In case you didn’t hear, fantasy author Terry Pratchett died today. He was 66.
I have a confession. The only Pratchett novel I’ve read is Good Omens, his collaboration with Neil Gaiman. A couple of you might remember that time I met Neil Gaiman. Ever since Neil Gaiman signed my copy of the book, this only increased my desire to add Terry Pratchett’s signature as well. Alas, it was not to be.
I tweeted this confession, and book recommendations immediately followed. Given Pratchett’s enormous bibliography and many possible places to begin reading, I embraced and welcomed these recs. Since tweets are by nature ephemeral, I’m documenting these recommendations for future reference. Maybe these recs will help you too.
(Note: these are not listed in order of being written or popularity, or by who recommended them. I started this, but it got unwieldy quickly.)
Guards! Guards! (multiple recs)
Monstrous Regiment
Going Postal
The Truth (multiple recs)
The Long Earth
Small Gods (multiple recs)
The Color of Magic (note: this is the first Discworld novel)
Reaper Man (multiple recs)
Lords and Ladies
Fifth Elephant
Thud!
Snuff
Interesting Times
Night Watch
Hogfather
Dodger
The storylines featuring the watch and the witches (not sure which books these are, for the recommender did not specify)
There was also a general suggestion to read them all in order, a technique I usually embrace when reading series. This excellent pictoral guide to Pratchett’s books also came up, along with choosing your next books based on which characters you love.
Even though these are a lot of books, they give me an idea of where to start. Where do you plan on starting (or continuing) your Pratchett adventure?
One reply on “Terry Pratchett Book Recommendations”
I’m in a similar boat, and I’ve decided to start with Wee Free Men, since the boyperson thinks I’d really be a fan of Tiffany Aching. Also, it’s the start of his more YA-ish set, which is more my speed. Plus, he already owned a copy of it I could borrow–no library wait needed!