Years ago I read a disc world book for the first time, the wee free men, I can’t remember much except I loved it… Now I’ve bought the colour of magic and planning to slowly read them all. Is there a certain order recommended? I was planning to go by chronological order but thought I’d ask :)
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For what it’s worth Terry Pratchett (the author) suggested starting with Sourcery which is the fifth book.
Regardless, you’re in for a great time. But if the first book doesn’t quite jive, I strongly recommend following Pratchett’s advice and trying Sourcery which is a much more polished, “Discworld-y” story.
I’ve never seen a source on that suggestion to start with Sourcery. I’d certainly push people to a none-Rincewind story. Guards! Guards!, Wyrd Sisters or Small Gods.
Totally fair. I always assumed the folks who wrote the Discworld Reading Guide were telling the truth but I too haven’t actually seen a source for that.
I like the idea of Guards Guards (but I’m biased as the watch is my favourite “series”) but Small Gods might be the winner as a one off.
Yeah, its one of the things that’s always slightly ticked me off about that guide.
Excavating the history of the internet (mostly ye olde usenet groups) I couldn’t find much he had to say about Sourcery, but there was this interview where he said:
By about book four, I discovered the joy of plot. (That was Mort.) I went back a bit with Sourcery [1988], because I knew the fans wanted more of Rincewind. I didn’t particularly enjoy writing Sourcery, but it stayed on the best-seller list for three months. And then I said, “Sod the fans, I’ll do what I like.”
which doesn’t make me think he’d particularly recommend it.
STP felt that he himself was “discovering what happened” (a JRRT phrase) as he wrote, so I read them chronologically, in the same order the author did (so to speak.) There are a lot of other good options for reading order, and few bad ones, but that’s what I always tell people to do.
Ooh that’s a nice way to look at things, I rlly like that :))
Welcome to the gang!
Everyone seems to have a different view on the “best” order and I’m sure someone will be along shortly to post an overcomplicated flowchart. But honestly, there’s no harm in just reading them in order. The quality ramps up as they go and also you’ll see the characters and the world itself grow and change over time, plus you’ll get all the references to things that came prior!*
If you do read one and decide you NEED to find out more about the characters in it immediately you can always do that, but for now, eh.
* WARNING: Even after reading the entire series 100 times you will still not get ALL the references. This is normal.
Ooh thanks! Tbh I wouldn’t be opposed to getting a full blown flowchart lol. Also looking for all the references is great, it’s satisfying to find connections that change the way u see things so I’m excited for that :))
Wow ummm well…
Think I might stick to chronological order, at least for the first time… That’s a lot
I literally just picked up The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic from the library yesterday and am about to start. I was thinking about starting a Discworld community but didn’t because I haven’t read them yet, so I’ll definitely followup with some discussions here.
This has been extremely helpful for me.
Discworld Reading Guide Infographic
I’m also just starting out and have decided to go all the way around on my first journey. So far I’ve made my way through Sourcery and an about to start Wyrd Sisters.
Hope this helps!
Thank you! :)
You’re in for a wonderful ride. Discworld is among the best collections of books ever authored.
The (chronology written) first two novels were satirical romps. Once you get through to book three (Equal Rites) you’ll start to see the core story structure that makes Discworld wonderful.
The flowchart of books is essentially showing what you could call the different series. It’s mostly separating out the groups of characters that have ongoing themes book to book.
There’s also some great analysis about Discworld and how the novels fall into three groups, mostly by when they were written. Terry Pratchett was learning about his world as he wrote it, his skills, and his desire to tell different stories changed over time. The net result are the early, middle, and late eras of Discworld.
The early age (satire & formation) goes up through about Moving Pictures. This was Pratchett staring to develop the world in general and being very entertaining along he way.
The middle age is a mature world building and his early exploration of deep topic, philosophy, and learning to tell bigger stories. That lasts up through about… (I’m looking at my wall poster to remember this stuff) The Fifth Elephant or The Last Hero-ish.
Then comes the lateer books and the payoff is world changing for the reader. Pratchett’s world, storytelling, skills, and messaging have matured and it’s a confluence like few authors ever reach.
You read Wee Free Men, which is in the third era and the start the Tiffany Aching novels. It’s phenomenal! You’ll see similar styles and very raw skill in the early books that led to Wee Free Men. You’re in for a wild ride as you read Discworld, and I’m hoping you take some things away that really change your views of the world. Pratchett is just that good.
No, there’s no best way to read Discworld. Just get started and you’ll be well rewarded for doing so.
I see you’ve already gotten great advice, including the overwhelming flow chart (it is good, though!)
My 2 cents: read in whatever order you want, chronological is a great idea. And if you finish a book and think “I want to know what happens to these specific characters next!” then grab the flow chart to see which one’s next in that storyline.
Other than that, ENJOY! I’ve started a Discworld reread a couple of days ago, and these books are just so precious.
(GNU Terry Pratchett)
Thank you! :)
