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26 June 2003
I’ve read all of the Discworld novels except for the latest (
The Wee Free Men
). Of those, I’ve read all of them more than once, and I don’t think there was one I struggled through. So it came as a bit of a surprise to me that I could only pick three that I instantly thought were really good, and the rest of this list was determined by a painstaking process of elimination.
As ever, in reverse order, with the best last.
-
Mort
-
‘Hello, Sosha L’Commentary? Yes, it’s me. Listen, I’m afraid we won’t be needing your
“services”
for this book. Nope, more straightforward, more gags, more character, less philosophising. I know it’s a book starring Death, but we’d like to give it a try. K, thanks, bye.’
-
Small Gods
- I feel a bit uncomfortable about this. It’s not as deep or as meaningful as some claim, but it’s bursting with ideas and is set in a desert. I like deserts.
-
Thief of Time
- A refreshing change of scenery and cast, in keeping with the more recent novels.
-
Jingo
- Of all the Discworld books I’ve gotten as Christmas presents (about three, maximum), this one has the best memories. I think I actually read it before eating anything that day (although it usually takes me a good twelve hours from waking up to eat anything, so that’s not saying much).
-
Guards! Guards!
- The first Watch book, introducing Carrot to Ankh.
-
Lords and Ladies
- To be honest, I can’t stand the witches books in general. This makes it natural that my favourite of them is probably the least well-received. So it’s patchy and not as well-paced, and it may be lacking in humour, but at least (as I recall; I last read it many years ago) there was a refreshing lack of preaching.
-
Reaper Man
- And so to the business end of things. Reaper Man was the first Discworld Book I read, and so for me it is the definitive Death book. I have an unfortunate tendency to confuse events in this with events from
Hogfather
. Life, belief, same difference.
-
Feet of Clay
- A fine blend of murder mystery and Discworld humour. As with most of the books, when I think about it there’s little in particular that stands out — apart from the heraldry bits — but this is more consistent and flowing than most.
-
Pyramids
- My second most-read Discworld book because of its superior setting — many many good cultural jokes. That and the rooftop shenanigans of Teppic remind me of the Thieves’ Highway mission from Thief II.
-
Interesting Times
- Considering I have never at any point owned this, it’s quite incredible that I’ve read it more than any other Discworld book. The funniest book with the
‘original’
combination of Rincewind and Twoflower.