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Worst Discworld Books?

  • 09-09-2012 12:44pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 10,255 ✭✭✭✭


    Worst: Moving Pictures

    Second: Snuff

    Third: Making Money


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 8,237 ✭✭✭Sonics2k


    What was wrong with Moving Pictures? It introduced us to Gaspode!

    That alone made it fantastic.

    I'd never say a worst book, but Monstrous Regiment was probably my least liked.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 546 ✭✭✭gufnork


    Snuff is definitely the worst so far. Unseen Academicals wasn't the greatest either to be honest, which is a crying shame since the wizards have always been some of my favourite characters. His earlier stuff is a world apart.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 546 ✭✭✭gufnork


    Worst: Moving Pictures

    Second: Snuff

    Third: Making Money

    Actually quite liked these two though...


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 2,634 Mod ✭✭✭✭TrueDub


    I'm not a fan of the Tiffany Aching books, but my least favourite "adult" discworld book would be Hogfather.


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,460 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    Worst: Moving Pictures

    Second: Snuff

    Third: Making Money

    Looking to be banned, are you?

    If I could phrase it slightly differently, the three that I am least likely to re-read are Unseen Academicals, Witches Abroad and the Last Hero.

    I though Unseen Academicals was a bit all over the place, Witches Abroad was quite dull and the Last Hero as a picture book isn't worth going back to really (come to think about it, the where's my cows of this world probably fit into this category).

    Snuff wasn't great but it wasn't bad, and anything with Vimes gets bonus points. Likewise while Making Money was a little bit of a rehash of Going Postal (my favourite of the recent ones), it wasn't too bad and I think I have re-read it.

    But moving pictures was great, it's up there with Soul Music and Small Gods as one of the great satirical discworlds.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 27 Stevonicus


    The two Moist von Lipwig books are pretty poor in my opinion. I just find Moist irritating.

    As for Moving Pictures and Monstrous Regiment, are you taking the mickey? Moving Pictures is my favourite standalone and Monstrous Regiment is an outstanding piece of satire. Even the title is a brilliant joke in and of itself.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,255 ✭✭✭✭The_Minister


    I loved The Last Hero - it sat unread in my closet for 9 months, a forgotten Christmas present, until I pulled it out and read it in a day; it's one of my favourites for length-enjoyment ratio.

    Though it reuses jokes. But then, Pratchett often does.


    And I stand by Moving Pictures as the worst Discworld novel.

    And I loved the Hogfather.


  • Registered Users Posts: 22,198 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    Worst?!? I don't understand the question.

    Did you mean 'less brilliant', OP?


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Regional East Moderators, Regional Midlands Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators, Regional North Mods, Regional West Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Regional North East Moderators, Regional North West Moderators, Regional South Moderators Posts: 8,002 CMod ✭✭✭✭Gaspode


    Sonics2k wrote: »
    What was wrong with Moving Pictures? It introduced us to Gaspode!

    That alone made it fantastic.

    So true!
    Cant agree with any of the ones you've listed OP, I've enjoyed them all tbh.
    Got a kindle recently with the complete set of Discworld books on it, so I've gone back to the start and am making my way through them all again.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,556 ✭✭✭✭Sir Digby Chicken Caesar


    worst: monstrous regiment

    maybe I need to re-read it but I couldnt find a single thing that was worthwhile about this book when I read it originally

    second... I guess most of the recent books tie for this spot. none of them were very good at all....
    snuff was kinda ok, making money and going postal were .... decent I guess but the quality has slipped massively recently, for obvious and tragic reasons.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 546 ✭✭✭gufnork


    TrueDub wrote: »
    ... but my least favourite "adult" discworld book would be Hogfather.

    Oh my word! Least favourite? Hogfather? You're joking of course. This is up there with the very best of them. Have re-read this many times. My wife re-reads it every Christmas too. It's brilliant.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,943 ✭✭✭smcgiff


    Has to be small gods by a distance - followed by pyramids.

    Off topic:- was snuff the first "adult" book not to feature DEATH?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 546 ✭✭✭gufnork


    smcgiff wrote: »
    Has to be small gods by a distance - followed by pyramids.

    Off topic:- was snuff the first "adult" book not to feature DEATH?

    If by adult you mean discworld then yes. The only other book he doesn't appear in as far as I know is Wee free men.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,920 ✭✭✭Daith


    Having just re read all the Watch books I´m going for Snuff. None of the characters came across right for some reason. Plus I prefer when the Watch books are about Ankh-Morpork to some degree also.

    Also
    Vimes with super powers? The hell? Did we really need that?

    Not a big fan of Equal Rites, Making Money, Soul Music and Sourcery either.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,547 ✭✭✭Slutmonkey57b


    Unseen Academicals was easily the worst for its complete reversal of the patrician's character. All of the recent vimes books have been on a downward cliff and snuff would have been better with a different character in his role.

    Overall, Pratchett is a much more heavy handed writer nowadays, and things which were revealed with implication and subtlety are now boldly spelled out. I suppose that's fair enough for someone writing through a brain condition and someone else's help.

