Quote:
Originally Posted by ahi
Sounding better and better...
Is the series sort of a satire of the High Fantasy genre? Or more just a light-hearted/quotidianized take on it?
- Ahi |
That is how the author started the series, as a spoof of the High Fantasy novels. However, it sort of took on a life of its own.
I realize that he is not to everyone's taste, but I happen to think that Pratchett is a genius. Right up there with the greats of English (Language) Literature. It takes a great writer to keep me not just entertained, but enthralled, and Pratchett does that to me.
As for the folks who started the first book in the series, and put it down, only to wonder if they should give it a second try, I started "Atlas Shrugged" at least three times before I got past page 50, and then it turned into one of the best books I ever read. Sometimes you just have to keep hacking away at the stone to uncover the gems.
And, I am with those who say, screw the complex charts. Just Google "Discworld publication order" and go with that. Anything else is like trying to read a great novel by starting with Chapter 7, and then reading Chapter 22, and then Chapter 1, and generally skipping haphazardly around the book from then on. The central characters don't evolve properly if you don't give them a chance. Backstory is key in this series and the only way to get the full view is starting with book one and working your way through ... in publication order.