Sir Terry Pratchett - RIP

Never read his stuff but that is an awesome shirt. RIP

Fuck. I am not ashamed to say he has always been one of my favorite authors. I read his stuff over several times a year whenever I need a quick pick me up. From Guards Guards, The Truth, Interesting Times, Snuff, Men at Arms, Thud, Soul Music, Small Gods, Making Money, Going Postal, and many more.

Fuck fuck fuck he will be missed.

I read all of the Discworld books.

It's a very sad loss, him and all of the characters he created.

A great light has gone out of the world.

I remember reading the very first Discworld book. It didn't grab me the way it has others but it was very clever. I know he will be missed.

LachiusTZ_sl said:

Forum pals convinced me. Never read any of his stuff, going to pick up a copy of disc world

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Don't start with book 1 it was a little rough I think. Start with #8 Guards! Guards

RIP. Thief of Time and Monstrous Regiment are two of my favourites.

AngryGerbil_sl said:

I remember reading the very first Discworld book. It didn't grab me the way it has others but it was very clever. I know he will be missed.

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Go read Guards! Guards! The first few Discworld books were straight-up parodies and the series gotfarbetter once they moved past that.

Itzena beat me to the punch. Pratchett's later Discworld novels are far, far better than the first few.

The first two are really meh. I'd actually start with Small Gods.

RIP

Selix_sl said:

Don't start with book 1 it was a little rough I think. Start with #8 Guards! Guards

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Heresy. What the fuck.

I love me some City Watch, but the Rincewind books ARE Discworld. I have Anhk-Morpork fatigue this many books in, you can only write the same book about Vetinari making someone introduce a victorian invention (starting with a police force) so many times (thanks alzheimers).

I'm hoping that the reason for no Rincewind books for so long is that he wrote the final book years ago where Discworld is destroyed in a Rincewind story and it'll be released posthumously.

Probably makes me a pansie but the tiffany aching books he wrote were some of his best works. Set in discworld with a lot of weatherwax involvement.

As far as discworld proper gets I think the quality goes like this...

Vimes books

Death books

Time monks

Weatherwax books

City books that weren't vimes centric

Rincewind books

The stand alones like small God's and monstrous regiment varied too wildy to rank as a group.

Was there more than one time monks book? The one I read I'd just stick it in with DEATH since it stars Susan (one of the best books from memory though).

Monstrous Regiment was a stealth Vimes book?

Anyway I don't really get the Rincewind hate, it's the foundation of the world and basically the only set of stories which show it to you.

I can see how you would consider the lobsang book a death/Susan book. I think it kind of fits both. Regiment had very little vimes so I consider it a standalone.

I like the rincewind books, so no hate here. I just think they rest below his other series with the exception of interesting times. Yes they do set the tone for Discworld from a world building standpoint. However the quality of writing and the actual use of the setting is very different from his other works. Rincewind stuff, especially the first few, are funny books set in a magical world. Very fantasy. Very light for the most part. Whereas his other mainline series were satirical and philosophical stories that just happened to occur in a world with magic and mythology.

Probably my favorite aspect of his writings was how you knew the themes of the story just by who the book centered around. If it was a death book, then he was taking on the subject of what makes someone human. The vimes books were about change and coming to terms with how you lived life. Weatherwax books were actually the opposite, and he told stories in those about how to stay yourself no matter what the circumstances. The rincewind books at least for me didn't have much of that. They were just good stories with your classic accidental hero.

Chris_sl said:

Was there more than one time monks book?

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Large cameos in Small Gods and Night Watch, but that was it.