Terry Pratchett has died

Meathlass

Steve King wrote: »

An old colleague of mine used to praise his stuff to the heights but Ive yet to indulge. What order should the Discworld series be read in? Or could I just jump to the acclaimed "Small Gods" for example?

The first one was The Colour of Magic but it's certainly not the best.

There tends to be groups of books which deal with the same characters - the witches, the wizards and the University, and Vimes, Vetinari and the Watch.

Others then like Small Gods, Moving Pictures are stand alones.

I'd maybe start with the Vimes ones as they're the best but definitely try and read them in order they do follow on from each other.

GLaDOS

Meathlass wrote: »

The first one was Equal Rites but it's certainly not the best.

There tends to be groups of books which deal with the same characters - the witches, the wizards and the University, and Vimes, Vetinari and the Watch.

Others then like Small Gods, Moving Pictures are stand alones.

I'd maybe start with the Vimes ones as they're the best but definitely try and read them in order they do follow on from each other.

First one is The Colour of Magic.

I just read them in order personally.

Meathlass

The Terry Pratchett website www.terrypratchett.com has crashed with all the traffic

vetinari

Very sad news, RIP

he was by far my favorite author. Very funny, great turn of phrase and adept at creating the Ankh Morpork world.

I've been reading his books for nearly 2 decades. It's like loosing someone you knew.

Mickeroo

Meathlass wrote: »

The first one was Equal Rites but it's certainly not the best.

There tends to be groups of books which deal with the same characters - the witches, the wizards and the University, and Vimes, Vetinari and the Watch.

Others then like Small Gods, Moving Pictures are stand alones.

I'd maybe start with the Vimes ones as they're the best but definitely try and read them in order they do follow on from each other.

The first two books were The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, I thought, then Equal Rites?

I'd certainly advise reading the Rincewind, Death, City Watch or Witches books in their proper order. It's not a necessity by any means but there's little things that will make more sense.

NewCorkLad

Time to start re reading book.

Boskowski

Ye sad news. I basically learned my conversational English through him.

Was Dodger his last book then? I thought it was excellent (again).

Boskowski

vetinari wrote: »

Very sad news, RIP

he was by far my favorite author. Very funny, great turn of phrase and adept at creating the Ankh Morpork world.

I've been reading his books for nearly 2 decades. It's like loosing someone you knew.

Especially with that username.

Tony H

R.I.P Terry thanks for all the wonderfull memories ,I'm so sad,it feels like I've lost a best friend.

Fratton Fred

I'm half way through "Moving Pictures" at the moment. As all the others I've read so far, it is brilliant.

Mort is probably my favourite so far, DEATH is such a brilliant character.

RIP Terry, you were a true genius. Bonkers, but brilliant.

Sonics2k

I've grown up with Pratchett as my absolute favourite and most beloved author. His books helped me through tough times as a teenager, and also helped me get through years of insomnia simply by listening to his audiobooks.

Today, the world lost it's most gifted author and most brilliant world creator since Tolkein himself.

Pumpkinseeds

I'll miss his books, a man after my own heart.





“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”

jimgoose

Where would I be without Granny Weatherwax. "Hah! Flowers and suchlike. Dancing about without yer drawers on." RIP Pterry.

Slow Show

RIP. I've never read any of his novels, but I watched his documentary on euthanasia a few years ago and it really stayed with me, well worth a watch by anyone, and shows how interesting a man he was.

GLaDOS

Slow Show wrote: »

RIP. I've never read any of his novels, but I watched his documentary on euthanasia a few years ago and it really stayed with me, well worth a watch by anyone, and shows how interesting a man he was.

Warning: Will turn you into a blubbering mess

Lollipops23

Never read any of his books, but loved his attitude to life and his illness.

The world will be a less interesting place without him.

MetalDog

Sad to hear of this. Loved everything of his that I read.
I never watched that documentary he did about euthanasia but I suppose now's a good a time as any.

