The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Self Important posted:

Ive wanted to get into Pratchett for awhile but there's so MUCH I don't know where to start :/

Have a look at the Reading order guide.

Then depending on the answer to these questions:

Do you like fantasy in general? Y > Read in release order.
Do you like Detective Shows? Y > Start on the Watch arc.
Do you like the idea of Death as a character? Y > Start on the Death arc.
Do you like witches? Y > Start on the Witches arc.
Else > Start with Small Gods.

Basically the first two books are parodies of Fantasy so if you don't like fantasy they won't do much for you, small gods is very stand alone and very good and the main arcs are a matter of taste, they're all good. In fact you can't really go wrong.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2008 12:07

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 10:53

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Moist von Lipwig posted:

I can see it now, Vimes, as his fisrt act as Patrician, reinstates Vetinari as Patrician

Thats exactly what you would say though isn't it, seeing as you're the next man for the job :raise:

# ¿ Jul 12, 2008 22:34

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

ThaGhettoJew posted:

It's not gag-heavy like most of the Discworld books. The tone is fairly light for the most part, but it's more focused on relationships and has some pretty severe emotional parts (particularly in the beginning). It's a coming-of-age, coming-to-terms-with-tragedy, standing-up-for-what-is-right, science-versus-religion, and discovering-wacky-side-characters sort of quasi-romantic-comedy story.

So, um, no. I guess. Read it anyway.

P.S. I like hyphens.

Its true its not as gag heavy as some of the Discworld books, but there�s plenty to laugh at, especially if you find his "wry observations of human nature" funny. I thought it was excellent.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2008 11:59

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Kismet posted:

I know I'm in the minority, and I can see why he wasn't to everyone's taste, but I always loved Kirby's discworld work. His compositions were amazing, and the sense of writhing, seething, chaotic, grubby matter really fit the feel of the setting for me, especially with the early books. Kidby is good too - I like his sketches - but his finished work is very bland by comparison. The cover for Snuff looks good and I'm glad he's branching out beyond "bird's-eye view of central characters warmly lit against black." but I'll always prefer Kirby's fevered nightmare-scapes, with their warty melty witches and crusty yellow trolls and insane amounts of background detail.

I kind of agree, Kidby is a better artist, but Kirby's stuff is so weird its hard not to love it, I even like that he totally missed the joke of Twoflower being foureyed. I bought my first DW book (Soul Music) when I was maybe 13 and Im not sure I would have picked it up if not for the cover art, although that probably says more about 13 year old me than Kirby.

Dirty Frank fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jun 22, 2011

# ¿ Jun 22, 2011 21:47

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Oxxidation's right though. Willikins changed, and not for the better, and its depressing as its hard not to assume its due to his illness.

Also Hersheba :doh:

in my defence though I don't think they're very common in the UK!

# ¿ Feb 17, 2012 14:56

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Its bitter sweet, when I die, if I get old enough its an issue, I want to choose how and when too.

# ¿ May 28, 2012 20:25

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

precision posted:

I certainly stand by my opinion that Mort is easily in the top 10 Disc novels and I don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it. Pyramids is another early but great one.

Mort is fantastic; I can't think of anything I don't like about it. Pyramids is one of my favorites... for the first half, then it kind of looses its way.

The best is Small Gods and Soul Music was the first I read; then I read randomly untill I cought up with the publishing arround Maskerade.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2012 23:11

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Pesky Splinter posted:

And this is how she's portrayed in the Going Postal adaption:

Which is how she now looks in my mind's eye.

She was perfect in going postal, best thing about it. The rest was enjoyable but almost everything else was off in some way. Like all the other adaptations so far.

I love how obvious it was that last night was a hard night and she doesn't think tonight is going to be any better.

Dirty Frank fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Jul 11, 2012

# ¿ Jul 11, 2012 19:46

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

SeanBeansShako posted:

I enjoy Soul Music which is my favourite and I didn't think Moving Pictures was that bad. It could work! I could like it!

I also love Soul Music and thought that Moving Pictures wasn't bad and I was pretty disappointed by Snuff. Having said that, you should still read it, I think. Even a poor Pratchett book has some nice stuff in it.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2013 09:49

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

RoboChrist 9000 posted:

Small Gods is by far and away my favorite, although the Watch is my favorite series and Fifth Elephant probably my favorite among them (I love the Dwarves. I even loved Thud) but I don't get why Pyramids is often poo poo on. I think it's pretty drat good, all things considered.

The first half of Pyramids is one of my favourite discworld books, really not so keen on the second half though.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2014 21:54

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Tunicate posted:

Plot's pretty subpar, dialogue is unmemorable, it doesn't connect to any of the better aspects of Discworld... at best, it's mediocre.

The plot is amazing though. You're a crazy person, having said that though my wife thought it was poor as well and she obviously has good taste as she married me :v:

# ¿ Feb 21, 2014 09:04

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

I just finished Raising Steam, it was better than Snuff and I laughed at a few passages, I'll be honest though the last good discworld book was Thud.

