Discworld. what's your personal top 3?

[dehro]

I must say that it's very hard to decide , and that by doing so I do not intend to diminish any of pratchett's books (exept maybe the ones not related to the discworld)...
but my favorite books are:

1)thief of time
2)jingo
3)the fifth elephant

all very close and I'd feel better if I could put them al on top of the list..but..misquoting connor mcloud.."there can be only one"..

[Driderman]

1) Mort
2)Interesting Times
3)Thief Of Time

[Artemician]

1) Small Gods
2) Soul Music
3) Jingo

As dehro said, it's awfully hard to pick the top three.. there are many, many good Discworld books.

[Closet_Skeleton]

1. Soul Music
2. Moving Pictures
3. Guards! Guards!

Wait, those are the only three I've read. I've seen adaptation of others though.

[Tengu]

1. Small Gods
2. Reaper Man
3. Soul Music

I had no trouble with the first two, but the thir was really was devilishly hard. I'd guess that many other books are very close to it.

[Dhavaer]

They're all good.

Uh...

1. Wintersmith
2. Feet of Clay
3. The Lost Continent

[Erloas]

It is hard to pick since they are all great. It has also been a while since I've read some of them.

I would probably have to say
1) Small Gods
2) Thief of Time
3) The Truth or maybe Carpe Jugulum or... well everything.

edit: spelling

[Overlard]

1. Night Watch
2. Carpe Jugulem
3. Hogfather

I don't get the Thief Of Time love. It really seemed a mis-step for me (not as big a mis-step as Monstrous Regiment, but still...)

[Green Bean]

1) Thud! (Vimes' scene in that cave still gives me goosebumps)

2) Soul Music (it seems like every time I open that book, I discover a new mini-reference to rock and roll)

3) The Truth (nothing specific; it's just plain awesome)

Keep in mind that the rest of his books are a hundred kinds of amazing, and that choosing my top three was like picking between a bar of gold, and a bar of gold with a free comb. They'er both amazing, but some have a little extra. :smallbiggrin:

[Psiwave]

ouch, tricky one,

1)Night watch - sad and funny together.
2)Soul music, sonni bod da (sp) at the festival always sends shivers down my spine.
3) Thief of time - thats what a monk should be like, silly WotC writers...

(feel free to substitute 3 for any of the others, they are all good in different ways. it might be easier to list the favourate reccuring chars.)

[Emperor Demonking]

1 Nightwatch
2 Jingo
3 Feet of clay

[lordsigmund]

Thief of Time
Interesting Times
Night watch

[esmerelder]

In publication order, because I honestly can't pick which one I like the best:

1. Wyrd Sisters
IMO, the first one where he really hits his stride and the Discworld really takes the odd-angled and charming shape that it will keep for the next however-many books and years. The Witches forever! Also, I'm permanently biased towards it because I was in the play version last year, and... well... see username!

2. Soul Music
Because it works so well as a stand-alone, and because of the truly hilarious pop-music and pop-culture references, and because Susan is amazing and because Crash, Scum et al are both hilarious and upsettingly true to life, and because one of three ain't bad! (Yes it is, it's only thirty-three per cent!)

3. Wee Free Men
Pulls off the surprisingly difficult trick of making the heroes genuinely more interesting than the villains, and the even more difficult one of featuring a strong female lead without getting labelled a "girls' book". The Feegles are the best thing to hit children's literature since The Hobbit, the relationship between Tiffany and her annoying younger brother is sensitively and realistically portrayed, and her memories of Granny Aching are comforting and heartbreaking, all at the same time.

[TheRabidWalnut]

1. Small Gods

2. Witches Abroad

3. Interesting Times

[Nightwing]

1. Soul music

2. Interesting times

3. Night watch

[dehro]

I feel conforted by the fact that nobody seems to have had an easy task in giving three and only three titles...

I really must agree with most of you guys that they are all equally priceless and can't help but feeling a little guilty having left out most of the titles that you have put in your favs...

but...keep going..

[Erloas]

I don't get the Thief Of Time love. It really seemed a mis-step for me (not as big a mis-step as Monstrous Regiment, but still...)

What was wrong with Monsterous Regiment? I just got done re-reading that and I love it. The only thing about both of those is that they focus on a new set of characters that weren't there before and don't make an apperance in later books. The complaints I've read (mostly on sites with user reviews) always just seem to be that one story doesn't follow one of the main 3 groups of re-occuring characters, and I just don't understand those sorts of complaints.

