Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

[EC2]

Wyrd sisters is more fantasy than historical but it does have plenty of historical elements. 'Witches are not by nature gregarious and they certainly don't have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly regarded of the leaders they didn't have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe.'

It's a skit on Macbeth, but with lots of serious layers amid the humour. But why I've mentioned it on forum is that there's an interesting quote re history at one point in the book

: '....the past is what people remember, and memories are words. Who knows how a king behaved a thousand years ago? There is only recollection and stories. And plays, of course.'
......'You tell me history is what people are told?' said the duchess.
The fool looked around the throne room and found King Gruneberry the Good (906-967). 'Was he?' he said, pointing. 'Who knows now?' What was he good at? But he will be Gruneberry the Good until the end of the world.'

Spot on...

[diamondlil]

I love the hidden gems that are sprinkled thoughout Pratchett's books. I haven't read this one yet though.

[Carla]

Oh, that's one of my favourites! I think it may have been the first Discworld novel I read. It's those sharp observations among the jokes that make Pratchett such a joy. I reckon he's going to be regarded as a classic author in the fullness of time, up there with Dickens and the like.

[annis]

Terry Pratchett is in a class of his own -as you say he's both very wise and bitingly sharp as well as being extremely funny. He also makes the idea of magic seem perfectly believable.
The witches are probably my favorites, though as a librarian of course I have a soft spot for the Librarian and love the concept of L-space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-Space#L-space)
DEATH is a wonderful creation as well, and I really enjoyed the superannuated barbarians in 'Interesting Times".
I believe movies have been made of "The Colour of Magic" and "Hogfather", though I haven't seen either of them.

[Leyland]

So, where does a reader start with Pratchett? Are his books a series that should be started and read in order? I'm referring to Discworld, I think. I've not been sure what to buy first whenever I look his many works up on Amazon, so I haven't got anything yet.

[EC2]

So, where does a reader start with Pratchett? Are his books a series that should be started and read in order? I'm referring to Discworld, I think. I've not been sure what to buy first whenever I look his many works up on Amazon, so I haven't got anything yet.

I haven't read them all and it's difficult for me to say because I've read them out of sequence. I think the first one is The Colour of Magic. Guards Guards! is fairly stand alone. Wyrd Sisters (a skit on Macbeth) and Witches Abroad are loosely 1 and 2 of that element of the Discworld stories, but you don't need to read in sequence. Mort is fairly stand alone - I've just read that one. The only thing you need to know when setting out is THAT DEATH ALWAYS SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS when he appears as a character!
I've just found my copy of Guards! Guards! which is dedicated by Pratchett
to
'They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever their name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they wanted to. This book is dedicated to those fine men.'

There's a wonderful quote in the book about second hand bookshops that every reader should remember:
'Even big collections of ordinary books distort space, as can readily be proven by anyone who has been around a really old-fashioned secondhand bookshop, one of those that look as thought they were designed by M. Escher on a bad day and has more staircases than storeys and those rows of shelves which end in little doors that are surely too small for a full-sized human to enter. The relevant equation is: Knowledge=power=energy=matter=mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.'

Wonderful stuff!

[Carine]

So, where does a reader start with Pratchett? Are his books a series that should be started and read in order? I'm referring to Discworld, I think. I've not been sure what to buy first whenever I look his many works up on Amazon, so I haven't got anything yet.

This is a link to his page on fantasticfiction.co.uk (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/terry-pratchett/), maybe it can help Leyland, at least the order in which he wrote them is there.

[Ash]

Here's a better one:

http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-1-5.jpg

Its a flow chart. You decide which type of books you want (witches, guards, wizards etc) and start from the first listed, then move on from there. Personally my suggestions for beginners are Small Gods, Soul Music, Mort, and Wyrd Sisters. The ones earlier tend to be a little too light (tho are still very good) the ones after them require a little more background.

[annis]

Wyrd Sisters are my favourites-- love those witches. You certainly wouldn't want to cross Granny Weatherwax the wrong way! I have high hopes for young Tiffany Aching as well.

[EC2]

Wyrd Sisters are my favourites-- love those witches. You certainly wouldn't want to cross Granny Weatherwax the wrong way! I have high hopes for young Tiffany Aching as well.

My best friend has been loving Wyrd Sisters (her first Pratchett). I'm buying her Mort for Christmas.

[Carla]

Leyland - The first two Discworld books (Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic) aren't the best place to start, in my view. They're a sort of extended spoof on the Epic Fantasy genre, great fun if you read a lot of it and get all the references (especially so if you've also got slightly bored with it), but they don't have much of a plot. Equal Rites also doesn't have much of a plot.

Pratchett says that he discovered the delights of plot round about Book 4 (which was Mort). I think the best place to start with Discworld is one of the books after this point, but still early in the series. The ones I recommend as starting points are:
Mort
Wyrd Sisters
Guards! Guards!
Pyramids
Small Gods

Terry Pratchett had got into his Discworld stride by the time he wrote these, so they are excellent - they have plot and character and sharp commentary as well as all the jokes. They'll give you a good idea of what the Discworld series is like. All of these are either stand-alones (Pyramids, Small Gods) or near the beginning of their respective series, so you don't need to have read any of the others. Guards! Guards! is the first of the City Watch, Wyrd Sisters is the first where the Witches really get going (Granny Weatherwax appears earlier, in Equal Rites, but there's no benefit in having read Equal Rites before Wyrd Sisters).

If you like these, you'll probably like the rest of the Discworld series. The later novels are best read in order, either in publication order or by following first one series and then another, as in the flowchart that Ash linked to. You can read the first three anywhere you like.

Hope this is some help!

[Leyland]

Excellent advice, everyone! You've all been a great help. Thanks so much. I'll order Mort and Wyrd Sisters today then.

And thanks for the quotes, EC. You've definitely whet my appetite.

[Momrobare]

Terry Pratchett is in a class of his own -as you say he's both very wise and bitingly sharp as well as being extremely funny. He also makes the idea of magic seem perfectly believable.
The witches are probably my favorites, though as a librarian of course I have a soft spot for the Librarian and love the concept of L-space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-Space#L-space)
DEATH is a wonderful creation as well, and I really enjoyed the superannuated barbarians in 'Interesting Times".
I believe movies have been made of "The Colour of Magic" and "Hogfather", though I haven't seen either of them.

Wyrd Sisters as been made into a DVD I believe! :)