Discworld

58/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shakespeare, more or less, by way of Pratchett’s Discworld, and quite a lot of fun. Particularly enjoyed the recognition of the power of the word, and how it can bend history out of joint if used unscrupulously.

43/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back to the wizards of Discworld. Last time (in Equal Rites) we had the eighth child of an eighth child, this time we have the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son, all wizards, making them a “sourcerer” — someone who can tap into the very source of magic to create new magic. This does not go well for the Discworld, or for hapless reluctant participant (not really a hero) Rincewind. Once again, somehow, while not necessarily doing much, the Luggage is a standout character.

42/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Death has made appearances in every Discworld book so far (my understanding is that this continues throughout the series), but this is the first where Death is more of a central character — though most of what we learn is through Death’s apprentice, Mort. A neat way to really start to flesh out Pratchett’s cosmology and how he approaches Death (and death) on the Discworld.

40/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

More Discworld silliness, this time following the eighth child of an eighth child who, for very good reasons, is asking just why women can’t be wizards. Something of a mid-80’s take on feminism in fantasy literature.

38/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I found this one to already be a bit better than the first in the series; it certainly had more moments that made me chuckle or laugh out loud. I’ve seen lots of comparisons between Pratchett and Douglas Adams, and while I could see that in the last one, it was definitely more evident here. As if with the first book, Pratchett and Adams definitely lived in the same town, but with this book they’re now next-door neighbors. On its own and if found without any prior knowledge, the first wouldn’t have hooked me; this one would have convinced me that I’d be interested in reading more.

37/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Though I’ve absorbed a certain amount of general Pratchett-related knowledge through decades of geek osmosis, until now I’ve not read any of his work (aside from his Good Omens collaboration with Neil Gaiman). Having been gifted a nearly complete selection of Discworld ebooks, after looking at several reading guides with various and sundry suggestions of where to start and how to continue, I finally just decided to start at the beginning and (over time) work my way through in publication order. Of course, this means that the first book I’ve read is one that many lists seem to agree might not be the best introduction to the series, which I suppose I can see – it does have a definite first-book “I have this idea for a humorous fantasy world series, let’s see if it works” feel to it. That said, it’s frequently amusing (particularly for someone old enough to have been reading fantasy in the 80s; much of this book might not land as solidly for someone raised on modern fantasy), and I actually found the idea of the Wyrmburg and its inverted dragonhold, where the riders walk along the ceiling by hanging upside down from rings by using hooked boots particularly imaginative. Admittedly, if I hadn’t already come across enough snippets, quotes, and other mentions of Pratchett and Discworld it might not be enough to solidly hook me, but as it is, I’m looking forward to reading on and seeing how Pratchett evolves the concept through the later books.