Colour of Magic - My introduction into Discworld

[Darth Nostril]

You definitely need to read Light Fantastic next seeing as it follows directly on from COM.
Personally I would recommend reading in order of publication, you get to see the recurring characters grow over time.

[Iroscato]

Very well, order of publication seems to be the way forward. Thanks guys

[The Romulan Republic]

Just wait until you get into the Death and City Watch series. It may be personal bias, but those are the ones that really grab my attention.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Seeing as I'm roughly 2/3 of the way through, what do you guys recommend my next port of call be? The Light Fantastic, Guards, or something else?
And thanks for the explanation Crossroads, that makes sense in that delightfully twisted way

As others have said, Obviously you need to read "Light fantastic" next. If nothing else, continuity wise, you'll want to end the first Rincewind story arch properly

As for Next NEXT Book, Well here is my personal suggestion.
SMALL GODS.

Here is the reason. Aside from being an AWESOME Book, funny, deep, satirizing religion and poking fun at the often grotesque institutions that grow up around them, there is ANOTHER reason I recommend you read it next. The religion mentioned in the book, as well as it's events, are referenced COUNTLESS Times in other books. I ended up reading that book toward the end of my own journal, and the whole time up until I read it I kept going "What the hell is this religion everyone keeps talking About?"
THAT, and (IMHO) The book takes place a long LONG Time chronologically, before EVERYTHING else.

A few other notes...

When the time comes you start reading the watch books?
Please, PLEASE do NOT read "Men At Arms" UNTIL you have read "Moving Pictures"
Likewise,
Do NOT read "Feet of Clay" UNTIL you have read "Reaper Man"

The reason being? Both books introduce characters that go on to become Watchmen. Once again I didn't know this, and Reading the 'Gaurds' series all in one go, thought various people were just "created" and came across reference to past events going "When did THAT happen?" thinking that must have happened i some prior Guards story.

So... just a keep heads up

[Crazedwraith]

Technically the character you're referencing for Moving Pictures first appears in Guards!Guards! albeit very briefly. And in both cases they're introduced in such a way that you don't really miss anything by not reading their previous appearances first.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Well, not QUITE true CW, (Although I did forget that "that person" was mentioned in 'Gaurds Gaurds' but indeed VERY briefly...)

In the case of the person of 'Moving Pictures' you ARE introduced to their Love Interest... Granted, THAT isn't mentioned again for some time, but when it IS You would have a very large "Where did THAT come from" moment... I seriously re-read EVERY 'Night Watch' book after that, thinking I had missed it some where in there

[Iroscato]

Ah, poor Hrun. Gets the shit kicked out of him, manages to overcome all obstacles, is just about to get laid and become a lord, and then...those bastards snatch him away!

[Crossroads Inc.]

Don't feel TOO Bad for Hurn, he does 'Eventually' Have a happy ending of sorts. But you won't here about it for a few books

[Darth Nostril]

Crossroads is way wrong (not to mention incapable of correctly spelling a name that has been mentioned numerable times), just keep reading Chimaera.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Crossroads is way wrong (not to mention incapable of correctly spelling a name that has been mentioned numerable times), just keep reading Chimaera.

One, If you are referring to what happens immediately after they "rescue" Hrun, well, I had figured he had already got to THAT point.
Two, I would imagine my chronic spelling and Dyslexic issues would be quite well known at this point, theres no need to keep pointing it out

[Iroscato]

Well I read what happened immediately after Hrun's 'rescue', and yeah, I can see the point made earlier about being over the top for the sake of being over the top. Thing is though, while it's not to everyone's taste I lap that shit up

[andrewgpaul]

The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are fantasy pastiches that parody a lot of other fantasy- for example, the characters of Bravd and the Weasel are a straight lift from Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.

For someone who's already read a fair amount of mid-20th century fantasy and is familiar with the basic tropes of the genre, it's a lot of fun- and that's the audience Pratchett aimed the books at back in the 80s. It's written in his characteristically amusing tone, and the two books are good books.

They are not representative of the later Discworld novels, though- but is that really such a bad thing? Arguably, the sheer rollicking fun-ness of those first two novels is the best introduction to the Discworld a reader could ask for.

