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The Works of Terry Pratchett: A Primer
Terry Pratchett died last week at the age of 66, after a lengthy and public struggle with early-onset Alzheimer’s. He left behind an astonishing body of work—including a whole hilarious, complicated world. This is an introduction to that world—Discworld—as well as to some of his standalone projects, for readers who haven’t yet had the pleasure and need to know where to start.
Terry Pratchett has been compared to Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde, two other delightfully British comic science fiction/fantasy authors whose works I’ve spent many hours enjoying. To my mind, though, there’s something different about Pratchett: his novels are hilarious, yes, and they’re wacky and full of self-aware hijinks, but their humor is built on very solid ground. Pratchett novels have so much to say about our world, about our lives and decisions and struggles, that they have a lengthy afterlife: you’ll read them and laugh, but then, years later, you’ll find yourself still thinking about a particularly interesting idea, or a story or character that’s suddenly perfectly relevant to your life.
So where to begin with Pratchett? The answer is complicated (fittingly, because so are the books). There are times when it’s appropriate to begin at the beginning, and there are times when it’s better to sidle in right in the middle of everything.
Here’s a quick guide to a few major entry points.
Discworld
Discworld is a flat world that swims through space on the back of a giant turtle. Parts of it roughly map onto parts of our own world, and in recent years it has been experiencing its own Industrial Revolution. The series currently numbers 40 novels, along with a whole host of short stories, related science books, and reference guides.
When faced with that many books, where is one to begin? Because the series evolved significantly over the years, and because few of the novels are more than very loosely connected, you don’t have to begin with the first and work forward. Instead, you should begin with characters who appeal to you and follow them through their story arcs, which will eventually intersect with other important characters. Call it the Network Theory of Pratchett.
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Rincewind
“Rincewind wasn’t used to people being pleased to see him. It was unnatural, and boded no good. These people were not only cheering, they were throwing flowers and hats. The hats were made out of stone, but the thought was there.” –Eric
Rincewind is a wizard who spends most of his time running away from things he deems hazardous to his health. He has almost no magical ability (there was an accident, you see, and one of the eight great spells of the creator ended up getting stuck in his brain and scaring other spells away), but a surprising talent with foreign languages allows him to have a great number of adventures he doesn’t want. Death regards Rincewind as a personal hobby, and has evolved some fairly complicated theories about him.
Where to start: The Color of Magic
In this case, you actually do get to start at the beginning: The Color of Magic is the very first novel of the Discworld series. Follow Rincewind as he encounters a very unusual person: a tourist. Twoflower, a resident of the Counterweight Continent, has decided to holiday in the great and terrible city of Ahnk-Morpork, where the river Ahnk is so polluted that “even an agnostic could walk across it,” and you can commit suicide just by walking down certain streets. He brings with him The Luggage, a large, sentient chest with a lot of teeth. Disaster ensues.
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Death
“Picture a tall, dark figure, surrounded by cornfields…
NO, YOU CAN’T RIDE A CAT. WHO EVER HEARD OF THE DEATH OF RATS RIDING A CAT? THE DEATH OF RATS WOULD RIDE SOME KIND OF DOG.
Picture more fields, a great horizon-spanning network of fields, rolling in gentle waves…
DON’T ASK ME I DON’T KNOW. SOME KIND OF TERRIER, MAYBE.
…fields of corn, alive, whispering in the breeze…
RIGHT, AND THE DEATH OF FLEAS CAN RIDE IT TOO. THAT WAY YOU KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE.
…awaiting the clockwork of the seasons.
METAPHORICALLY.” — Reaper Man
Death is, perhaps, Discworld’s most beloved character. A black-robed skeleton who carries a scythe and rides a white horse (Binky—”it’s a nice name”), Death has appeared in almost every novel in the Discworld series. He speaks in small caps, and is both fascinated and confused by humans. Over time he has become more sympathetic, even helping us out from time to time, but he is perpetually on the outside looking in.
