Welcome to the next installment of my Discworld adventure… 

Sourcery: Discworld #5

The third Rincewind. Not the biggest fan of him, though he’s slightly growing on me. In this book, the eighth son of the eighth son of an eighth son has arrived. He’s a sourcerer. And he’s out to wreak a little havoc on the world. Other characters include the Librarian (remember, ape not monkey), and Conina (daughter of Cohen the Barbarian), Nijel the Destroyer, and Cresosote. Not sure I liked these three very much – the narrative that included the wizards, Coin the sourcerer, Death and *shock* Rincewind was more interesting than these three. Easy to read, not the most engaging.

Wyrd Sisters: Discworld #6

This marks the return of Granny Weatherwax, last seen in ‘Equal Rites’, making this the second of the Witches sub-series. I really enjoyed this one – Granny Weatherwax forms a non-social coven with two other witches, Nanny Ogg and Margat Garlick, and during the course of their reluctant socialising, help save the kingdom of Lancre from the clutches of an evil Duke. Throw in ghosts, supernatural occurrences, and a healthy dose of Shakespeare satire, and you’ve got Wyrd Sisters. I quite enjoyed the down-to-earth nature of these witches, who aren’t what you’d expect from “witches” – as Nanny Ogg said in the book, as witches get used to magic, it’s a special kind of magic to not use any! One of Pratchett’s more enjoyable books.

Pyramids: Discworld #7

This is the first time I’ve read this book in the series, and absolutely loved it. I’ve always enjoyed history in general, and this book references Egyptian pharaohs and mummies and pyramids, and takes readers for a fun ride. Teppic has trained to be an assassin in Ankh-Morpork. But his father passes away – and he’s the new king! Teppic goes back home to rule and to build the biggest pyramid ever seen. But pyramids have power, and this developments leads to a series of hilarious incidents. This book has mummies, camel-mathematicians, and nubile handmaidens. Along with a few gods thrown in. It’s a standalone book, so doesn’t necessarily need to be read in the order that it was written.

Guards! Guards!: Discworld #8

The eighth in the Discworld series, the first in the City Watch – this book was absolutely fantastic in setting up the story of Captain Vimes and the Night Watch. We are introduced to Carrot, Nobby and Colon, all of whom are beloved characters in the series. Lady Sybil is also introduced, and her relationship with Vimes is wonderfully set up in the book. In this novel, Ankh-Morpork is subjected to a few dragons, one of whom decides it wants to take over the city and rule. How will the Ankh-Morporkians deal with this? And how does Vimes turn from a bottle-hugger to a hero? How does Carrot turn from thinking he’s a dwarf to transforming the Night Watch? One of the best books I’ve read so far in the Discworld series – I give it five stars.

Eric: Discworld #9

Rincewind returns in his fourth outing! While trying to summon a demon to make his teenage wishes come true, Eric somehow manages to end up with Rincewind the wizard (who picks up from where we left him at the end of Discworld #5, Sourcery). Join the pair as they embark on an adventure to the beginning of the universe, a war over a woman whose appearance may or may not have launched a 1,000 ships, a sacrificial empire, and perhaps even…Hell. It was quick reading, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I might. Good moments, but I’ve never been the biggest Rincewind fan to begin with, so perhaps that contributed to me not loving it as much as I could.

Moving Pictures: Discworld #10

A standalone novel, Moving Pictures is a straight parody of Hollywood culture, with the Discworld version Holy Wood. In this book, alchemists discover how to create moving pictures, with the help of imps. But is this magic, or science? And why are people being drawn to Holy Wood, and who or what is putting mysterious dreams in their heads? We join failed wizard Victor and milkmaid hating Ginger on their adventures in tinsel town. I struggled with the beginning of this book, it felt like it was dragging on. About halfway through it got a bit more interesting, although the ending felt rushed/contrived. Even so, it’s a decent Pratchett book, but not one to read first if you’re not a Pratchett/Discworld fan already.

ADDENDUM: Death and What Comes Next: Discworld #10.5

So I cheated a little bit. I found this novella listed on Goodreads as Discworld 10.5, with my favourite character in the series – Death. Some of the reviewers shared where it could be read (here you go): all I will say is, it’s very short, but filled with the wit and sarcasm you would have grown to expect from Pratchett by this point.

The Color of Magic: Discworld #1

The introduction to the Discworld is nothing short of fantastic. Terry Pratchett combines humour with outright impossible fantasy to create a world where you are asked to believe in trolls, magic, a giant turtle (male or female unknown), and heroes.

