what disc world should I read

[madhair60]

i asked on twitter and everyone said every individual book in the series, so fucking hell. i am interested in dipping a toe into this pratchett business. i have watched the VHS of Soul Music and played the first Discworld video game starring monty python's Eric Idle, but what book should I read please? thank you.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

mort

[madhair60]

MORTIS MORTIS MORTIS MORTIS MORTIS

[Mister Six]

Read Small Gods. Except for a brief (like, one paragraph) appearance by an orangutan from the other books, it's completely self-contained. Plus, it's funny and has some great ideas, too.

If you like that, try Mort, Guards! Guards! and Wyrd Sisters.

If you like them, then go read them all in publication order (just bear in mind that the first three are a bit wonky as he was trying to work it all out).

This is the correct, answer, no need for any more replies okay thanks bye.

[Dayraven]

Most of the books are fairly standalone and reintroduce characters well, so it's easy to start pretty much anywhere. I'd pick Wyrd Sisters as a good early one — the setting's gelled a bit more than earlier books by then, turning away from high-fantasy parody to more grounded satire, and it's a first proper appearance for some good characters.

[Mister Six]

The earlier books are mostly standalone, but of course it's better to read Wyrd Sisters before the other Witches books, Wee Free Men before the other Tiffany Aching books, etc - and from about the midpoint on there's a lot of wider worldbuilding with the industrial revolution that rewards reading in publication order.

Also, "just start anywhere" risks someone picking up the early books where he didn't know what he was doing, or the later books where his mind was going.

[Jerzy Bondov]

I think Small Gods is the place to start. Far enough in that he's hit his stride, stand-alone so you don't need to read any others before (or after if you don't like it). And it's probably the best one

[samadriel]

Small Gods was the first one I read, and I've ended up reading and enjoying most of them. You can read it at any point though,  it's very much self-contained.

Mort is a smart choice for a first read,  as it's the first one where Pratchett really had an idea of what he was doing,  and it introduces the Death subseries. I'd basically read them all in order after Mort, maybe dipping back into The Colour of Magic and the Light Fantastic before Sourcery just to acquaint yourself with Rincewind. I guess you should read Equal Rites before you read Wyrd Sisters, but really Equal Rites is pretty skippable, I don't think I read it for ages.

[Mister Six]

A couple of characters from Equal Rites come back in one of the later Tiffany Aching books, so worth clocking at some point. It's short, too.

[Midas]

mort

+1

[Norton Canes]

I read Sourcery first and it got me hooked. Continuity's not really a problem, just wizards and shit innit. 

Sourcery.

[Gambrinus]

Reaper Man is good. I think it's the first one with the regular settled cast of wizards in.

Death goes on a sabbatical, things go a bit odd.

[frajer]

I read Mort first but I think it was Guards! Guards! after that which grabbed me the most. Agree with everyone who said either of them'uns.

[madhair60]

i've started Small Gods. could post thoughts if anyone intersted, but i'm bad at books

[Mister Six]

Ooh, I'm interested!

[Jerzy Bondov]

I am not interested in the slightest.