I just started re-reading Thief of Time yesterday. Susan is one of my favorite characters ever.
(not an exact quote...)"Ask me any question." "What do you want for breakfast?" "Ah, one of the difficult ones."

[Kitya]

You're right, it is hard... I guess my favorites would be the ones that I reread the most.

IN that case,

1. Carpe Jugulum... was actually my first discworld book. I didn't realize it was a series when I bought it. I went and got the first three the next time we went to B&N.

2. Witches Abroad.. it's just... perfect. The red boots are especially a nice touch. And the bananananananana daquari's... since Nanny never knows when banana stops.

3 is hard... there are soooo many! It's a tossup between Guards! Guards! or Men at Arms. I really like the Night Watchmen!! (because afterall, once you join, you lose your gender, and race, and become JUST Watchmen)

A consolation prize goes to Lords and Ladies. The first part is good, but I tend to kind of skip to where Magrat finds the painting of Queen Ynci the Short Tempered, and then on to the armory where she finds Ynci's stuff. *grin* Seeing Magrat be FORCEFUL is awesome! Also, seeing the whole "love thing" with Granny and Ridcully is rather amusing.

[Were-Sandwich]

1. Thief of Time
2. Guards! Guards!
3. Feet of Clay

[Tengu]

While I had horrib trouble picking my third favorite one (Small Gods and Reaper Man are just so awesome, funny and smart at the same time... even by Pratchett's standards!), I have no doubt which is my least favorite one - the first one, Colour of Magic. It's not very funny, and instead of a social commentary that the further books have become, it's a decent, but not very special, parody of the common trends in fantasy - or can you really call it a parody? It shoves a lot of absurd, over-the-top epic places, creatures and other stuff in your face and expects you to laugh at them for some reason.

Though Pratchett got better very quickly, the second book is much, much better. And Colour of Magic is still better than what many authors create, even at their peak.

Each time someone says stuff like "Pratchett was good at the start, but then he got worse", I want to, in order:
1. Laugh in their face
2. Mock their bad taste
3. Explain in a long essay why are they wrong
4. Punch them in the face
I'm not a violent man, but stupidity in the geek circles which are supposed to be the ubermensh when it comes to mental capacity and taste in books, movies and computer games, is just inexcusable.

[Kitya]

I agree with you, his first couple were the poorest, altho they are still good. Just not as good as the rest.

[Don Beegles]

Hmm, this is a tough one. After some consideration, I'd have to say:

The Fifth Elephant
Thief of Time
and Hogfather

in no particular order.

The trouble with this question is that there are no bad Discworld books, only ones that are less good. The first ones are not bad, they're just not as good as the later ones. The witches, my least favorite character group, are not bad, just not as good as Death or the Watch. Pratchett is probably the author whose books I"ve read the most, because I just love to pick random ones and reread them. I swear that I know almost every joke in at least a third of them, and that's only because I don't own the other two thirds and I'm too damn lazy to reserve them at the library more than once. He is made of pure molten win on so many levels.

[dehro]

While I had horrib trouble picking my third favorite one (Small Gods and Reaper Man are just so awesome, funny and smart at the same time... even by Pratchett's standards!), I have no doubt which is my least favorite one - the first one, Colour of Magic. It's not very funny, and instead of a social commentary that the further books have become, it's a decent, but not very special, parody of the common trends in fantasy - or can you really call it a parody? It shoves a lot of absurd, over-the-top epic places, creatures and other stuff in your face and expects you to laugh at them for some reason.

Though Pratchett got better very quickly, the second book is much, much better. And Colour of Magic is still better than what many authors create, even at their peak.

Each time someone says stuff like "Pratchett was good at the start, but then he got worse", I want to, in order:
1. Laugh in their face
2. Mock their bad taste
3. Explain in a long essay why are they wrong
4. Punch them in the face
I'm not a violent man, but stupidity in the geek circles which are supposed to be the ubermensh when it comes to mental capacity and taste in books, movies and computer games, is just inexcusable.

all hail Tengu.. I subscribe every word of this post.

now a side question... how come most of the readers of OOTS (or at least those who write in the forum) are also disworldfreaks?? I agree that the mocking of fantasy genre is a common trait..but..it's still odd, I feel

could it be that the Giant is just as much involved in the discworld as we are?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

#1. Night Watch
#2. Hogfather
#3. Thief of Time

Night Watch is just awesome in all shades of the word.