I also read them in publication order (Looking at the publication dates on Wikipedia, I think Eric was the last one published when I started The Colour of Magic), and it's as good an order as any. With the possible exception of Small Gods, they pretty much all follow one another chronologically anyway.

While TCoM is basically a series of spoofs of existing fantasy settings (Leiber, as mentioned, then a bit of Lovecraft and some McCaffrey), I read it before having read anything it was sending up, and it was still plenty entertaining (I think I'd read Soul Music before having seen The Blues Brothers, too).

I was halfway through a big re-read of the novels when I heard that Pterry had died, by way of a sad coincidence, in a more thematic order (all the Death novels, all the wizard novels, I'm just now starting Guards! Guards! again). The changes in characterisation stand out a lot more when I read them back to back, especially among the Faculty of UU.

Also, and this may be a spoiler for Chimaera, so ...
Spoiler

I enjoyed the description of the journey from Ankh-Morpork to Bonk in Raising Steam - it tied in various locations that got one-off mentions in the early novels, and fixed them into the world.

[Iroscato]

Well I finished it in the time the board went down, and all I can really say is...

A goddamn amazing read. The moment when Rincewind looks in dread down over the edge of the Disc to see the elephants and what is indubitably a flipper was a mindfuck.
The entire book was an explosion of imagination, intrigue and hilarity, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Light Fantastic will be my next read, after which I will delve into other works, most likely Small Gods as number three. Thanks to all who have advised me and reminisced with me, and I will most likely necro this thread when I get round to Light Fantastic, if that is alright.

[Crossroads Inc.]

First off Chim, don't worry about Necking this thread if it comes to it.. You are in a rather enviable position...

All of my friends have (for the most part) already READ all of the Discworld books, or have no intention of doing so. In other words everyone I know has already gone through the excitement of the "first read". You however, you are one of the VERY rare people to be reading the books the first time! It is fresh and new and exciting to you! And seeing how you react is a wonderful thing

That in mind, and knowing you HAVE finished the first book, I am curious what you have thought of:
The Luggage thus far:
The concept of "Hydrophobes"
The "Lady" IE the goddess who must not be named
Also knowing you will just start the Light Fantastic, I am VERY curious what you might think of how it starts and a certain magical incident that takes place back in Ahnk-Morpok >:)

[Iroscato]

Well my overall impressions are how unconventional the whole thing is, but of course that was pretty much the point. As I mentioned in my first post, Rincewind didn't strike me as a hero in any sense of the word, but he ends up becoming renowned and even feared throughout the disc and turns out to be kind of an accidental badass Plus the whole concept of having one of the eight great spells lodged in his brain and dying to be spoken was just endlessly fun.
The luggage...a highly unusual but hilarious concept. The dread it stirred up in Rincewind the first time he met it was priceless, the way he thought about running away, only to have something that sounded like dozens of tiny legs coming after him...
I wonder where all those severed hands/feet went in the end.
The Hydrophobes...people who are disgusted by their own bodily fluids. That sounds pretty common actually
But then taking that idea to the point of 'they can literally repel water through sheer force of will and magic so it doesn't touch them' is hilarious. THEN to take that to 'people use their absolute rejection of the stuff to create hovercraft' blew my mind. Twoflower spitting at one of them came fairly close to killing me from multiple broken ribs.
The whole Pantheon of the Gods - not so much worshipped as blamed - was very interesting. The fact that the entire plot of the book is essentially a board game being played by the Gods gave another wonderfully weird twist to events. As for the Lady herself...I'm not sure what she's all about, apart from being strangely likeable but ominous as hell.

I think I'll give CoM another read-through soon, once my affairs are a bit more set in order. Then onwards, onwards...

[Irbis]

Seeing as I'm roughly 2/3 of the way through, what do you guys recommend my next port of call be? The Light Fantastic, Guards, or something else?

See, problem here is, Discworld isn't a book series. It's 5 different book series, set in common setting. They do reference each other, but I'd honestly read each series in turn, to not miss sometimes very subtle references to what happened before. I'd only skip to another 'series' when the one you're currently reading reaches big turning point in storyline affecting all of them.