    Nonetheless, his characters have suffered as a result, and the characters (even once offs like teppic) were always what held the books together.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 546 ✭✭✭gufnork


    Unseen Academicals was easily the worst for its complete reversal of the patrician's character. All of the recent vimes books have been on a downward cliff and snuff would have been better with a different character in his role.

    Overall, Pratchett is a much more heavy handed writer nowadays, and things which were revealed with implication and subtlety are now boldly spelled out. I suppose that's fair enough for someone writing through a brain condition and someone else's help.

    Nonetheless, his characters have suffered as a result, and the characters (even once offs like teppic) were always what held the books together.

    Yeah it's such a shame. Unseen academicals and Snuff were both terribly disappointing. I almost wish I could go back to before I read them and not read them, they were that bad!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    worst: monstrous regiment

    maybe I need to re-read it but I couldnt find a single thing that was worthwhile about this book when I read it originally

    second... I guess most of the recent books tie for this spot. none of them were very good at all....
    snuff was kinda ok, making money and going postal were .... decent I guess but the quality has slipped massively recently, for obvious and tragic reasons.


    I like monstrous regiment. A combination of The Guards and Hammer Horror films for me!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    smcgiff wrote: »
    Has to be small gods by a distance - followed by pyramids.

    Off topic:- was snuff the first "adult" book not to feature DEATH?

    Didn't like Small gods. I'm not that fond of anything with the witches tbh.

    Snuff I thought was ok. But then I mainly like the Guards and Vimes.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,207 ✭✭✭longhalloween


    Daith wrote: »
    Also
    Vimes with super powers? The hell? Did we really need that?

    That really annoyed me. It was OKish in Thud, since he was down in the mines but I never thought it would appear in a subsequent book.

    Worst for me?

    Soul Music and any of the Witches books. Never really liked any of those characters.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 546 ✭✭✭gufnork


    That really annoyed me. It was OKish in Thud, since he was down in the mines but I never thought it would appear in a subsequent book.

    Worst for me?

    Soul Music and any of the Witches books. Never really liked any of those characters.

    Oh man... the witches are awesome, and only surpassed by the wizards. Thud was pretty good actually, now I come to think of it.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,207 ✭✭✭longhalloween


    gufnork wrote: »

    Oh man... the witches are awesome, and only surpassed by the wizards. Thud was pretty good actually, now I come to think of it.

    Ah i'm a vimes fan through and through, second come the wizards.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,772 ✭✭✭✭Whispered


    I'm still only building my discworld collection, and I am not doing it in sequence (is this a problem btw?) but my favourite so far have been Equal Rites and Snuff. I thought Making Money was great too.

    I wasn't mad about Unseen Academicals. I'm currently reading Eric.

    I've been trying to find Witches Abroad and Wyrd Sisters, but it looks like I'll have to order them online.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,091 ✭✭✭Antar Bolaeisk


    smcgiff wrote: »
    Has to be small gods by a distance - followed by pyramids.

    Off topic:- was snuff the first "adult" book not to feature DEATH?

    You misread the title, it said worst not best :p

    I can't explain why but Pyramids is my favourite of the series.

    My least favourite would be Thud (though I never really got on with Vimes anyway) and Unseen Academicals which was just way too routine.

    Sadly the more recent books have been less fun than the earlier work, as mentioned what was once implied is now straight up pointed out but at this stage we've all probably become immune to the Pratchett charm as well. All his tricks, turns of phrase and plot progression, we've read them and know them, we can see story before it happens because we know how he'll tell it. Quite simply his own prodigiousness now works against him.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 805 ✭✭✭SB2013


    I'm a big fan of the City Watch books. My least favourite of them would be Night Watch due to the absence of so many of the good characters. In general though I don't like the Witches series as much as the others. I like Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Og but the stories don't really appeal to me for some reason.


  • Registered Users Posts: 141 ✭✭Reader1937


    Surprised to see this thread and, imho, glad to see it is a short one.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,246 CMod ✭✭✭✭Nody


    Any book involving Rincewind (sorry but I can't stand him); I do agree partly about Monstrous regiment simply because of the very limited use of the "existing" characters which made it fall a bit flat.


  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭prq


    The Light Fantastic. Just couldn't finish it.

    Carpe Jugulum I did finish and found it to be the worst of the Witches' books.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,920 ✭✭✭Daith


    Snuff and Making Money now. I've never re-read Soul Music so maybe.

    To balancethat I'm re reading Men at Arms which is still my favorite book and finished a read of Night Watch


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,772 ✭✭✭✭Whispered


    I wasn't crazy about raising steam. It felt a bit flat or something.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,971 ✭✭✭Orim


    prq wrote: »
    The Light Fantastic. Just couldn't finish it.

    Carpe Jugulum I did finish and found it to be the worst of the Witches' books.

    I thought carpe jugulum was very good especially the old count.

    Unseen Academicals is the worst for me because it seemed to rely on the reader having knowledge of Discworld to get enjoyment out of it. I always felt that it was one of the strengths of the series that it didn't where, when or how you read them.


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