The Last Continent and Eric was the worst. The Last Continent I could just barely get through. It was worst in a War and Peace type way. Eric was worst in just being the worst written. It was... rather pathetic.

[Morty]

1) Small Gods
2) Sourcery
3) Mort
In no particular order. Though I admit that Sourcery is on the list in no small part due to sentiment- it was the first Discworld book I've ever read.
The worst are probably Eric and Fifth Elephant. Eric was just cheap explanation of how Rincewind came back from Dungeon Dimensions, and Fifth Elephant... I just didn't like it. Jokes are still great, but plot isn't as good as in previous books.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

1. Night Watch
2. Night Watch
3. Night Watch

In that order. Mainly because it's to awesome for anyone's good. AND THEN DJINN HAS A SIGNED COPY!!!!!! :smallbiggrin:

Alternatively, The Djinn has a top 4:

1. Night Watch
2-4. Thief of Time, Small Gods, Thud. In any order.

-The Djinn

[Don Beegles]

I agree about Eric; it wasn't completely horrible, but it toed the line in several places.

I sort of liked The Last Continent though. I mean, it was about Rincewind, which takes it down a few notches right away, but the wizards tend to redeem things. "You know, he's even got a book about croquet back at the University. It's even got woodcuts!"

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Yeah, Thud was great to.

Personally I thought Small Gods was in the 'moderate' section. Not really swinging in either direction. Not quite sure whats the big rave about it alot of folks have.

Is it just the poking fun at religion bit or what?

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Not just that (for the Djinn, at least). He happens to like the characters of Om and Brutha (namely the way they play off each other) and the story as a whole.

However, he really likes all the stuff HIDDEN IN THERE. (http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/small-gods.html)

The link is to the Annotated Pratchett Files. Browse around them if you've got time...it's amazing, what he puts in there.

-The Djinn

[Om]

1) Small Gods:
2) Guards, Guards:
3) Jingo

Small Gods was my first Discworld book and is still my favourite. It simply works on so many levels - from simple throwaway gags to serious satire. Guards, Guards is very much in the same vein but probably sets the record for "gags per minute". I was undecided about the last one, all the recent Watch books have been of equally high quality, but again Jingo has that cutting satire that I love so much.

On The Last Continent, I admit that its not one of my favourites but its still great. The Wizards are unfailingly funny on every outing. Of course if you don't get the whole Australia thing then its going to pass you by.


Not just that (for the Djinn, at least). He happens to like the characters of Om and Brutha (namely the way they play off each other) and the story as a whole.Why thank you :smallsmile:

[Kitya]

Djinn! Thanks for the link! I bookmarked the home page and will be perusing at my leisure. I think I got about half of the references listed for Small Gods. *laffs* But with Discworld, half ain't bad!!

[bosssmiley]

Small Gods
Feet of Clay
Night Watch

No particular order.

I have to say that the Tiffany Aching books are some of the best 'juvenile' fantasy I've ever read: too good for kids in many respects. :smalltongue:
The kiss off to J.K.Rowling and 'witch schools' in "The Wee Free Men" was priceless.

[JazzManJim]

1) Reaper Man (Dock A Loodle Fod!)
2) Guards! Guards! (Thunder rolled. ... It rolled a six)
3) Soul Music (There was a roar like the scream of a camel who has just seen two bricks)

There was also a great scene in "Jingo" where the Impish Organizer was calling out the events in the other universe where the war did not go well at all for Ankh-Morpork. Reading it still gives me goosebumps.

[TMTree]

Hmm... this is actually really difficult. They're all about the same except for a few duds in terms of quality, making it difficult to pick favourites. And he writes them like clockwork, which means there's seemingly hundreds to choose from. :smallsmile:

Anyway:

1) Small Gods: awesome book, the only easy selection on this list- like everybody else in this thread said, it just has a good mixture of plot and jokes.

2) Reaper Man: Death is awesome, and this book has Death in it. Actually, I could put any book with Death in it here.

3) Going Postal: I chose this one because t was fairly recent, and no-one else seemed to think it was good enough, so I felt that, as part of my shifting top five or so, it deserved some love:smallwink: . Oh, and the pins, obviously- all the bits about pin collecting were hilarious.

