Discworld

[Sanguine]

Well just recently I read The Colour of Magic and greatly enjoyed it and want to continue reading Discworld stories. My problem is this whole reading order thing I keep coming across just confuses me so I thought I would ask the Playgrounders what book they would suggest me reading next.

[WalkingTarget]

Well, starting with CoM I'd go to The Light Fantastic as it picks up right where the other left off.

Beyond that, people have differing tastes. I like reading in publication order (for pretty much any series) since you see the process of the author developing the world and, for Discworld in particular, there are enough cameos that you'd miss something if you stuck just to individual character arcs. However, I've heard people read publication order-by-character as well and they liked it well enough.

[SilentDragoon]

Google Discworld Reading Order and look at the images. It shows each of the various storylines. When I first read through them all, I read series by series starting with the Watch, then Death, then the Witches, then Rincewind, then the Technology (Moist von Lipwig and Moving Pictures). While they do overlap sometimes, it is never incredibly noticeably spoilerish. You can probably pick each series up and read them in order then switch to another series just fine.

Edit: Publication order was a bit difficult for me, wouldn't be able to remember what was going on in between books.

[industrious]

The Light Fantastic, since it's a direct sequel.

EDIT: ninja'd

[hamishspence]

There is a little bit of change in themes and writing style as the series goes on- I think Small Gods is most commonly cited as the point where the newer style became the norm.

Some people like the newer books more because of this, saying the series "achieved maturity" at that point.

The early books are still very enjoyable though.

[chiasaur11]

There is a little bit of change in themes and writing style as the series goes on- I think Small Gods is most commonly cited as the point where the newer style because the norm.

Some people like the newer books more because of this, saying the series "achieved maturity" at that point.

The early books are still very enjoyable though.

Really, I'd say Reaper Man is the latest you could put the turnaround. Small Gods may be somewhat more serious, but the general thematic elements were kicking in well before then.

I'm partial to the City Watch books, myself. Vimes is awesome.

[hamishspence]

misspelling- should have said "became" the norm.

Seriousness was beginning to appear before that, but Small Gods might possibly be where it all came together.

Which is not to say humour ever disappeared, but social themes did tend to dominate.

[chiasaur11]

misspelling- should have said "became" the norm.

Seriousness was beginning to appear before that, but Small Gods might possibly be where it all came together.

Which is not to say humour ever disappeared, but social themes did tend to dominate.

Hm. I mean, I see what you're saying there, but Reaper Man felt fairly philisophical, and Witches Abroad, once it got to the main plot, was about the nature of stories and people, which is kinda one of the reoccurring motifs.

And if we're going to consider societal advancement, well, Soul Music pulled the same game as Moving Pictures. It moved Death about a tad, of course, but Reaper Man and Mort pulled the same trick.

I might be missing something, but I don't see a massive shift right at Small Gods. It might be a much more serious book than most of the series, but that doesn't mean the trend centers on it.

[hamishspence]

I was thinking of it as more where the trend ends, so to speak- the books started getting more serious, and from SG on, they generally stayed that way.

[chiasaur11]

I was thinking of it as more where the trend ends, so to speak- the books started getting more serious, and from SG on, they generally stayed that way.

Hmm.

Now, I see what you're saying but, well, with The Last Continent and Soul Music after (both fine books, don't get me wrong) and Reaper Man near immediately before, I'd think it's a mite debateable. I mean, it's a definite trend, overall, and I think Small Gods might be close to the closer, but I'm not sure it's, well, it.

[hamishspence]

true, it might not be the actual point, but its the one I've seen mentioned most often.