Where to start: Mort
Mort is the first of several books focusing on Death and his increasing entanglement with humans. In this one, Death decides to take an apprentice, Mort, and then let him take over The Duty for a while. Unfortunately, Mort’s love life gets in the way…
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The Witches
“I did start out in witchcraft to get boys, to tell you the truth.”
“Think I don’t know that?”
“What did you start out to get, Esme?”
Granny stopped, and looked up at the frosty sky and then down at the ground.
“Dunno,” she said at last. “Even, I suppose.” — A Blink of the Screen: Collected Short Fiction
The witches are a group of women living in a small mountainous country who can do magic, but usually just practice “headology,” because knowing people can be more effective than knowing magic. The two main members of the coven are Granny Weatherwax, an incredibly powerful witch who dislikes people and helps them anyway, and Nanny Ogg, a dirty and delightful old broad who appreciates a nice pint. They take on a number of amusing apprentices over the years to bring their number to three, but Granny and Nanny usually provide the backbone of the stories in some way. If you like miracle worker stories—with a character so incredibly efficient all she has to do is walk into a room for you to know things are going to be set straight—then Granny Weatherwax is for you.
Where to start: Wyrd Sisters
Although Wyrd Sisters is not the first book Granny Weatherwax appears in, it’s the first one that really focuses on her. The coven reluctantly gets entangled in royal politics in a hilarious spin on Hamlet, complete with assassinations and theater.
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The City Watch
“Cheery was aware that Commander Vimes didn’t like the phrase ‘The innocent have nothing to fear,’ believing the innocent had everything to fear, mostly from the guilty but in the longer term even more from those who say things like ‘The innocent have nothing to fear.’” –Snuff
When you have a city as big and terrible and awesome as Ahnk-Morpork, filled with technology, magic, immigrants, and aristocrats, you’re going to have problems. Basically, the city is in a constant explosive state, and it’s the City Watch’s job to make sure not too many people die during any one disaster. Led by Sam Vimes, a furious alcoholic who was born into poverty and has since had title after title forced upon him, the Watch stories contain some of Pratchett’s most memorable characters: Carrot Ironfoundersson, a 6′ 6 dwarf; Captain Angua von Überwald, the first woman to join the Watch (and perhaps something more besides…); and a personal favorite, Corporal Nobby Nobbs, a smelly, thieving personage who has to carry a certificate to prove he’s human.
Where to start: Guards! Guards!
The Noble Dragon was supposed to be extinct, so a lot of people are surprised (and then dead) when one turns up in the middle of the city. Now it’s down to Sam Vimes and Co. to set things straight and save the city.
Non-Discworld
Terry Pratchett was extraordinarily prolific. In addition to writing a 40-novel series, he also managed to write a bunch of science fiction novels, stand-alones, and several collections of short stories. Here are just a few:
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The Long Earth series, cowritten with Stephen Baxter
The Long Earth is an ongoing series (at the time of Pratchett’s death three novels were out, with a fourth on the way) about a potentially infinite set of parallel Earths that can be traveled across using a device called a “stepper.” None of the other worlds have native Homo sapiens, although there are sometimes other hominid species, and a major theme concerns what would happen if there was suddenly an enormous amount of land and resources available to humanity.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
4.6
Paperback
$9.99
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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, cowritten with Neil Gaiman
Chances are if you’ve ever expressed any interest in science fiction or fantasy, someone has told you to read Good Omens. Listen to these people. It may be one of the funniest books ever written. See, the problem is that the apocalypse is upon us, but the angel and demon who’ve been assigned to Earth since forever ago aren’t particularly happy about the upcoming end. Then there’s the Antichrist, who, due to a hospital baby-switching mistake, has ended up a totally normal eleven-year-old with a gang of friends who turns a hellhound (it was a birthday present) into a sweet little doggie. Will Earth survive?
A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction
This collection of short stories spans Pratchett’s entire writing career, going all the way back to his school days. It contains five Discworld stories, poetry, early tales, and the stories that inspired The Long Earth and The Bromeliad Trilogy, one of his children’s series. A great read for those just starting to read Pratchett (and how I envy you) or for the devoted fan, A Blink of the Screen is a fascinating look into an incredible career.