[drkmirror]

not in any order and will change depending on my mood

Small Gods
Thief of Time
Going Postal

[Green Bean]

Not just that (for the Djinn, at least). He happens to like the characters of Om and Brutha (namely the way they play off each other) and the story as a whole.


I agree. His best books have two characters that play off each other beautifully. Think about Death and Ms. Flitworth, Granny Weatherwax and Magrat (or Reverend Oates in Carpe Jugulum), or even Rincewind and Twoflower.

[Arlanthe]

1) Small Gods
2) The Last Continent
3) Feet of Clay

Small Gods is too classic.

I think "favorite Pratchett metaphors" would be a great thread because of the way he uses his mock fantasy world to make fun of human behavior in real life. he really catches all of the little quirks of human nature in his books.

[MrEdwardNigma]

1) Wyrd Sisters
2) Guards! Guards!
3)The Last Continent

[Leon]

1. Men at Arms (Signed)
2. Thud!
3. Witches Abroad (1st one i ever read)

[JellyPooga]

1)Soul Music

closely followed by:

2)Men at Arms

and the third is all but impossible to choose, but if pushed I would say...

hmmm...let me think a bit....

uurrmmm....

ah!, no wait...

ooo..I would have to go for...

oh damn, I give up. Can I just have "All the rest" as third best Discworld books?

[BigHairyMonster]

I love Wyrd Sisters, but that stems from a love of Macbeth, so any good parody would grab my attention; the fact that it's Pratchett is just ... bonus win.


Top three books in their own right -

1. The Last Hero: a beautiful, poignant end to the Cohen saga, and as always the Wiz(z)ards and the Silver Horde mirror each other brilliantly.

2. Night Watch: vintage Vimes.

3. Hogfather: I read it every Christmas. It's ... strangely festive. :smallsmile: It also appeals to my love of trivia and myth.

[CurlyKitGirl]

This is extremely hard. They're all fantastic and the least fantastic of them is above par for most other writers. My least favourite is Eric, also The Colour of Magic but then he was feeling his way for the series

1. Reaper Man-this is probably my fav in the Death series; a narrow lead
2. Night Watch ( I love all the Nught Watch really)
3. Wyrd Sisters ( and the rest)

This is an impossible thread. They're all great in different ways, it would be easier to list the sub-sections like withches, Death etc. Just about.

[TheAlmightyOne]

1) THUD!
2) The hogfather
3) reaper man

[Penguinizer]

Heh, I can't decide. 1 would have to be Hogfather. Mort is also good, and I can't think of the others.

[Aston]

No can do. Um... I have written about three lists, but each time it was a case of but this one I liked just as much....

Um... The ones I did not like as much are easier:

The first 3.

Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, Equal Rites.

[dish]

Dehro, I hope you don't mind, but I needed something to distract me from my thesis was interested, and did a little running tally.

Currently, the best-loved Discworld novel in the playground is: Small Gods (eleven choices). In joint second place are: Thief of Time and Nightwatch (nine choices each), and in third place is: Soul Music (eight choices).


Each time someone says stuff like "Pratchett was good at the start, but then he got worse", I want to, in order:
1. Laugh in their face
2. Mock their bad taste
3. Explain in a long essay why are they wrong
4. Punch them in the face
Tengu, I don't hold the point of view that you object to above, but I would like to try to explain how it has happened to some:

Imagine, if you will, that the year is 1985. You love reading fantasy, and you love reading comedy, but sadly the comedic-fantasy genre is rather bare. There's Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series, true, (though IMO it was never as good as the original radio version), but Dirk Gently wouldn't be published for another two years. The only new books you ever seem to get to read are Piers ruddy Anthony's adolescent wet-dreams in Xanth. You're starting to give up hope.

Then, one day, someone hands you a paperback from an author you've never heard of - Terry Pratchett? You start to read The Colour of Magic, and suddenly a new world opens before your eyes. At last you've found a comedic-fantasy novel that manages to be a) intelligent - containing satire and references to a huge range of high- and low-brow culture, b) non-sexist - none of Xanth's simpering bimbos here, c) deep - subtext, actual subtext! and, most importantly d) gut-wrenchingly funny.

Naturally you fall in love. So you read The Light Fantastic, and bask in pleasure as the author takes you to even greater heights. Thus an addiction is born, and each year you gratefully pounce on the next paperback in line as the author continues to delight you time after time, until he peaks some time around 1989 (Pyramids and Guards!Guards!).

