The Terry Pratchett Thread

[H3LL]

Well I'm a fan.

Random quotes and the occasional reference to TP appear sporadically on the forum so I know there are closet TP aficionados lurking out there so I thought it about time to have a thread devoted to his work.

Not knowing quite where to start something like this and hoping that the thread will develop on its own, I'll just start with a few comments and list his writings and leave it to you (or the thread dungeons).

Without a doubt my favourite novel is Mort, with Guards! Guards! a close second.

Granny Weatherwax is my most loved character followed by Nobby and Havelock Vetinari. That probably says more about me than I want.

His last two adult novels, Going Postal and Thud!, although enjoyable, not among his better work IMHO. The last novel I thoroughly enjoyed would be Thief of Time.

I know that TP is torn between developing new ideas and demands for more stories about favourite characters (more Lu-Tze, Susan, Death, Granny etc. etc.... please) but I still delight in his work, including the children's books...."Crivens!".

New book coming soon:

Making Money September 18th, 2007 - The return of Moist von Lipwig (Hmmm!) and Vetinari (Hurrah!)

I haven't seen the Hogfather film yet...Is it any good?

I'm also curious about how well received TP is in Europe, USA and elsewhere...If at all.

That's about it for starters.

"Age and wisdom don't necessarily go together. Some people just become stupid with more authority." - TP
​

Now the list.....

Terry Pratchett Bibliography

Discworld
1. The Colour of Magic (1983)
2. The Light Fantastic (1986)
3. Equal Rites (1987)
4. Mort (1987)
5. Sourcery (1988)
6. Wyrd Sisters (1988)
7. Pyramids (1989)
8. Guards! Guards! (1989)
9. Eric (1990)
10. Moving Pictures (1990)
11. Reaper Man (1991)
12. Witches Abroad (1991)
13. Small Gods (1992)
14. Lords and Ladies (1992)
15. Men at Arms (1993)
16. Soul Music (1994)
17. Interesting Times (1994)
18. Maskerade (1995)
19. Feet of Clay (1996)
20. Hogfather (1996)
21. Jingo (1997)
22. The Last Continent (1998)
23. Carpe Jugulum (1998)
24. The Fifth Elephant (1999)
25. The Truth (2000)
The Last Hero (2001) (with Paul Kidby)
26. Thief of Time (2001)
27. Night Watch (2002)
28. Monstrous Regiment (2003)
29. Going Postal (2004)
30. Thud! (2005)
31. Making Money (2007)

Bromeliad
1. Truckers (1988)
2. Diggers (1990)
3. Wings (1990)
The Bromeliad (omnibus) (1998)

Johnny Maxwell
1. Only You Can Save Mankind (1992)
2. Johnny and the Dead (1993)
3. Johnny and the Bomb (1996)
1. Only You Can Save Mankind (1992)
2. Johnny and the Dead (1993)
3. Johnny and the Bomb (1996)
The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (omnibus) (1997)

Discworld omnibus
Death Trilogy (omnibus) (1998)
The City Watch (omnibus) (1999)
The Colour of Magic / The Light Fantastic (omnibus) (1999)
Gods Trilogy (omnibus) (2000)

Discworld (Childrens)
1. Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (2001)
2. The Wee Free Men (2003)
3. A Hat Full of Sky (2004)
4. Wintersmith (2006)
Discworld (picture book)
Where's My Cow? (2005)

Novels
The Carpet People (1971)
The Dark Side of the Sun (1976)
Strata (1981)
The Unadulterated Cat (1989) (with Gray Joliffe)
Good Omens (1990) (with Neil Gaiman)
Collections
Once More* with Footnotes (2004)

Plays
Going Postal: Stage Adaptation (2005)
Jingo: Stage Adaptation (2005)
Terry Pratchett's Hogfather: The Illustrated Screenplay (2006)

