Disclaimer: I haven’t read all of Terry Pratchett’s books. Maybe the ones I’m yet to read will be my favourites. However, I’ve read a lot of them, so I reckon this qualifies him to be my recommended author this month, joining my previously featured authors: Daphne du Maurier, Stella Gibbons and David Wiesner.
You’ve probably heard of the Discworld series of fantasy novels. According to the official author website, there are 41 of them, beginning with The Colour of Magic (1983) and ending with The Shepherd’s Crown (2015). There are many brilliant things about these books. For a start, they’re funny and eccentric. They also parody our own world, with a fantasy spin. The recurring characters seem like old friends once you’ve read a few of the books; different books focus on particular groups of characters, such as the witches, Death and his family, the Watch (policemen) and the wizards at Unseen University (whose librarian is famously an orangutan).
My own favourite Discworld books include the Moist von Lipwig trilogy (Going Postal, Making Money, Raising Steam) and the Witches trilogy. You don’t have to read any of the series in their order of publication, although it may be a good idea to start with the first few books as an introduction to the characters. A few of the books are for a YA audience but there isn’t much difference between those and the books for adults, except for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, which is more obviously a children’s book. There are also graphic novels, atlases and guides which are based on the Discworld novels.
The late Sir Pratchett has published many other books. His quirky books for children, including the Bromeliad trilogy (Truckers, Diggers, Wings), the Johnny Maxwell trilogy and The Carpet People are all worth a read. He also collaborated with science fiction author Stephen Baxter on the Long Earth series for adults and wrote Good Omens with Neil Gaiman. Since Terry’s death in 2015 there have been new editions of his work and he’s remembered fondly by legions of fans.
Great post! It’s so strange but I don’t think I’ve ever read a Terry Pratchett book before. But I really want to now ??. What book would you recommend is a good start? I’m happy with any age range.
Thank you!! 🙂
You could try The Colour of Magic (the 1st book) which is about wizards, or Equal Rites (the 3rd) about witches.
Thanks, I’llcheck them out 🙂
I love Terry Pratchett. I’ve read them all. The man was a genius.
He was indeed! And well done for reading them all – do you have a favourite book or a favourite character?
Death is my favourite character, so I would say either Mort or Hogfather were my favourite books.
He’s a great character and I love how he talks in upper case.
This was one of my missions this year, enter into the Discworld seeries. I’m currently reading Colour of Magic, but at the very beginning. Thank you! x
Thanks Umut! I really want to re-read Colour of Magic… it’s been 16 years!
I had no idea who he was until now!
Ah, well now you know! Do you think you’ll try one of his books?
I do!
I’ve not read any of his books but I did enjoy the TV adaptations.
Also, TP turned on my town’s Christmas lights one year ?
I’ve seen Going Postal – and the book is really good 🙂
Wow – actually a brilliant famous person turning on the Xmas lights instead of a D-list celeb 😀
Ah Terry Pratchett! How I adore him! Did you ever watch Back in Black?
Glad to meet a fellow Pratchett fan!
No I didn’t watch Back in Black – I only know of the AC/DC album? Is there a Pratchett link there??
It says its not available on BBC iPlayer anymore but if you can get to watch it somehow than you absolutely should.
I did cry though.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04rnnnj
Oh it looks good – thanks for mentioning it.
It’s very good, I recommend!
I love Terry Pratchett – what an amazing human. Did you see that his final wishes included having his unfinished works destroyed by steamroller?
I agree with you there.
No, I didn’t know that about the steamroller!
Such a great post for a wonderful series!!! I love Moist too and of course adore the Librarian 😉
Aha I thought this would catch your eye 🙂