chailattemusings:

windcalling:

chailattemusings:

windcalling replied to your post: Hm.Perhaps I should start reading some…

I CAN RECOMMEND PLACES TO START (chronological isn’t really the best way)

Please do! I’m very interested. 

okay so! fair warning: you have just embarked upon a Quest. there are multiple starting points, but if you like the books they will all end in having read approximately a metric ton of satirical fantasy.

the reason I saw not to read them chronologically is that the earliest books are comparatively pretty weak, plot-wise, and I feel they’re better when you have the world behind you.

all the books have a brief introduction to the world so there are a couple of places to start, because the Disc books can be divided by central character. you’ve got:

• the Rincewind books: about a Wizzard who runs away from everything; the first two of these are the earliest books. Generally more than a bit comedy of errors-like, except the central character is a guy who just wants to live in boredom, maybe with potatoes.
• the Death (and Susan) books: about the personification of Death and his granddaughter. Frequent themes include the creation of the self and the power of belief.
• the Witches books: about the witches! A fair number of these involve creative use of Shakespeare or fairy tales.
• the Tiffany books: vaguely related to the Witches books, a fairly standalone series of…I think it’s 4 right now.
• the Watch books: about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch and specifically Sam Vimes. These are the books that talk about politics, the nature of police work and how to make police not be awful, and the power of the city.
• the Post books: set in Ankh-Morpork, about Moist von Lipwig and the government jobs he has.
• Standalone novels: exactly as it sounds. Some are set in A-M, some elsewhere on the Disc.

personally I’d say that Small Gods is the best overall Disc book. it’s a one-off and if you want to see if you’ll like the style at all that might be a good option, as long as you don’t mind religious satire. Monstrous Regiment is the one that is far and away the most gay.

WHERE TO START: I recommend the Watch, Witches, or Tiffany books to start out with.

For the Watch books: start with Guards! Guards!, move chronologically. This one is pretty important because Vimes has probably the most developed character arc out of anyone in the Disc books and not infrequently shows up as a side character in other sub-series, so it’s easy to get confused. I’d say these are a pretty good place to start with the series as a whole when reading as an adult, especially with interest in the idea of the city as a living being.

For the Witches books: These are the ones my parents had me start out with. Wyrd Sisters is where you want to begin with these. Technically Equal Rites is part of the series and comes earlier, but really I think it should be treated as standalone and also I think it’s the weakest Discworld book as a whole. Don’t read Equal Rites unless you decide to read every single Disc book. The Witches books as a whole are good for funny retellings of pop culture: there’s a number of Shakespeares, general fairy tales, Phantom of the Opera, vampires, etc.

For the Tiffany books: I love them a lot, they’re great. Wee Free Men is the first.

If you start with the Death books, Soul Music is where I’d begin. Mort comes first but is really more backstory and also I think kind of meh in comparison. Reaper Man is also earlier and is possibly the best Death book, but I think it benefits from having the knowledge about Susan that you get in Soul Music.

if you have any questions/want elaboration on anything/want more specific-to-you recs, my figurative door is open!

Thank you so much! This is wonderfully helpful and I really appreciate a breakdown of where to start and why. I might begin with either the Witches books or the Watch books.