Non fiction series
The Science of Discworld (1992) (with Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart)
Streets of Ankh Morpork (1993)
The Discworld Companion (1994)
The Pratchett Portfolio (1996)
Discworld's Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary (1998)
The Discworld: Day-to-Day Calendar (1998)
A Tourist Guide to Lancre (1998) (with Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby)
Death's Domain: A Discworld Mapp (1999) (with Paul Kidby)
Discworld - Mini Calendar 2000 (1999)
Discworld Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2000 (1999)
Nanny Ogg's Cookbook (1999) (with Stephen Briggs, Tina Hannan)
The Discworld Calendar: 2001 (2000)
0. The Discworld Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2001 (2000)
The Discworld Mapp (2000) (with Stephen Briggs)
Discworld Also (2001)
The Discworld Calendar: 2002 (2001)
The Discworld Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2002 (2001)
Discworld Thieves' Guild Diary 2002 (2001)
Discworld Guild Diary 2003 (2002)
The New Discworld Companion (2002)
The Science of Discworld II: The Globe (2002)
Discworld Calendar 2004 (2003)
The Art of Discworld (2004) (with Paul Kidby)
The Celebrated Discworld Almanac (2004)
Discworld Calendar 2005 (2004)
The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch (2005)
"The Ankh-Morpork Post Office Handbook:
Discworld Diary 2007 (2006) (with Stephen Briggs)"
The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld (2007)

Anthologies containing stories by Terry Pratchett
The Unfriendly Future (1965)
Gaslight and Ghosts (1988)
Hidden Turnings (1989)
Digital Dreams (1990)
Shivers for Christmas (1995)
The Wizards of Odd: Comic Tales of Fantasy (1996)
Cyber-Killers (1997)
The Flying Sorcerers (1997)
Knights of Madness: Further Comic Tales of Fantasy (1998)
Legends (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy (1998)
Vintage Science Fiction (1999)
Legends 3 (2000)

Short stories
The Hades Business (1963)
Twenty Pence with Envelope and Seasonal Greetings (1987)
Final Reward (1988)
Sphinx (1988)
Turntables of the Night (1989)
# ifdefDEBUG + "world/enough" + "time" (1990)
Hollywood Chickens (1990)
Troll Bridge (1992)
Theatre of Cruelty (1993)
The Sea and Little Fishes (1998)

Books about Terry Pratchett
The Unseen University Challenge (1996) by David Langford
"Discworld II - Missing Presumed ...:
the Official Strategy Guide (1996) by Paul Kidd"
"Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature (2000)
by Andrew M Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn"
The Wyrdest Link (2002) by David Langford
"Dragons of Fantasy: The Scaly Villains and Heroes of Tolkien,
Rowling, McCaffrey,
Pratchett and Other Fantasy Greats (2004) by Anne C Petty"

Official Website: terrypratchettbooks.com

.

 

[Rasmus]

I kinda dislike his various takes on modern / round world phenomena. I thought this was particualry bad in Moving Pictures - which, of course, I still enjoyed reading.

It's nice to see that I still have a lot of reading ahead of me, too.

 

[H3LL]

I kinda dislike his various takes on modern / round world phenomena. I thought this was particualry bad in Moving Pictures - which, of course, I still enjoyed reading.

It's nice to see that I still have a lot of reading ahead of me, too.

It is a recurring theme which he doesn't always pull off. In both Moving Pictures and Soul Music I didn't think he managed it. He does better when it is only an aspect of Discworld and not a whole novel. For example,The Clacks, is/are(?) hilarious for me. Maskarade worked better, but had a better 'fit' into Discworld from the start.

"A chocolate you did not want to eat does not count as chocolate. This discovery is from the same brand of culinary physics that determined that food eaten while walking along contains no calories". - TP
​

.

 

[Rasmus]

It is a recurring theme which he doesn't always pull off. In both Moving Pictures and Soul Music I didn't think he managed it. He does better when it is only an aspect of Discworld and not a whole novel. For example,The Clacks, is/are(?) hilarious for me. Maskarade worked better, but had a better 'fit' into Discworld from the start.

Both sephamore towers and newspapers are things taken from real life. No problem there, and I did like Going Postal, too. Because, I think, at the most he just borrowed a few ideas and didn't just copy every last detail and then use a sledge hammer to fit it into discworld.

 

[Lucy82]

It is a recurring theme which he doesn't always pull off. In both Moving Pictures and Soul Music I didn't think he managed it. He does better when it is only an aspect of Discworld and not a whole novel. For example,The Clacks, is/are(?) hilarious for me. Maskarade worked better, but had a better 'fit' into Discworld from the start.

