A (possibly going to be growing for quite a while) thread: So a friend of mine finally started reading Terry Pratchett recently, after years of “You really should...” (apparently all it took was someone *else* saying “You really should...” but anywhoo...) #discworld

As I own about 90% of them, she ended up borrowing them from me, which rekindled my love for them, not having read any in years. This is partly because I’m too scared to read the last one he wrote. His writing meant a huge deal to me as a teenager...

... and I kept pretty much up to date with the newest books, except for the Tiffany Aching series. I’m not sure why the YA labeling of those books made me a little “...okay, I then guess these are not for me then... I’ll stick to the grown up Discworld.”

(I also only recently discovered that “Maurice & His Educated Rodents”, another one I haven’t read, was even part of the series, as I thought it was an unrelated kid’s book...)

So, after seeing my friend enjoy them so much, I decided that I wanted to do something I’ve never done before, which is read them chronologically, having bought them on a “okay, I like the look of this one.” basis, (with my pocket money), or what I found in 2nd hand bookstores.

So, I guess this thread is just gonna be some thoughts I’m having on them as I go through them, if anyone is at all interested in “reading along”, as it were...

So, straight off the bat... I’m not a fan of “The Colour Of Magic”... sorry... I kept thinking of something Neil Gaiman said in a documentary I watched recently along the lines of “You don’t start with ‘The Colour Of Magic’...”

There are obviously some brilliant ideas. While Rincewind is pretty low down in my “favorite character list” and his series has never really been the one I’ve gravitated towards, I do love The Luggage...

I think what bothers me is the pacing. I know I’ve been pretty tired lately, but I found myself muttering “Get on with it!” quite a few times during the dragon section. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but, for me it just lacked “direction”, maybe?

Also, I was really surprised at how “mean” Death (my favorite character yes of course no surprises there) is in it, and really interesting to see how the character grew in the series, something which I’m certain is touched on in “Mort”, one I’m really looking forward to...

What is really incredible to see is just how different tone wise TCOM is from it’s sequel, “The Light Fantastic”. There is some madness there, bubbling and brewing but it’s juuuuuuuuust not quite there yet...

Where as TLF has all the pieces in place for how the rest of the series will be. Footnotes start featuring more. The Librarian appears. The Unseen University features prominently. Death’s domain. Everything just pops, and the writing, I think, is funnier.

I guess The Colour Of Magic and The Light Fantastic are kind of like seasons 1 and 2 of Blackadder... all the ingredients are there but there’s just a certain somethin somethin that hasn’t jelled yet.

Also, unrelated, but is now a good time to point out how surprised I was to discover that I am the same age as The Colour Of Magic?? I always thought of them as “Things From The 90s” but I guess that’s when they became massively popular...?

But yeah, I think the last time I delved into these two books was watching the “meh” adaptation with Sean Astin as Twoflower which... yeah... I dunno... Samwise the character ain’t... Anywhoo...

If you got this far, you are of my people. More of this to come as it goes!

The Light Fantastic.

These early two are way more “other universes are very much an accessible thing” than I remember the rest of the series to be, such as the airplane scene in TCOM and “one of *those* shops...” in TLF.

Also, there’s a strange feeling of “Yeah, I guess these stories *do* take place on the back of a giant turtle, don’t they...” in these. I mean, yes, I get that this is quite integral to the plot, especially in TLF, but...

... besides for “The Fifth Elephant” (if I remember correctly), the later stories kinda just gloss over it...

After reading about the Mage Wars mentioned in TCOM, I did have a slight pang of “If someone were to take over the Discworld property, would we inevitably get a “Silmarillion”/“prequel” type book...?”

The Light Fantastic.

Due to my tummy having an overactive imagination, this morning I finished TLF and moved on to the next one, “Equal Rites”. I’m on the fence about how “spoilerifique” I want this thread to be, so I guess a SPOILER warning is now in effect... Spoilers over when you see the witch...

I’ve been looking forward to rereading this one for a while. I always wondered what happened to Esk and felt she should have popped up in more of the stories. I was really happy to hear that she does finally return, 30 or so books later in one of the Tiffany Aching books...

...but my brother managed to spoil something else about that series that I might have not wanted to know going in to it... you ready? SPOILER: Granny Weatherwax dies at the beginning of the last book, and I am not ready.

As I’m using this read through as an excuse to fill all the gaps and work my way up to the very last one, this is something I have been very aware of for ages. I have heard snippets of her preparing to meet Death. And again, I am not ready for it.

I love Granny, like I think many fans of this series do, and it makes so much sense to end it with her passing, seeing how much of the overarching heart she represents, almost a personification of the overall “moral compass” of all of them..

(...along with Vimes... I was so happy to see him return in “Raising Steam”, the last “grown up” novel,
giving him a bit of a well deserved curtain call...)

Granny is very much the reason I’ve been putting off reading the last one,besides for the very FINAL “this is it. No more new stories after this.” When I eventually do get to it. Again, I’m not ready to say goodbye her, but I’m looking forward getting to spend some time with her.

Okay, SPOILERS OVER.