Its very sad, seriously I've never understood people who profess to love famous people that they obviously don't know, but maybe with Pratchett I understand it a little.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2014 20:21

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

DrNewton posted:

I am reading Making Money and I am finding it very boring. Seeing that it's pretty much the same story as Going Postal, which I just read. Should I continue or should I forget it and start a different discworld book? I am on chapter 4 or 5. He just got the Dog, met the evil step son and is now getting a tour of the bank for the secound time.

You could try I Shall Wear Midnight, but basically you've finished the series now, all the books after Making Money are poor. gently caress alzheimer's.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2014 07:40

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Bilirubin posted:

Guards! Guards! Is now finished and I resisted starting Night Watch until I get at least a few more books in. The only options I found in O'hare were Raising Steam and Moving Pictures bit didn't get either for now. Amazon are gonna love me

Raising steam you can leave till youve read literally everything else he's written, Moving Pictures is kindof flawed but decent and (I think?) totally stand alone.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 09:43

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Buggrit

# ¿ Mar 12, 2015 17:05

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Megazver posted:

Frankly she's right.

Then again, there aren't many writers who could do it justice. Gaiman, perhaps.

I really don't like this, even for crap authors, finish an unfinished work, fine. New books, no, stop, gently caress off, do your own thing.

Rhianna seems like she gets it though, and I hope the watch series is good and does well.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2015 21:55

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Lake Effect posted:

That's from Good Omens. Don't forget to re-read that too.

The recent bbc radio play is pitch perfect, easily the best non-book pratchett

# ¿ Mar 12, 2015 21:57

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Kurtofan posted:

The French translator let funny translators notes too.
Mostly about Death's gender, since La Mort is feminine in French, so to explain why he used male pronouns to refer to the character he wrote funny footnotes like "La mort est un male n�cessaire" (Death is a necessary male, it's a pun on the fact that mal (evil) and male are pronounced the same in French.

One of the late book had something like "oh you know the drill" as a translator's note, etc... Honestly I like having both the books in English and French around, I could see myself rereading those and compare them more closely.

Patrick Couton got a prize for his translations of the Discworld novels.

Did he translate all of them, or does he just come in later on when they realized the books were selling well?

edit: did the obvious thing and looked it up on amazon, he at least translated color of magic, so I'd guess he did them all. Cool, gonna start with that and see how I go.

Dirty Frank fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Mar 15, 2015

# ¿ Mar 15, 2015 15:31

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Kitchner posted:

It's interesting you rated Reaper Man so highly and Jingo and the Thief of time relatively low compared to it, because I'd say they are both superior novels.

Reaper Man's "main plot" is pretty awesome, but all the side plot with the shopping malls is pretty bad. You need to read it a few times before you really "get" what's going on and the deeper meaning behind it. Or at least I did and the people I know who read Pratchett did.

Jingo on the other hand is a pretty solid "whodunnit" style murder mystery with plenty of references to real world jingoism (I mean the title in of itself is a clever reference) and explores how Ankh-Morpork is considered one of the most influential places on the planet despite being "just a city". Whereas Thief of Time is an interesting "diversion" from the usual story lines (wizards, watch, witches) that explores the concept of time and history.

I know it's just a matter of opinion but I think they are really good novels and I enjoyed them more than Reaper Man (though I did enjoy Reaper Man).

I agree with the order Reaper Man > Jingo & Thief of time, except for remembering that I enjoyed J and ToT I didn't really remember them but Reaper Man really struck a chord. You're right that the b-plot is sub par though, just shows how good the main arc is. Pyramids is kindof similar, first half in AM is the most enjoyable discworld book, second half forgettable fun.

# ¿ Mar 16, 2015 21:55

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

A little of topic from the current discussion; what do you reckon is the best non-novel Pratchett? Hoping theres something I haven't seen as I'm not sure its much of a competition the bbc Good Omens radio play is basically perfect. Discworld Noir is pretty good as well, but I haven't played it since it came out and it probably suffers badly from old game UI issues.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 16:23

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Geokinesis posted:

That'd be awful.

He'd be better than some upper class guy like Hugh Laurie, who I like, but Vimes has to have a believable working class accent. God knows if Bishop can even act though, and you'd need to give all the other Ankh-Morpork born characters Scouse accents, which would be be pretty funny, but tricky from a casting perspective. Easier just to take someone who can do a passable mockney and work from there.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2015 08:32

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Food Boner posted:

Any recommendations?

Because you like Baxterley you probably like big ideas, so I'd say Small Gods. it's one of prattchet's best and it's totally stand alone. If u like it, look to some reading guides after that and start one of the arcs. He wrote a huge amount of great books you've got tons to look forward to!

