Terry Pratchett (was: Smell of Cabbage)

[abigailnus]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "shanna" <slstich at h...> wrote:
> Hi Abagail.
> Do you recommend a particular Pratchett book to start with?  I've been wanting to read his work for a while now, but honestly forgot about it till you brought it up in this post!  
> Shanna

Oh, dear.  Choosing a particular Pratchett book is like choosing a favorite child.  The only difference is that once you read one book you'll want to read all the others, so in the long run it doesn't really matter.  Pratchett's best and most widely known work is the Discworld series, now approaching 30 books.  His secret in maintaining his quality over so many books is that each book deals with a different set of characters, some of which are one-offs and some of which are continuing series:

The Witches Series - starring Esmerelda 'Granny' Weatherwax, who beats Snape hands down as the nastiest good guy ever.  These books are often parodies of literary works.
Equal Rites
Wyrd Sisters 
Witches Abroad
Lords and Ladies 
Maskerade
Carpe Jugulum 

The Watch Series - these books tell of the city watch in the metropolis of Ankh-Morpork.  They are mostly mysteries, with a decidedly Pratchett flavor.  
Guards! Guards!
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Night Watch

The Death Series - on the Discworld, Death is a person, with all the problems that come with that.  These books deal with Death and his extended family.
Mort
Reaper Man
Soul Music
Hogfather
Thief of Time

The Rincewind Series - Rincewind is probably the most beloved of Discworld characters (after Death) which is strange because the books he stars in are almost unanimously agreed to be the worst in the series.  The inept wizard wants nothing more then to live a boring life.  You can imagine how often that happens.
The Light Fantastic
The Color of Magic
Sourcery
Eric
Interesting Times - the only really great Rincewind book, in my opinion
The Last Continent
The Last Hero - a graphic novel

The standalones - these are settings and characters Pratchett never came back to, although he might some day.
Pyramids 
Moving Pictures 
Small Gods
The Truth
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - a book for children
The Wee Free Men - also apparently for children

If I had to pick favorites, they would be Wyrd Sisters, which is a wonderful parody of Macbeth, Mort, in which Death decides to hire an apprentice, Small Gods, a wondeful look at religion, or just about any one of the Watch series.

And, of course, there's non-Discworld!  If you can find it, The Carpet People is a wonderful book about the society that's evolved in the dust of your carpet, and the nomes trilogy, although ostensibly for children, is wonderful.

Hopefully I haven't completely overwhelmed you.  You'd probably do well to start near the beginning of whichever series catches your interest, but Pratchett is very modular - you won't feel out of place if you start with later books.

Enjoy!
Abigail