Comments on: The Failure to Enjoy Terry Pratchett

By: Gaute Lindkvist

Gaute Lindkvist — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have also found Terry Pratchett less fantastic than people have been claiming. However, Good Omens, which he wrote with Neil Gaiman is very good and very funny.

I would suggest picking up this book.

By: Janne

Janne — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I would suggest not starting with his first book. He was very much trying out the genre at the time, so environment and characters are all very rough and unfinished, and so it is not one of the better ones.

I’d start with either “Men at Arms” or perhaps “Wyrd Sisters”; both introduce some of the most enduring characters in that world.

By: Britt Selvitelle

Britt Selvitelle — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Also, you might want to try Going Postal, a mostly self contained novel (it hits on a few of the characters from other series in the Discword books, but is not a series itself). I found it to be a great starting point.

By: Renato Ramonda

Renato Ramonda — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ll second Janne here, and say: don’t judge PTerry from “The Colour of Magic”. It’s not really Pratchett at his best… hell, it’s not Pratchett at his average!

Good books to start reading Pratchett are Mort, Wyrd Systers or Guards! Guards!.

And he gets better and better, contrary to most authors that fire up their best in the first 1-3 books and then just dwindle, rehashing the same stuff over and over.

By: niq

niq — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I agree with your friends about Pratchett in general: he’s very funny.

I also agree with you about “the colour of magic” and his other first book (whose name escapes me): they’re worth ignoring.

FWIW, my first exposure to him was “witches abroad”, one of many I’d recommend.

By: Stoffe

Stoffe — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I like Pratchetts writing, not because it’s very funny in the first books (it’s really not), but because it is a very accurate, insightful and sometimes disturbing mirror on our world and our society. The puns, the crazy happenings and oddball characters are just thin mascara on top of some pretty profound insights.

I do agree that you should not start with the first books whether you want fun puns or real insight; they aren’t representative for what comes later, and you can always read them later for completeness, as they are fast to skim.

Also, check out the “Science of Discworld” books, for some real science beautifully explained with both facts and humour. Actually, starting with those books probably will make you read the “fiction” ones with much better eyes.

By: Phil Armstrong

Phil Armstrong — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I agree: don’t start with ‘The Colour of Magic’. TP was just getting going & he improves rapidly through the first three books or so. If you want to find out whether Pratchett is for you or not (and he might not be, but you won’t know until you’ve read one of the decent ones) then I’d try one of the later ‘standalones’: ‘Small Gods’ perhaps. ‘Guards Guards’ is another good start point…

By: Sebastian Rittau

Sebastian Rittau — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I agree with what most commenters so far have said. Especially Pratchett’s newer works are much more serious than his early works and have a real storyline. One book that got me real hooked was “Night Watch”, which features a tense, dark storyline, a real page turner for me.

By: Dalibor Topic

Dalibor Topic — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Start with Small Gods or Guards! Guards! … they are about in the middle of the journey from slapstick to dark humanism of the latter works.

By: Peter Russell

Peter Russell — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lots of people have already said this, but the first two books,The Colour of Magic, and The Light Fantastic, are definitely different from the rest. Some people like these two. Some don’t. I’m in the latter category. Everybody likes the rest, you included. Trust me.