Terry Pratchett

I got started reading Pratchett's Discworld novels to Jane because I couldn't help myself. I'd start out reading silently, then hit a passage that was so hysterically funny that I had to share it with Jane. But first I had to explain what was going on, so that she'd appreciate it. She appreciated the humor, but depreciated the interruptions, and eventually it became easier to read them out loud from square one. He's written a number of other series and stand-alone novels as well.

The Discworld Series

Swimming through space in a universe other than our own is Great A'Tuin, a turtle of truly astronomic size. Standing on his back are four giant elephants whose names elude me at the moment; and resting on their backs is the Discworld, the edges of which glitter with the majestic rainbows of the Rimfall. On this truly absurd planet, orbited by its own tiny sun, are set the most consistently amusing and implausible collection of novels I know. The series is divided into several subseries; I'll take them in turn.

Rincewind

The earliest concern Rincewind, the most incompetent wizard in the history of the Disc's great academy of magic, Unseen University. The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic concern Rincewind's travails while guiding Twoflower and his Luggage about the Discworld. Twoflower is the Disc's first tourist, a native of the Counterweight Continent; his Luggage is simply unspeakable. Also, hungry. These two books mostly poke fun at the sword-and-sorcery genre of fantasy, and are widely regarded as the weakest books in the series; Pratchett gets much better as he goes on.

The essence of Rincewind's life is survival; the essence of any book about Rincewind is the chase. We know he will somehow manage to stay one step ahead of those who want to kill him--or, at least, that he will escape in time. As a result, the Rincewind books tend to read as rather bizarre travelogs of strange people and dangerous places...or, more likely, dangerous people in strange places.

The Rincewind books are as follows:

• The Colour of Magic

Reviews: 1 February 1998

• The Light Fantastic

Reviews: 1 February 1998

• Sourcery

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Eric

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Interesting Times

Reviews: 1 May 1997

• The Last Continent

Reviews: 1 July 1999

The Witches

This subseries kicked off with the introduction of Granny Weatherwax in the third Discworld book, Equal Rites, hit its stride with Wyrd Sisters, and is still going strong. The series concerns the doings of the village witches of the Kingdom of Lancre, a small kingdom perched on the side of the Ramtop Mountains. The inimitable and crotchety Granny Weatherwax is the chief witch--or would be if witches held with putting on such airs, which they don't, at least while Granny is looking. Her close friend is the expansive and lusty Nanny Ogg, matriarch of the enormous Ogg clan. They are joined over time by two junior witches, Magrat Garlick and Agnes Nitt.

Over the course of the series the witches travel all over the Disc, but most of the books take place in Lancre itself, especially the priceless Wyrd Sisters. It's sort of like Macbeth, only the witches are the good guys.

The Witches books are as follows:

• Equal Rites

Reviews: 1 March 1998, 1 April 2002, 1 July 2002

• Wyrd Sisters

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 April 2002, 1 July 2002

• Witches Abroad

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 December 2002, 1 January 2003

• Lords and Ladies

Reviews: 1 May 1998, 1 December 2002, 1 January 2003

• Maskerade

Reviews: 1 October 1997, 1 January 2003, 1 May 2003

• Carpe Jugulum

Reviews: 1 June 1999

The Guards

These books concern themselves with the doings of Captain Samuel Vimes and Corporal Carrot of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch as they deal with dragons (large and small), golems, king-makers, evil weapons, assassins, and that most feared denizen of Ankh-Morpork, its ruler, the Patrician. As Pratchett himself says, Ankh-Morpork is governed on the principle of One Man, One Vote. The Patrician is the Man; he has the Vote. Titles include:

• Guards, Guards

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 January 2003

• Men at Arms

Reviews: 1 May 1998, 1 January 2003

• Feet of Clay

Reviews: 1 January 1997, 1 January 2003

• Jingo

Reviews: 1 July 1998

• The Fifth Elephant

Reviews: 1 April 2000, 1 August 2001

• Night Watch

Reviews: 1 January 2003

Death

Death has a walk-on part in every Discworld book; if anyone dies, Death is there to collect them, bones, hooded robed, scythe, and all. Riding his white horse, Binky. "Gosh!", they say, "Shouldn't there be harps and things?" NO, says Death, THERE'S ONLY ME. (That's how Death talks.)