So, for now, Light Fantastic (direct sequel to CoM), Sourcery, Eric. These four form one storyline that doesn't touch other books so it makes sense to read them first. Sadly, next book after those in 'Wizards' series (Interesting Times) happens way later so I'd move off the series to Guard or Witches one, or read one of one-off early books (Pyramids, Small Gods).

By the way, skip yellow line on the storylines picture after Pyramids/Pictures until very late in the series. These either are side books that don't tie to anything else or have drastically different mood that will make no sense if you don't see it evolving slowly.

In the late 70's early 80's there was this "Gold Rush" of Fantasy writing, and to Terry, it was mostly VERY BAD Fantasy. His first two books are a sort of direct response to this, One Massive poke in the eye of the Pulpy Fantasy mush of the time. So.... Someone reading them today who is NOT a big fantasy fan (or who is not British) has a hard time getting into it. So yeah, they are not BAD books, they are as we know VERY funny. It is simply it's hard for an outsider to sink their teeth into

Meh.

I read Colour of Magic in early 90s (one of the first foreign fantasy books published in Poland) and I had absolutely no idea what it references, outside of small glimpses of Lovecraft and McCaffrey. Because, you know, that Iron Curtain business, little to none of cultural exchange between East and West, lack of competent translators.

I still found it supremely funny and entertaining book, one of the best ever.

[Crossroads Inc.]

The whole Pantheon of the Gods - not so much worshipped as blamed - was very interesting. The fact that the entire plot of the book is essentially a board game being played by the Gods gave another wonderfully weird twist to events. As for the Lady herself...I'm not sure what she's all about, apart from being strangely likeable but ominous as hell.

You know I forget if 'The Lady' is specifically "named" in the first book, or if you are left to simply infer what she is... In any case yowl figure it out eventually.

Other way glad you are having so much fun! As I';ve said, It's awesome to watch a new comer reading through books for the first time

[Vendetta]

The Lady is never specifically named, but the consequences of invoking her name by those seeking her favour are mentioned to be somewhat disastrous.

[Pelranius]

I don't suppose it was ever confirmed that the Lady is Rincewind's mother?

[Crossroads Inc.]

Um... Consider who the lady is.. (No Spoilers Please!!!)
I deeply deeply doubt that... Mostly as I know, there are no cases in any discworld books of such (ahem) "mixed marriages"

[SpottedKitty]

Um... Consider who the lady is.. (No Spoilers Please!!!)

Heh, I dunno, Her identity isn't much of a mystery if you watch what happens around Her, and under Her influence.

[madd0ct0r]

Um... Consider who the lady is.. (No Spoilers Please!!!)
I deeply deeply doubt that... Mostly as I know, there are no cases in any discworld books of such (ahem) "mixed marriages"

Blind Io gets around, seducing maiden's in the form of showers and vases and such like.

[eyl]

Um... Consider who the lady is.. (No Spoilers Please!!!)
I deeply deeply doubt that... Mostly as I know, there are no cases in any discworld books of such (ahem) "mixed marriages"

Blind Io gets around, seducing maiden's in the form of showers and vases and such like.

There are a few references to people being descended from gods
Spoiler

One of the girls in Susan's boarding school is supposedly such a descendent

and there is at least one significant character born from a union between a mortal and an anthropomorphic personification
Spoiler

Thief of Time]

.

Regarding CoM (and TLF), as said it's in a pretty different style from the other books - the plot is IMO a lot less coherent, with a lot of jumping around and random events (it's similiar to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in that respect), while I prefer the latter more focused books.

[Crossroads Inc.]

That is true Ely.
I think it is perhaps more the case that, it DOES happen it just, doesn't happen very often "These days" and.. If it did happen, I doubt its something Pratchett would care to tell in a story. After all he does love the lives of "Ordinary" folks.... for the most part of course...

[Iroscato]

So I did a little background reading on the book to peel back some of the layers.
The Luggage is a play on Hammerspace. Duh, of course it is. How did that not twig?
The 'Lady Luck' thing I eventually figured out myself
A second read-through is most certainly required, methinks...