plot (and I would argue the most complete character), my favorite character is Vetinari. Can't get enough of that enigmatic semi-benevolent absolute dictator.

[osmosisch]

Vetinari is the man you wish your nation's leader could smell like.

[tegan]

I just finished up Small Gods today! Any recommendations for what to read next?

[Thyroid]

Tegan.

 

I'd do Guards! Guards!

[tegan]

I know there's a preferred reading order, but I've been pretty much reading them in whatever order I feel like. I've lightened the ones that I've read here:

 

 

 

Personally I'm leaning toward trying to track down a copy of Men at Arms, unless someone can think of a more appropriate next entry.

[Badfinger]

What characters or themes do you like best in the books? If you're looking for the real evolution of Vimes and the watch, it happens in Men At Arms. That book was also written chronologically close to Small Gods.

[Ben X]

You told me you hadn't finished The Light Fantastic - that doesn't deserve a lightening!

[tegan]

I read Light Fantastic years ago. I have no clue where you got that idea.

 

I picked up Men At Arms at the bookstore today. Dis gon' be good.

[Ucantalas]

There, just finished The Light Fantastic last night. These are some great books. I guess I'll continue by using that chart posted earlier, as it was only coincidence that led to me reading two Rincewind books in a row, and I feel like I should see his stuff through.

[Ben X]

I read Light Fantastic years ago. I have no clue where you got that idea.

 

Oh, weird. I must have an Octavo spell stuck in my head messing up my memories or something.

[Sorbicol]

I think it pays to read the first 3 watch novels in sequence - Guards Guards, Men at Arms and then Feet of Clay. That tracks the evolution of the watch from the arrival of Carrot, the role Vetinari develops for Vimes and how the watch then becomes what it is. You'll at least know who all the characters are in the other books (from Detritus through to Cheery Littlebottom) if you do that.

[tegan]

Finished Men at Arms today. Good stuff! Yesterday I preemptively picked up The Fifth Elephant since I knew I only had half a book or so left at the time, thinking it was the next unread book in the Watch series. Looks like Jingo's the actual next one, but oh well.

[Badfinger]

The Fifth Elephant is awesome and one of the books I've read multiple times based on this process for reading: Acquire need to read a book -> See familiar book on top of pile -> Read that book.

 

It's one of the more complicated books, plotwise. There's a lot going on.

[Tanukitsune]

What are those green novels in that image you posted, Tegan? I've never even heard of those books and I though I read them all!