Day Lewin

Death's eye sockets glowed bluer than usual.
WE MEET AT LAST, SIR TERRY.
I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU.
MORE THAN ONE, IN FACT.

donfers

I thought he was coping with the alzheimers quite well and it wasn't progressing to fast. He has given interviews in recent times where he was coherent and articulate. I wonder what the specific cause of death was - a tremendously sad loss!

Knex*

The George Carlin of authors, in a way, although Pratchett was far more charming. Many a time he wrote something that put tears in my eyes from laughter, only to later provoke deep, cognitive, thought.

I was devastated when I first learned that he had Alzheimer's. A true genius at work.

eviltwin

I wasn't a big fan of his books but he was a legend, sad day today

dots03

I'm gutted ...read his first 20 (or so) Discworld books years ago, will have to honour his memory by reading the rest now.

My favourite piece of Pratchett wisdom has always been that (I paraphrase)...'million to one chances happen nine times out of ten'.

Cheers Terry.

MissFlitworth

Discworld taught me that it was ok to be a huge, giant obsessive nerd about something. With collectibles. I loved it so much it burnt the scarlet-at-being-seen-to-take-an-interest-publicly-in-something right out of early 20s me. I would quite like to go to a bookshop and cry right now but instead am going home to read. Who knew you could feel this sad about the passing of someone you never met?


Oh well, seat to myself on the bus because of my scary red eyes. Always an upside.

Steve King

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about what order Discworld should be read in.

Thoughts?

As the style of the series changes significantly as it progresses, reading the books in their publication order is not necessarily best. Another approach would be to read each storyline chronologically.[30]

The books take place roughly in real time and the characters' ages change to reflect the passing of years. The meeting of various characters from different narrative threads (e.g. Ridcully and Granny Weatherwax in Lords and Ladies, Rincewind and Carrot in The Last Hero) indicates that all the main storylines take place around the same period of time (end of the Century of the Fruitbat, beginning of the Century of the Anchovy). Thus, it could be seen that some of the separate books run concurrently rather than consecutively. The main exception to this rule would be the stand-alone book Small Gods, which would appear to take place at some point earlier (perhaps even centuries earlier) than most of the other stories. Even in this novel, though, Death makes his customary appearance and The Librarian makes an appearance through the use of L-Space.

Many other stories (such as The Truth and Monstrous Regiment) nominally stand alone but, nonetheless, also tie in heavily with main storylines. Many of these "standalone" stories deal with the development of the city of Ankh-Morpork into a technologically and magically advanced metropolis that readers will find analogous to real-world cities: for example, The Truth catalogues the rise of a newspaper service for the city, the Ankh-Morpork Times.

Some main characters may make cameo appearances in other books where they are not the primary focus; for example, City Watch members Carrot Ironfoundersson and Angua appear briefly in Going Postal, Making Money, and Unseen Academicals (placing those books after Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms). A number of characters, such as members of staff of Unseen University and Lord Vetinari, appear prominently in many different storylines without having specific storylines of their own.

seagull

The world is a duller place today. With a big turtle shaped hole.

kylith

Genuinely heartbroken over here. I feel like a friend has died. I found The Colour of Magic in my brother's house when I was 8 and I haven't stopped reading his stuff since.

I had the fortune to get to his signing in Eason's some years ago. He was so nice. He will be sorely missed.

fedor.2.

Gbear wrote: »

I started reading his work at 8 or 9 and never stopped. He basically taught me how to read and write.

He was so wonderful.:(

That's a lovely post

RubyGlee

So sad. Have been reading discworld all my life cant believe thats it..no more.

mayobumblebee

Very sad new. One of the very few authors that I was able to imagine the world he described. A pleasure to read.

Sad news for those that enjoyed his writing.

Also very sad that 3 elderly people died at the weekend in Tallaght Hospital because of the flu outbreak.