# ¿ Aug 30, 2016 07:52

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Rand Brittain posted:

Speaking of Death's ALL CAPS, which voices do people like best for Death? I find that most of the people doing Death tend to overdo the exaggerated bass in a way that makes it hard to emote and comes out stiff.

Just like I thought that Fear & Loathing was impossible to film, I think that Deaths VOICE is impossible to film. I hope I'm just as wrong.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2016 21:49

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Khizan posted:

The courtroom reveal, mostly. I haven't read it in years, though, so I am iffy on the specific details but I remember really disliking the "Oh ho, the entire high command are women faking it! And so is Jackrum! And so is everybody but that hapless LT!" Just fell flat for me.

Jackrum kicks all the men out of the room before the big reveal, so its not the entire high command.

Gravitas Shortfall posted:

Monstrous Regiment is one of my favourite Pratchett books, I was surprised to see it getting hate itt

I agree.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2016 08:10

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Read them in alphabetical order imo.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 16:22

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Tunicate posted:

Small gods is an atypically bad entry

That's the first time I've seen a pratchett fan who dislikes SG, what don't you like about it?

# ¿ Sep 15, 2017 07:25

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Cardiac posted:

Some people are just pretentious and insist that a Pratchett book should hold some higher meaning, which color/light lacks and are thus bad, which is a bad opinion.

If you haven't read a bunch of 60-70 fantasy they aren't all that good, best saved for when you're already hooked.

# ¿ Sep 17, 2017 20:18

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Jedit posted:

And for the love of Christ can people not start the "you can tell when the Alzheimers started to set in" poo poo again. Nation is post-Alzheimers.

You can tell when the Alzheimers started to set in.

Everything prior to this point at the very worst is good and lots of it is amazing.
Nation 2008 - good, very emotional
UA - 2009 - Bad
I shall wear midnight 2010 - Ok
Snuff 2011 - Awful
Dodger 2012 - not read
Raising Steam 2013 - Awful
Shepherds Crown 2015 - not read

The quality drop-off is huge so if its not the embuggerance what is it?

# ¿ Oct 29, 2017 16:11

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

hanales posted:

I think he began moving towards that characterization in Thud right? When he's a member of the specials showing off to A.E. Pessimal? I don't have my copy in front of me but I recall him being more street tough in that role.

Its a British class thing. He acts like that to Pessimal, not to Vimes. While you might think that's bullshit (because it is), from the character's point of view it's bedrock and when it changes there should be some reason given.

Pratchett might have been going for a social progress thing with this and the lectures to the "useless" women but its clumsily done in both cases.

Dirty Frank fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Oct 30, 2017

# ¿ Oct 30, 2017 23:30

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Tunicate posted:

It's referring to the myth that the llama was named by the conquistors asking "What is it named?" ("�C�mo se llama?") and the natives being so terrified of them at that point that they were like 'It's called a llama? Whatever you say, please don't kill me."

I've never heard that one, cute. The standard example in the UK is Kangaroo meaning "I don't know".

# ¿ Nov 11, 2017 07:26

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Hasselblad posted:

Checking in to be the guy who did not like the screen adaptation of Good Omens, but loved the book.

Too forced, too woke, too little actual accurate translation of what made it funny. It really felt lacking.

What was too woke about it, are you upset about a female god or some poo poo?

If you want to complain about something, the horsemen were pretty disappointing. Death always sucks because book Death is unfilmable (hopefully in the same way fear and loathing was) and the others were too subdued. And like all the Pratchett films it was sooort of stilted.

Still really good though, the two main actors were great.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2019 20:47

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Dr Strangelove was originally going to be an adaptation of a straight thriller novel called Red Alert.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2019 12:50

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

and doki doki panic was intended to be a docudrama about the life of rembrandt.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2019 12:55

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Seems like this is a show which uses multiple exclamation points!!!

# ¿ Jan 3, 2021 09:09

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

citybeatnik posted:

I think both Reaper Man and Hogfather have had the most emotional impact on me to this day. Feet of Clay's up there as well. I'll also cop to tearing up to one of the pages in The Last Hero.

Has anyone here seen the Troll Bridge movie? I keep meaning to try and watch it but like gently caress can I figure out how.

I think this is it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7v_TdLviUE

its great

Dirty Frank fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Oct 25, 2021

# ¿ Oct 25, 2021 16:16

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Strange Cares posted:

How did I only just now realize that the reason that Offler gets sausage offerings is because of the crocodile in Punch and Judy shows?

I mean really Pratchett never had a single original thought, its references all the way down!!!

# ¿ Jan 24, 2022 16:10

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 10:53

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Strange Cares posted:

Oh I don�t know about that, but I do admire that he was unashamed to draw from whatever joke or reference that he liked. For whatever reason seeing that quotation today really made the crocodile/sausages thing connect for me.

I don't think it either, I was goofing around and hoping the multiple exclamation points would point to a diseased mind

# ¿ Jan 24, 2022 19:47

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