Rincewind, a failed (sort of) wizard, has come into the dubious employ of a tourist, Twoflower, and keeps him alive in the face of extreme circumstances, and against all odds. Twoflower is determined to see the wonders of the world which is equally determined to kill him. And then there’s Luggage – a mysterious box with thousands of feet doggedly following its master Twoflower. And there’s also Death, who isn’t amused by Rincewind escaping him more than once. Throw in a few Gods, dragons, and Heroes… and the first Discworld novel was born.

I first read this book in 2013, and it’s a madcap intro to a world with no rules. The book ends with a cliffhanger, and would definitely push people to pick up the second.

The Light Fantastic: Discworld #2

This is my first time reading this book, which is the second in the Rincewind series. We pick up right where The Color of Magic left off. Rincewind has [SPOILER!] fallen off the edge of the Rim, but there are a lot of forces keen to keep him on the Discworld. Twoflower, the irrepressible tourist, is still around, and as optimistic (or foolish, call him what you will) as ever.

In this book, matters move ahead. The Spell that has lodged itself in Rincewind’s mind is aching to get out. Twoflower just wants to see the world, while the wizard just wants to go back to Ankh-Morpork. Will the intrepid duo (and The Luggage) make it back to safety? They are joined by a geriatric Hero Cohen, and a nubile young woman Bethan. Throw a few trolls in, and we’re all set.

The humour is something I’ll keep coming back to, again and again. The puns, one-liners, and jokes are littered across this book, as the first. When I’d read Terry Pratchett books earlier, with no order in mind, Rincewind’s character thoroughly irritated me. Having been given a chance to read the first novel followed by this one, I’ve found that I’m growing to tolerate the wizard who’s fairly useless at…being a wizard.

The book ties it up neatly at the end, leaving Pratchett to further explore other Discworld elements from the third book.

Equal Rites: Discworld #3

I first read this book in 2013 (so says Goodreads anyway), and at the time I gave it a 3/5 rating. With my second time, it bumped up to a 4. The third in the Discworld series, and the first in the Witches sub-series, it introduces Granny Weatherwax, a witch, who is thrown into a situation that was without precedent: a female wizard has been born. Everyone knows (in Discworld), that men are wizards, women are witches. But the eighth daughter of the eighth son, Esk, has arrived to shake things up a bit. Join them for a journey to The Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork, and watch both characters come into their own. The book even throws in a special appearance from possibly my favourite Discworld character, Death.

By no means his best work, I bumped up this book from 3 points to 4 because I really appreciated the nuances of his world-building, and humour on the second read.

Mort: Discworld #4

The fourth Discworld book (and the first in the Death series) contains who is possibly my favourite Discworld character – Death. In this book, Death takes on an apprentice, appropriately named Mort (short for Mortimer). We get the feeling Death is a littel bored out of his skull (he he he) and needs company, needs variety, needs a bit of a shake-up before falling back in love with his job again. The book is, wonderfully, all about Death’s and Mort’s journey together. We also learn Death likes cats. And curry.

I’ve got to say, I’m probably biased giving it a 5/5 on my second read, but I genuinely love Death’s character, and he never fails to make me laugh. Yes, the book is silly, but so are many of the Discworld novels.

* * * * *

Right, four novels down. 37 to go.

 

“DON’T THINK OF IT AS DYING, said Death. JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH.” (Art by Paul Kidby) pic.twitter.com/IOhElwxsDD

— Diana Sousa (@DianaSousaBooks) March 12, 2015

My first Discworld novel was “The Truth” and I fell in love. I kept reading. And I always wanted more.

After him “leaving early to avoid the rush” last year, I wanted nothing more than to read the entire Discword series from start to finish, in the right order. I never got time.

But enough is enough.

Here’s what I’ll be doing. I’m going to read the entire series this year (that’s 41 of them; I’m not looking at The Science of Discworld range yet) and every 4-5 books, will write a round-up. Most are available in my local library, and the rest I’ll borrow or buy. Even if I’ve read a book before, I will read it again.

I’m not only going to be reading these though! As with every year for a while now, I’ve been aiming and mostly succeeding in reading 100 books a year. In 2015, due to a variety of reasons, I only managed 63. But I’m back to 100 this year, and I’m pretty sure I’ll make it.

So my Discworld journey begins.