(I'm going to slip back into the first-person here to tell you that when Pyramids came out in paperback in '91 I vividly remember lying in bed next to my sleeping boyfriend screaming with laughter throughout the entire night as I completed it in one sitting. At that time, though I had read every work Pterry had published up till then, I had never read any book as intelligent, hilarious, and silly all at the same time.)

Then, as the '90s progress, you start to notice a change. The Discworld novels don't necessarily make you laugh out-loud any more. Certainly not all the way through as they used to. Some of them barely raise a wry smile on your lips. What's happened? Have you changed, grown older, lost your sense of humour? Or has Pterry changed, toned down the zany humour, dropped the footnotes, increased the 'stealth philosophy' until it sometimes seems to take over the entire book?

It's very easy to move from that state to expressing the opinion you, Tengu, so detest. In fact, up until a few years ago when I re-read the entire series in order at my older and (ahem) wiser age, I might have expressed it myself. Now I realise that a lot of my love for the '80s Discworld books is pure nostalgia rather than because they were necessarily 'better' than the later works. Also, in the later books when the comedy and philosophy manage to fuse themselves together properly, then Discworld does soar to its most sublime peaks yet.

However, I know this is heresey, but I do think Pterry could have done with a better editor in the '90s and '00s. It's a common problem which has also hit JKR - editors seem to leave best-selling authors alone, presumably because they don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Anyway, after all that rambling, here are my top three (all published during the '90s, and all, IMO examples of the philosopy, satire, and humour meshing together beautifully), in order of publication:
Witches Abroad
Small Gods - I'm going with the majority here, 'cos they're right!
Jingo

[Tengu]

Nostalgia is a destructive force. You either keep the opinion that stuff really are as good as you remember it, and mess with others' views, or see what you liked so much in the past once again, and get shattered because it's not as good as you remembered it to be. Nostalgia is the force that makes, for example, so many people say "ho ho, Final Fantasy 4 is a smashing game".

The people I mentioned in my post are not necessarily nostalgic though, since many of them have read the older and the newer books at roughly the same time. They just have bad taste.

[dish]

The people I mentioned in my post are not necessarily nostalgic though, since many of them have read the older and the newer books at roughly the same time. They just have bad taste.
Maybe they just prefer the comedy and silliness, which tended to predominate in the '80s, to the serious philosophy/issues, which can (and sometimes DO) exclude the humour in the later books. You could argue for the comedy, or for the issues, but which you prefer will come down to personal taste.

As I said, I like Discworld books in which the strands balance. However, I don't believe that 'different' taste necessarily means 'bad' taste.

(Also, maybe the people you're referring to feel, as I do, that several of the books published in the late '90s and throughout the '00s contain good ideas, good comedy, good issues, but just need a really good edit to reach their ideal state.)

That said, during each of the decades Pterry has written some 'excellent' books and some that are merely 'very good'.

[Tengu]

Maybe they just prefer the comedy and silliness, which tended to predominate in the '80s, to the serious philosophy/issues, which can (and sometimes DO) exclude the humour in the later books. You could argue for the comedy, or for the issues, but which you prefer will come down to personal taste.

Well, I didn't find much comedy in the first books, not when compared to the further ones - look at the story about dragonriders in Colour of Magic for example, what is funny in that?



As I said, I like Discworld books in which the strands balance. However, I don't believe that 'different' taste necessarily means 'bad' taste.

Nobody with a broader view on the world believes that, I think, but some tastes really are bad - it's without question that, for example, someone who prefers Dan Brown to Umberto Eco has a bad taste in such "historical" literature.

[dish]

Well, I didn't find much comedy in the first books, not when compared to the further ones - look at the story about dragonriders in Colour of Magic for example, what is funny in that?
It's not laugh-out-loud, but it's a nice little riff off Anne McCaffrey. The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are obviously two halves of the same book, and as you read them you can witness Pterry first affectionately parodying many of the fantasy greats, discovering his own unique voice, and then running with it. As his voice becomes stronger, in The Light Fantastic, the comedy ride really takes off. There's the druids, the shamans, Cohen the Barbarian, the library, the spells, the 'state of mind normally achievable only by a lifetime of dedicated meditation or about 30 seconds of illegal herbage''.


but some tastes really are bad - it's without question that, for example, someone who prefers Dan Brown to Umberto Eco has a bad taste in such "historical" literature.
Dan Brown is low-brow, Umberto Eco is high-brow. Some enjoy one, some the other, and some strange people even enjoy both. Calling one 'good' and the other 'bad' is a contentious issue.