I actually disagree about Soul Music - it's one of my favourites. The 'one extended theme' thing doesn't always work, but it does in this case as it's so cleverly done.

Maskerade, Wyrd Sisters, Guards! Guards! and Reaper Man are also great.

And who could forget Good Omens? Neil Gaiman is a genius.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I haven't seen the Hogfather film yet...Is it any good?

I liked it very much.

Susan was a lot cooler than I'd've thought, and Death's face was too frozen. (I wish they could've done some special effects--the mask just wasn't so great.)

I'm also curious about how well received TP is in Europe, USA and elsewhere...If at all.

I for one am a huge Pratchett fan here in the U.S.

Unfortunately, it seems most adults here find it fashionable to read children's literature---something about a school for wizards. You know, 5th grade reading level. . . .

 

[NobbyNobbs]

Considering my self-given moniker, I just had to poke my head in here.

In short, I recently reread Goig Postal, and I still love it.

I didn't know there was a Hogfather movie....I wonder if I can get it through Netflix...?

More later, no time now...gotta shag a cigarette butt from inside my shoe.....

 

[H3LL]

And who could forget Good Omens? Neil Gaiman is a genius.

Agreed. You might like this:

"Neil and I had known each other since early 1985. Doing it was our idea, not a publisher's deal."

"I think this is an honest account of the process of writing Good Omens. It was fairly easy to keep track of because of the way we sent discs to one another, and because I was Keeper of the Official Master Copy I can say that I wrote a bit over two thirds of Good Omens. However, we were on the phone to each other every day, at least once. If you have an idea during a brainstorming session with another guy, whose idea is it? One guy goes and writes 2,000 words after thirty minutes on the phone, what exactly is the process that's happening?
I did most of the physical writing because:

1) I had to. Neil had to keep Sandman going -- I could take time off from the DW;

​

2) One person has to be overall editor, and do all the stitching and filling and slicing and, as I've said before, it was me by agreement -- if it had been a graphic novel, it would have been Neil taking the chair for exactly the same reasons it was me for a novel;

​

3) I'm a selfish bastard and tried to write ahead to get to the good bits before Neil.


​

Initially, I did most of Adam and the Them and Neil did most of the Four Horsemen, and everything else kind of got done by whoever -- by the end, large sections were being done by a composite creature called Terryandneil, whoever was actually hitting the keys. By agreement, I am allowed to say that Agnes Nutter, her life and death, was completely and utterly mine. And Neil proudly claims responsibility for the maggots. Neil's had a major influence on the opening scenes, me on the ending. In the end, it was this book done by two guys, who shared the money equally and did it for fun and wouldn't do it again for a big clock."

"Yes, the maggot reversal was by me, with a gun to Neil's head (although he understood the reasons, it's just that he likes maggots). There couldn't be blood on Adam's hands, even blood spilled by third parties. No-one should die because he was alive."

"Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying "End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH," the paint wouldn't even have time to dry". - TP
​

 

[Hawk one]

OK, here's a short, spoiler-free review of all the books I've read:


The Colour of magic: First Discworld book, and it shows. Pretty much Douglas Adams in a fantasy setting. That is, a lot of random and unrelated happenings going by one after another. Great gags the first time, not so good afterwards.

The Light Fantastic: Pretty much more of the same. Some hints of a red thread showing, but still early works.

Equal Rites: Easily the weakest book. First real attempt at a plot, but Granny Weatherwax isn't well enough developed, partially thanks to the lack of the other witches, which she needs around her.

Mort: Now we're finally starting to see the edges of what Pratchett is capable of. Mort's growth as a person in particular seems to be making a difference, though it feels a bit rushed.

Sourcery: More Rincewind. Slightly too chaotic, but also some great gags. Such as the introduction of the greatest thief in the world.

Wyrd Sisters: And now we're beginning to talk about books that can be reread. A well-rounded, slightly dysfunctional witches' coven, and a situation that really gets worse (for the witches) before it gets better.

Pyramids: Good enough book, though Pteppic is a rather flat main character. Guess that's one reason why he was never used again.

Guards, Guards: The first book with (then) Captain Vimes. I've always enjoyed Vimes and Carrot because amongst other things, they serve as two examples on just how different personalities two people who would arguable both be Lawful Good in Hackmaster can have.

