Quote:
Originally Posted by murraypaul
I'd also say that the first couple of books are not the best, and he hadn't really found the 'Discworld style' yet.
The Discworld books aren't really a series, they are a collection of sub-series set in the same universe. Pick the sub-series that sounds most interesting, and read the first in that.
There is a list of sub-series here: https://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/...Characters.pdf
It is interesting that the City Watch books are listed first. They are my favourite, and the one I would recommend to start with. I wonder if they are the most successful.
Many of the sub-series have little or no connection to others. There is very little that I would consider 'spoilers' between different sub-series. |
There is a connection that you are not getting. The places and the people (not main characters) are part of the stories. You learn about the places and the people as you go along. So by reading out of order, you miss the progression of the places and people. So it can become a jumble if you don't read in order. Also, there are sometimes offhand comments that you won't get unless you've read some previous book.
Discworld fits together when you read in order. After you've done that, reading in any order is OK. The first few books setup the framework for Discworld. You learn a lot from the first two books that you'd not know about if you don't start with them.
So when someone says that it's OK to read out of order. those are the people that have read the series. If you've not read the series, do not let these people spoil it for you because if you listen to them, Discworld will be spoiled for you. It won't be as good as it would be reading in order. It's also nice to read about the different main characters then say read all the books about a set of main characters. Terry Pratchett is a very smart man. He wrote Discworld to be read in order so you get the most enjoyment that way. And also read the Tiffany Aching books in with the rest of the Discworld books.