There are some people who consider all works of genre fiction (detective novels, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, etc) to be 'inferior' to literary fiction. I was having an argument with a colleague about this last week. According to my colleague because Terry Pratchett writes fantasy (and comedy at that) he will never be as 'good' as A.S. Byatt, Salman Rushdie, or Kazuo Ishiguro. This high-brow literary attitude has caused Pterry a bit of grief down the years. I remember him getting really quite worked up about it at a meet-the-author session I attended in the early '90s. And you just need to look at his statement on receiving an OBE for services to literature ("I suspect the 'services to literature' consisted of refraining from trying to write any,") to see that it's obviously still an issue for him.

[Aston]

There are some people who consider all works of genre fiction (detective novels, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, etc) to be 'inferior' to literary fiction. I was having an argument with a colleague about this last week. According to my colleague because Terry Pratchett writes fantasy (and comedy at that) he will never be as 'good' as A.S. Byatt, Salman Rushdie, or Kazuo Ishiguro. This high-brow literary attitude has caused Pterry a bit of grief down the years. I remember him getting really quite worked up about it at a meet-the-author session I attended in the early '90s. And you just need to look at his statement on receiving an OBE for services to literature ("I suspect the 'services to literature' consisted of refraining from trying to write any,") to see that it's obviously still an issue for him.

I do not count him as literature. I count him as damn good reads. Which, in my book, is higher praise. Some "literature" I have found myself unable to read.

I tend to lump things like books:
Believable or Not.
Good or Not.
I combine the too. A lot of SF comes into Not Believable and Good. Something like Len Deighton or **** Francis is Believable and Good.

Pratchett, Fforde and Freer are in another category: Awesome. Who cares if they are literary or not? I do not.

But I stand by what I said earlier: His stuff has gotten better and more unique. It has also become more thought provoking. A bad Pratchett is still way above many writers' best.

But then I am being extremely biased here. :)

[Morty]

Nobody with a broader view on the world believes that, I think, but some tastes really are bad - it's without question that, for example, someone who prefers Dan Brown to Umberto Eco has a bad taste in such "historical" literature.

Incorrect. "Different" doesn't mean "bad", and this example doesn't prove otherwise. Some people just prefer lighter literature, and I don't blame them.
But I'll agree that Color of Magic isn't great; The Light Fantastic on the other hand is.

[Tengu]

It's true that Light Fantastic is much better than Colour of Magic. Still a bit worse than most if TP's later books, but at least in the same league as them.

And hey, it seems that more and more people want to beat me with the "you're intolerant!" stick. Your worries are needless, I'm open-minded - I do not forbid anyone from enjoying what they do. But it does not mean that I'll enjoy it myself.

[Turcano]

First off, my top three:

Small Gods
Carpe Jugulum
Hogfather


However, the City Watch is my favorite series, when taken as a whole.


Personally I thought Small Gods was in the 'moderate' section. Not really swinging in either direction. Not quite sure whats the big rave about it alot of folks have.

Is it just the poking fun at religion bit or what?

You misunderstand; the book makes fun of bad religion. The story of Small Gods is the triumph of true religion over organized religion. Or at least, that's how I interpret it.


Maybe they just prefer the comedy and silliness, which tended to predominate in the '80s, to the serious philosophy/issues, which can (and sometimes DO) exclude the humour in the later books. You could argue for the comedy, or for the issues, but which you prefer will come down to personal taste.

See, I find that his earlier works, in addition to the comparative lack of complexity, thematics, and philosophy, aren't as funny as the later books. I didn't think that The Color of Magic, The Light Fantastic, or Sourcery had as much humor as the books after Small Gods (which is sort of "last of the old, first of the new"), and I actually disliked Mort. But as you said, it's a matter of personal taste, I guess.

[WoodenTable]

My top 3 Discworld books:

1) Going Postal. I'm used to Pratchett books being generally sedate with exciting moments in between, but Going Postal is the written equivalent of a rollercoaster. I was totally breathless for most of the book, and it's the only one I've reread more than three times. Moist von Lipwig is just my favourite character of all time, ever.