Death's primary difficulty is that he wants to understand people. He's been watching them for the entire history of the Disc, and he wants to be like them. He's no good at it, although he does acquire a fondess for cats and curry (though not together). Hogfather, the most recent Death book, may be the best Discworld book to date. Titles include:

• Mort

Reviews: 1 March 1998, 1 April 2002

• Reaper Man

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Soul Music

Reviews: 1 May 1998, 1 February 2004

• Hogfather

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 February 2004

• Thief of Time

Reviews: 1 June 2001, 1 July 2001

Other Discworld Books

There are also a few standalone novels in the series; while involving continuing characters, they aren't really part of any of the continuing series.

The Discworld Companion, written with Stephen Briggs, is a sort of dictionary of all things Discworld.

• Moving Pictures

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Pyramids

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Small Gods

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Thief of Time

Reviews: 1 June 2001, 1 July 2001

• The Last Hero

Reviews: 1 November 2001

• The Discworld Companion

Written with Stephen Briggs. Reviews: 1 February 1999

• The Science of Discworld

With Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen Reviews: 1 November 2000

• The Truth

Reviews: 1 September 2002

• The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Reviews: 1 May 2003

• The Wee Free Men

Reviews: 1 August 2003, 1 June 2004

• Monstrous Regiment

Sam Vimes has a Cameo Reviews: 1 November 2003, 1 January 2004

The Entire Discworld

The series as a whole was written in the following order:

• The Colour of Magic

Reviews: 1 February 1998

• The Light Fantastic

Reviews: 1 February 1998

• Equal Rites

Reviews: 1 March 1998, 1 April 2002, 1 July 2002

• Mort

Reviews: 1 March 1998, 1 April 2002

• Sourcery

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Wyrd Sisters

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 April 2002, 1 July 2002

• Pyramids

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Guards, Guards

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 January 2003

• Eric

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Moving Pictures

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Reaper Man

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Witches Abroad

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 December 2002, 1 January 2003

• Small Gods

Reviews: 1 April 1998

• Lords and Ladies

Reviews: 1 May 1998, 1 December 2002, 1 January 2003

• Men at Arms

Reviews: 1 May 1998, 1 January 2003

• Soul Music

Reviews: 1 May 1998, 1 February 2004

• Interesting Times

Reviews: 1 May 1997

• Maskerade

Reviews: 1 October 1997, 1 January 2003, 1 May 2003

• Feet of Clay

Reviews: 1 January 1997, 1 January 2003

• Hogfather

Reviews: 1 April 1998, 1 February 2004

• Jingo

Reviews: 1 July 1998

• The Discworld Companion

Reviews: 1 February 1999

• The Last Continent

Reviews: 1 July 1999

• Carpe Jugulum

Reviews: 1 June 1999

• The Fifth Elephant

Reviews: 1 April 2000, 1 August 2001

• Thief of Time

Reviews: 1 June 2001, 1 July 2001

• The Last Hero

Reviews: 1 November 2001

• The Truth

Reviews: 1 September 2002

• Night Watch

Reviews: 1 January 2003

• The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Reviews: 1 May 2003

• The Wee Free Men

Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have cameos. Reviews: 1 August 2003, 1 June 2004

• Monstrous Regiment

Reviews: 1 November 2003, 1 January 2004

The Truckers Trilogy

The Truckers Trilogy is also known as the Nomes trilogy or The Bromeliad; it concerns a race of little people who have built a high civilization within the walls of a department store, and what happens to them when the store is closed and they have to move Outside. The books are intended for younger readers, and while humorous don't have the over-the-top kind of satire one expects from the Discworld.

• Truckers

Reviews: 1 June 1998

• Diggers

Reviews: 1 June 1998

• Wings

Reviews: 1 June 1998

Johnny Maxwell

Like the Truckers books, the Johnny books are juveniles; entertaining but not as satirical as the Discworld books. They concern schoolboy Johnny Maxwell and his friends in a variety of odd situations.

• Only You Can Save Mankind

• Johnny and the Dead

• Johnny and the Bomb

Reviews: 1 June 2000

Other Books

• The Carpet People

Reviews: 1 April 2001

Links of Interest

Just about anything you'd want to know about Pratchett and the world of Pratchett fandom you can find on the L-Space Web.