Faust Eric: Falling back on old sins of having one random thing happening after another. That's not what makes a Pratchett book good.

Moving Pictures: Not too fond of this one, but I'm not a movie buff. Still, it provided some interesting setups for future books...

Reaper Man: Death as a main character must be one hell of a challenge, really. Which makes this book all the better for pulling it off. You can spot how working with Gaiman must have changed his style, and in my opinion for the better. Because when you really realise that Death is right, that having a clock ticking takes away valuable seconds of your life... And you need to reread the book to really take that in, to get past the gags.

Witches Abroad: A typical witch book. If you like the witch trio, you'll like this one.

Small Gods: Possibly the best book with a non-reoccuring main character. This time we get to be there as Brutha grows, and the underlying (though not deeply) message about religion is all the more powerful thanks to Pratchett's compassion for Brutha.

Lords and Ladies: Another typical witch book. A bit weaker than Witches Abroad, but the passage about what elves are is still one of the best uses of language.

Men At Arms: The second Vimes book. Carrot has already grown as a character into something more than the (arguably well done) charicature that he was in the first book. Otherwise, not the best of the Vimes books.

Soul Music: Enter Susan sto Helit. She's not really an endearing character, but she's not meant to be, not even to herself. It's a bit strange. Overall, about average.

Interesting Times: I read this one fairly early, and I laughed my ass off. When put in a proper plot, Rincewind is a really good character, because he can make things turn in a way nobody else can, and while you may expect this, you still can't predict -how- he will make things turn out.

Maskerade: I like this book, especially lately as I've started to understand opera better. The dialogues between Bucket and Salzella are priceless. It was also a good move to get a new third witch, because as Pratchett's characters really grow and change now, Magrat simply couldn't be a wet hen forever.

Feet of Clay: A good Vimes book. Vimes himself is sort of where he should be, and some of the underlying messages here makes for a good reread.

Hogfather: Susan and Death is back. Death trying to be Hogfather is pretty damn funny, as are some of the things popping out from slosh belief. Not too good a reread, though.

Jingo: It's a good Vimes book. Simple as that.

The Last Continent: It's pretty damn funny, but eventually, you can also see why Rincewind hasn't been used since in the main series. Because while he makes great situations, his character isn't that deep, or allowing for growth. So, it's the situations he creates that are really the good stuff about him. Using him again would present a good challenge for Pratchett.

Carpe Jugulum: This one is very special. The passages early on with only Granny Weatherwax doesn't contain a single gag, and if you're expecting hilarity, you'll be disappointed. But upon rereading it, you'll discover that said passages are extremely well (and darkly) written, revealing what has only been hinted at previously about Granny. It's downright chilling at times. So, not as easily available, but still worth it.

The Fifth Elephant: Not as good as Jingo, but hey, we're comparing pearls to pearls here.

The Truth: Pretty good book, especially the way Mr. Pin is losing it.

Thief of Time: A sudden return of what was only a minor character. Lu-Tze is an excellent parody of the all-knowing master, and Lobsang/Jeremy definitely makes an interesting character mix, especially when rereading it. Still, not entirely the best book.

Night Watch: I guess Pratchett wondered a bit on how to make the man on top of the world lose everything without it having to be permanent. That he managed to actually pull off what is sort of a cliché (time travel) as well as exploring how much you actually change over the years, stands as a testament to just how good a writer he is.

Monstrous Regiment: It's OK, but not the best. Once again, Pratchett attacks religion in such a way that it's almost impossible to complain about it even if you are religious.

Going Postal: I really like this book. Moist is one of the most interesting new characters for a while, and I particularly like how he and I share some traits, such as sounding like an expert to a non-expert on almost any subject, and how it's about giving a show. Plot is well-rounded, and tightly executed. It's mostly a bit lighter than usual of Pratchett's later works, but still enough dark spots that can chill you.

Thud: A good Vimes book, darker than usual. I like dark, though. But maybe you don't.

Good Omens: I keep maintaining that working with Gaiman helped Pratchett grow as a writer and influenced his style (especially as seen in Reaper Man, Carpe Jugulum, and Thud!). I get the feeling that when working on this book, Pratchett tried to cram in even more gags all the time, while Gaiman forced him to remember the plot. The end result is in any case a great collaborative work, something that is a rather rare occurance.