2) Feet of Clay. All that character conflict, and in constructs that aren't even supposed to have character, according to their creators. I loved it.

3) The Last Hero. It's sort of tied with half the Discworld novels for the #3 spot (Small Gods, Hogfather, Night Watch...), but the illustrations pushed it to the top. Paul Kidby's art captures the spirit of Discworld and its people perfectly. Rincewind, the Patrician, every major Wizard, Leonard, the Librarian, Cohen and his Horde, the landscapes, the elephants... all absolutely beautiful.

[Matticus]

Argh. It's difficult to choose, really.

1. The Night Watch

2. Thud!

3. Mort

They were my personal favourites. And The Last Continent. And Thief of Time. And Men at Arms. And ...You get it.

[Naleh]

1. All of them.

2. All the rest.

3. The remainder.

[Jazzvader]

1. Night Watch
2. Moving Pictures
3. The Truth

EDIT - How about you also do a thread, if there isn't one already, asking people what their 3 favourite Pratchett character is?

[Atheist_Cleric]

1. Night Watch
2. Reaper Man
3. Going Postal

Its hard to pick, they're all good. I had to really think about whether or not to make mort or postal number 3.

[Shadow of the Sun]

I can't choose myself. I love Going Postal, and I'm going to be buying Making Money as soon as it is released.

Don't make me choose between my babies!

[Elliot Kane]

Soul Music is my absolute favourite, and has been since it came out.

Going Postal would be second. Moist may not be as great a creation as Susan, but he's up there.

Thief Of Time would be third... Or maybe Hogfather. One of those two. Can't go wrong with Susan, she's Pratchett's best character, IMO :)

That said, I like Truth, too... Number three is just too hard to decide :)

[Kurald Galain]

Reaper Man. Awesome concept.
Wyrd Sisters. Gotta love the shakespearean madness.
Hogfather. I like DEATH a lot, and this one had me laughing all night. HO. HO. HO.

[BRC]

#1. Thud, I don't know why, I just like it alot
#2. Theif of Time: Its got crazy monks, and Death, whats not to love!
#3. Night Watch: all-around great book.

[gojira]

The Last Continent
Wierd Sisters
Small Gods

[Jorkens]

1. Soul music

2. Interesting times

3. Night watch
Hmmm... I'd have

1) Interesting Times
2) Soul Music
3) Night Watch.

Is that the closest we've come to a match yet, or have any top threes actually come up twice in the same order?

Re the early ones vs late ones things: I'm probably going to get strung up as a heretic here, but does anyone else find that as you read more of them (in whatever order) you start to see quite a bit of the humour as being essentially another variant on a gag he's done somewhere else? I guess it's kind of a feature of having written so many books, but there are various forms of joke and stylistic tics that really start to stick out...

Each new one I read still makes me laugh more times than most new books I read, though, so I can't really compain...

[nerulean]

Oooh, tricky.

1. Jingo I love. It's slick, funny and clever and pretty much has all the Pratchett hallmarks. It's got a great balance of running jokes and new material, and the characters are beautifully portrayed in it.

2. Night Watch is pretty much a continuation of all the above reasons. The Watch and their peripheral characters have developed far more than any of the others, if only because of the sheer number of books with them in, and I love the direction this series has taken. The satire in it is some of the subtlest and most elegant of all of the books.

3. Reaper Man was my eventual third choice after a lot of consideration. After the first two it gets a lot harder! This book has a lovely combination of the absurd humour that characterises Discworld and the poignancy that Pratchett is capable of injecting into his stories for the stories' sake. Death is ironically one of the most human characters in the whole series and is definitely one of my favourites, but I'm not particularly fond of either Mort or Susan, and so I appreciate this opportunity to see Death without them.

As for the old vs. new debate, the more recent books are definitely much slicker and sharper. The satire especially has become a lot more sophisticated as the Discworld is now big and complex enough to reference almost anything within itself without needing to talk about real world people, objects or places. Likewise, the stories have become more self-aware and less like the very traditional fantasy novels Pratchett was originally parodying, again an increased level of sophistication that has grown along with that of his subject matter. That said, there are still a lot of excellent jokes to find in the older books and there is nothing saying that humour has to be sophisticated to be funny - we laugh at guys getting whacked in the head, after all - and there are always enough layers of humour and hidden jokes that every time you read an old book again you spot and laugh at something new.