|
Post by Afgncaap5 on Mar 23, 2009 14:40:57 GMT -5
Mort is definitely worth a read. Plus it really expounds on the disc's version of Death, who I'd gotten to love as a character over the three (or four? I can't remember) books that came before it.
|
|
|
Post by GProopdog on Mar 23, 2009 14:48:10 GMT -5
Terry's books are some of my favorite of all time! I just finished reading Moving Pictures, it was funny as all heck.
|
|
|
Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 23, 2009 15:48:19 GMT -5
Pratchett has a bunch of fans who say, "I'm not a big fantasy buff, but I LOVE Pratchett." Well, I'm a big fantasy buff, but I've never read Pratchett. I own a few, but I just haven't ever gotten more than a few pages into them.
I think part of my problem is that when I was a kid, I loved Robert Asprin's "Myth" stories. But they got really lame towards the end and sort of killed the whole fantasy-as-satire thing for me. Now everyone tells me that Pratchett is in another league altogether and that his stuff changes over time, but never disappoints. So perhaps, with this thread, I'll finally get around to diving in all the way.
|
|
|
Post by Donna SadCat Lady on Mar 23, 2009 17:42:02 GMT -5
One recommendation about reading Pratchett is not to read too many in a row. That tends to make the similarities too noticeable. And avoid reading them too fast--the problem I tend to have. It's easy to miss some of Pratchett's subtler satire and irony when rushing through the book. There's another thing I've learned to expect from Pratchett's books, especially his later ones. It's hard to understand what's going on in the first chapter or two at all. He'll often start off in the middle of some significant event in the story, without saying who the characters are or exactly what they're doing. It's only much later in the book does it become clear. Kind of like a teaser chapter, I guess. The second or third chapter is when the story starts being told through the viewpoint of the main characters.
|
|
|
Post by Afgncaap5 on Mar 27, 2009 22:59:19 GMT -5
Pratchett has a bunch of fans who say, "I'm not a big fantasy buff, but I LOVE Pratchett." Well, I'm a big fantasy buff, but I've never read Pratchett. I own a few, but I just haven't ever gotten more than a few pages into them. I think part of my problem is that when I was a kid, I loved Robert Asprin's "Myth" stories. But they got really lame towards the end and sort of killed the whole fantasy-as-satire thing for me. Now everyone tells me that Pratchett is in another league altogether and that his stuff changes over time, but never disappoints. So perhaps, with this thread, I'll finally get around to diving in all the way. Teehee! Mummi's falling for it! The global conspiracy to get him to read Pratchett's working! Stage three of the plan is almost ready!
|
|
|
Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 31, 2009 22:23:00 GMT -5
Almost done with _The Colour of Magic_, and I'm enjoying it immensely. I have to admit it's different than I imagined. People often told me it was like if Douglas Adams wrote fantasy. It's not. The humor isn't the every-other-line witticism type, although he does have some nice zingers. There's definitely a somewhat hard edge to the satire, although it can be buried at times, which I think is actually a good thing, or it works for Pratchett.
And maybe it's just because this is the first book in the series and he didn't have quite the full idea, but there does seem to be a slight loss of balance between the book as "satire/humor" and the book as "fantasy." Some parts start to take themselves a touch seriously when setting up the world and the plot, but then it falls back into a smirky attitude. But it catches me off guard at times when the book starts to read, even if just for a few scenes, like a straightforward fantasy book, even if the general premises aren't straightforward at all. Again, though, I'm not even done.
|
|
|
Post by Afgncaap5 on Apr 1, 2009 0:21:56 GMT -5
I think that's part of the fun of it. It *is* a straight fantasy, it's just the characters (including the narrator) are humorous individuals.
Sort of like Futurama: you could take the humor out of many episodes of Futurama and still be left with a really nice sci-fi story (The Luck of the Fryrish, The Sting and Jurassic Bark being the most obvious examples that jump to mind.) Pratchett's sorta like that.
|
|
|
Post by Donna SadCat Lady on Apr 1, 2009 12:21:40 GMT -5
Pratchett definitely likes to mix the serious with the comic. He'll take a hackneyed fantasy trope and try to see it from another point of view. The whole Night Watchmen series came about when he asked himself, "What about all those anonymous, disposable guards that heroes always overcome? What if they were the heroes for a change?" He throws in puns and silliness in part because he likes to. But he'll also use it to highlight the absurdity of people's assumptions and actions in our world. He most certainly has serious points to make. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call him a Swiftian satirist. Pratchett's not that savage. There are glimpses of that kind of anger, though, under the mockery and jokes. His sense of the absurd and his empathy keep him from going overboard with it.
|
|
|
Post by mummifiedstalin on Apr 1, 2009 19:48:14 GMT -5
I'm glad this thread came around, because I liked the first enough to buy the next two now. (And speaking of things Atari gets me to read, I finished the _Reason_ book...I've just been too lazy to give it a thoughtful response. I'll admit I've yet to start the other one, but it's in the pile, I promise.)
|
|
|
Post by Afgncaap5 on Apr 4, 2009 12:34:12 GMT -5
Word of warning, mummi. While the next two books are good, when you get to book three it'll feel very different initially. It'll still be Discworld, but it'll be another twist on it. Took me a few chapters to reall accept book three for what it was.
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Apr 4, 2009 13:52:31 GMT -5
Yeah, I'd actually recommend skipping to another character set after the first 2 books.
Like after finishing The Light Fantastic, move over to Guards! Guards! or something. Those first few, chronologically speaking, are not nearly as good as the later entries. So you might lose some of the spark if you just go through in order of release.
|
|
|
Post by Mirkwood Lodge on Oct 17, 2009 12:28:52 GMT -5
I'm glad this thread came around, because I liked the first enough to buy the next two now. I am terribly envious of anyone reading discworld for the first time. I suggest reading in order, if only because these characters grow and change with each book. In fact, whole socio-economic aspects of the world change. Anway, you will be re-reading these, and it's always nice to see how a single throw away joke in one book can turn into a new character or even an entire novel. I guess what I"m saying is: Me likey Pratchett.
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Oct 18, 2009 22:26:11 GMT -5
Working my way through Pratchett's new release, Unseen Academicals.
I'm excited that it's out and that I get to experience a new Discworld novel for the first time.
I'm sad that it may be his last.
|
|
|
Post by angilasman on Nov 29, 2009 18:01:24 GMT -5
^I believe he has two or so left, or so I heard.
Just finished Reaper Man. Fantastic.
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Oct 18, 2011 16:55:52 GMT -5
Picked up the latest Discworld book yesterday, Snuff.
The best way to summarize the first 80 pages is that His Grace Duke Sam Vimes, Commander of the City Watch has stumbled into a Jane Austen novel.
Since I hate Jane Austen novels, I'm hoping the mockery of the form will start soon. So far, it's a pretty straightforward Jane Austen novel, which is sad.
|
|