Johnny and the Dead: Early book, and it shows. Weak compared to Discworld (though most things are weak compared to Discworld), and mostly of historical interest, I guess.

All in all, I can only say this: That Pratchett has maintained his quality for over two decades now is really a feat that few will do him after.

Oh, and Pratchett is pretty damn popular in Norway. I know he's regularly translated, but I always buy his books in English, which you can also find at any decent-sized bookstore.

 

[andyandy]

Oook!

 

[Hawk one]

Oook!

Reported for incivility and circumventing the rule about those forbidden words.

 

[Gurdur]

Just to say I love every Pterry book. I've been to three of the official main DiscWorld conventions, in Hinckley, and I plan to go to many more.

 

[Gilmar]

Big fan here, since Colour of Magic was published in the early 80's in the USA. I'm also fond of the official DW-related stuff at http://www.discworldemporium.com/index.php, particularly the stamps. A great place to spend too much money.

 

[H3LL]

I'd just like to say how nice it is to see such quick and interesting replies.

Loved the synopsisisiss from Hawk. Thanks for the work you put into that...I'm not brave enough

Feet of Clay has just gone in my pile of books to read/re-read, but it will have to wait a bit.

"What you have to remember is that in the movies there are two types of people 1) the directors, artists, actors and so on who have to do things and are often quite human and 2) the other lifeforms. Unfortunately you have to deal with the other lifeforms first. It is impossible to exaggerate their baleful stupidity." - TP - Interview on future movie possibilities
​

 

[Pipirr]

Love Pratchett. The Nac Mac Feegle are fantastic:

"Ach, here's a headful o' dandruff for ye, ye bogle!"

Reminds me of Scotland, and a Glawegian lass I used to know...

 

[eir_de_scania]

I'm a total Discworld fan. There's a couple of problems, though. There are many DW fans in Sweden but I've never met any. So no-one understand why I'm grinning at totally unfunny things, like a Ken Follet novel on display in a supermarket. Or a picture of Mona Lisa. A DW fan would understand I got a Night Watch/Mona Ogg moment.

And I do call orangs "librarians" if I don't watch myself.

 

[christie malry]

Small Gods is the best DW novel, definitely. Good Omens the best of all. Started getting bored around Maskerade, and haven't read anything since The Truth - I'm reading Science of Discworld at the moment though - I like the cover with its allusion (rip-off) of Joseph Wright's The Bell Jar.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Reported for incivility and circumventing the rule about those forbidden words.

I dare you to call him a "monkey"!

Love Pratchett. The Nac Mac Feegle are fantastic:

"Ach, here's a headful o' dandruff for ye, ye bogle!"

Reminds me of Scotland, and a Glawegian lass I used to know...

She liked to carry off the "ships" did she?

My favorite Discworld is usually whichever one I've read most recently. I have a special fondness for the first one I read, Jingo. Given the politics here in the U.S. for the past 7 years, I think it should be required reading here.

 

[vIQleS]

I've just finished reading Wintersmith, the culmination of my quest to reread the entire discworld series in order. Interestingly, I discovered that I hadn't read (or had completely forgotten the plot of) Hat Full of Sky. It took me about a year, but I spent a lot of time waiting for the next book to come in to the library...

I like them all, and i don't really have a favourite book or character, I could probably find a least favourite, but i don't really think of the books as individuals, they're all components of a bigger story, and so it's never occurred to me to compare them.

It’s like trying to figure out which is the worst stargate:SG1 episode. In any run or series, you're going to get some that are slightly better and some that are slightly worse. Unless it was really, really bad, you don't learn anything by judging the quality.

Having said that; the characters and locations seem to get more interesting as the series progresses, obviously as more is learnt about the characters, and their personalities and histories are expanded and give them more depth.

 

[H3LL]

The movie rumour-mill has suggested that David Jason is to play Rincewind in the new adaptation of The Colour of Magic.

I always imagined someone younger and skinnier. Jason is a fine and flexible actor...Should be fun.

"[Vetinari] A keen believer in the principle of One Man, One Vote; he is the Man, so he's got the vote". - TP
​

.