So You Want To Get Into… Discworld

It was over thirty years ago when I first started reading Terry Pratchett books so I honestly don’t really remember a time when the Discworld wasn't a part of my reading life. Even though Sir Terry is with us no more, they are still more than enough books to enjoy and re-enjoy (there are after all 41 Discworld novels as well as four Science Of Discworld sort-of-novels for you to get through). It’s a daunting number of books though so where do you start?

Start At The Start
Look, I’m always going to put this one as an option. In this case, I think it is a good way to experience the Discworld as, although the books are for the most part standalone (with recurring strands of characters which I’ll get to below), the world itself is changed by events in each book and it develops from somewhere relatively medieval into somewhere more industrial. The first book, The Colour Of Magic, also sees Pratchett working out what the concept of Discworld actually is and arguably it isn’t until the third and fourth books that it begins to settle into a form that will continue throughout the rest of the run. So while The Colour Of Magic is the best place to start if you want to get in from the ground up and experience the world unfolding, it’s not necessarily the best of the books.

Mort
Perceive wisdom has it that this is the best of the early works and that’s probably about right. It’s self contained, the world is relatively well-formed by now and it features Death who, after a couple of appearances in the first three books, is now very much the recognisable character he will be for the rest of the run. It’s a great example of why the Discworld books are so appealing and a good entry point.

By Character
There are several groups of characters who feature throughout the run of the series (as well as as a couple of standalone novels without recurring protagonists). The main ones are:-

- Rincewind, the cowardly and terrible wizard who appears in The Colour Of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery, Eric, Interesting Times, The Last Continent and The Last Hero (all books mentioned in this section will exclude ones where the characters just cameo.
- Granny Weatherwax and her coven of witches who appear in Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords And Ladies, Maskerade and Carpe Jugulum
- Death who appears in, well, every novel but the main ones are Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather and The Thief Of Time
- The City Watch who appear in Guards! Guards!, Men At Arms, Feet Of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Thud! And Snuff
- The wizards of the Unseen University who appear in most books but star in Unseen Academicals and The Last Continent
- Con man turned reluctant City servant Moist von Lipwig who appears in Going Postal, Making Money and Raising Steam
- Junior witch Tiffany Aching who appears in (along with Granny Weatherwax) The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full Of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight and The Shepherd’s Crown (the final novel)
It’s a good way to get to grips with the series without having to go through the whole thing. The only drawback is that you may miss some developments from other books which impact the ones in the character run you’re reading.

There’s a couple of hints to get you going. If you’re completely new to it and just want a flavour, I’d probably recommend Mort but I’m an obsessive completist type so would start with the first one myself.