Because I'm sometimes overfocused

[msagara]

... and I'd finished GOING POSTAL, Pratchett's latest novel, and I had reread all of the Watch novels in chronological order and was left with that slightly empty feeling one gets when one hasn't quite finished but there's nothing left to finish, I suddenly remembered that Google Is Our Friend, and, in an act much less lazy than is my wont, dug up a few words from alt.fan.pratchett, posted by the author in question.


"All this being said, at the recent DWcon I did a reading on the Friday
night and gave the audience a choice between part of the next adult
novel ( a Watch novel) and the next Tiffany/Feegle novel. They both got
loud cheers, but the latter's cheer was perceptibly louder. Maybe
there are two roads now."

I'm so excited :D. New Watch novel!

ETA: The new working titles, according to the site that tenebris so kindly pointed out are:

WINTERSMITH (Tiffany novel)
THUD (Watch novel)

Comments

[msagara.livejournal.com]

Read one of Discworld involving a bunch of professors from Unseen Univeristy (SCARILY accurate portrayal), a time-traveling suitcase, and random rainstorms. Any particular books of his you'd recommend for starting out?

I wouldn't recommend starting with any of the first, oh, 6 books, although some people feel that MORT is a good starting book. Death is always a bit player, but MORT is pretty much about Death.

I'm one of the readers who didn't care as much for the early books, and who adores the later ones. I started, oddly enough, with the second of the Watch books -- Men At Arms. There's nothing in it that isn't accessible -- there couldn't have been, or I wouldn't have been lost -- but it's also one of the strongest of the books, imho. Everyone has an opinion, otoh, about Pratchett.

For instance, there are some people who love the Witches; I like them, and read them, but I love the Watch. And Moist von Lipwig, the new character in GOING POSTAL, about whom I'll refrain from saying anything else. After I'd read Men at Arms, I continued to read the books -- but GUARDS, GUARDS was, at the time, out of print in North America, so I didn't get to read it until JINGO had been published.

So... I'd start with MEN AT ARMS.

I know that a lot of people recommend SMALL GODS: I'm one of a handful who didn't love it, or at any rate, didn't think it was his Best Book Ever. I've noted that there's some minor division that falls along the "raised with religion" and "not raised with religion" camp. I'm in the latter, so the lampooning of religion seemed... less new and wonderful to me. There is always something to love in a Pratchett novel, so SMALL GODS does have the usual and expected moments of Pratchett brilliance, but MAA is more indicative of the tone and feel of the rest of his books.

THE TRUTH is a decent place to start (as someone else mentioned); so is GOING POSTAL, which is fabulous.

[larryhammer]

I also prefer Watch books to Witch books. Second either Men at Arms or Guards! Guards! as good starting points.

---L.

[livinglaurel.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't recommend starting with any of the first, oh, 6 books....I'm one of the readers who didn't care as much for the early books, and who adores the later ones

I'm there with you -- I still haven't read the first two, I think, and I don't much care for Rincewind -- I started with Night Watch, which I bought in hardcover and drew me in completely, and then dashed out to get Everything Else, although I think I'm rather a Witch person than a Watch person (ha, sort of like blue and green racing colors in the Byzantine empire). I agree Men at Arms is a really good starting point, although if I want to gobsmack someone, I'll lend them Night Watch (which then leads to the disturbing fact they now want to borrow all my other Pratchetts as well).

I've noted that there's some minor division that falls along the "raised with religion" and "not raised with religion" camp. I'm in the latter, so the lampooning of religion seemed... less new and wonderful to me

That sounds right to me -- I was in the latter camp (w/o conventional religion) as well, and so it didn't seem as wonderful as The Truth or Thief of Time or other books I loved whole-heartedly. Which isn't to say it's bad, just....fell a little flat for some readers, I suppose.

[ckd]

I may as well expand a bit on my quickly-tossed-off recommendation, since others have also chimed in.

I'm not a big fan of Rincewind in general, but Interesting Times is good, mostly because it doesn't focus too strongly on him!

The Watch books are probably my favorite subset, as with msagara. I'd probably suggest starting with Guards, Guards instead of Men at Arms if possible, but either is a reasonable starting point.

I very much enjoy Small Gods despite being, at best, a lapsed agnostic; I do know that it's not to everyone's taste, which is why I mentioned The Truth; it'd be the one I would suggest for anyone who would prefer the newspaper/printing industry to the church as a central focus.

I don't consider SG his "Best! Book! Evar!" but since he keeps writing new "Best! Book! Evar!"s almost every time out....

One drawback I have is that, having started with British editions, I now feel compelled to make sure I keep the string going (even without Josh Kirby, sadly missed, doing the covers) which makes acquisition require somewhat more work. I am happy to see the US editions now being somewhat more timely, though!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I started with LORDS AND LADIES. The only thing I didn't get was exactly who that person was who spoke in ALL CAPS. I just figured him for a wizard of some sort.

I love all the subsets fairly equally except for the Rincewind books. He just doesn't float my boat. Overall, I would give the edge to the Guards because I adore the verbal sparring between Vimes and the Patrician. I sometimes ponder Granny butting heads with him on some occasion, just because.