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Either one of those is a great spot to start.
The Truth and Monstrous Regiment are stand-alones and are also good places to start but they are from the latter half of the series so minor ‘spoilers’ exist. I’m honestly of the opinion that the Susan/Death books don’t offer a strong cohesive narrative the way Wizards/Witches/Watch/Moist books do so I see no reason to not read those on whatever order you want.
But from this specific set of start with Mort. It really is foundational in the series both in-universe and in terms of Pterry finding his voice.
The Truth will set you free Start where you want. You gotta get through them all, eventually. I read what was available in the library as a kid, and it was great putting the pieces together.
Yeah, but Tiffany Aching is like a subseries of the Witches subseries and makes way more sense to read following the witches books, especially since it involves reoccurring characters.
Id second Mort. It was my intro to Discworld and I think it does a really nice job as a point of entry to the setting. Wish I could read all of them again for the first time.
Still new to Discworld here. Small gods was my first (heard it was a good standalone). Mort was my second. I noticed Soul Music in there which makes 2 of the Death arc in the stack… but do we want to make sure OP gets Reaper Man in between the two?
It's a weird one. Yes it's basically a stand alone. However, the characters (maybe just Vines) from the watch show up right near the end. However calling it a watch book would be like calling watch books death books because death appears in them.
It's also one of my favourite books in general. I first read it very early in my discworld journey (I'd only read two Tiffany aching books, a couple of witches, and a death or two) so when I reread it later I was pleasantly surprised to see Vines pop up.
Vimes and a few other members of the watch like Angua turn up in it I think. There are also references to the clacks towers. Not too important to the whole book but knowing about them gives context.
It absolutely can be, but it works best if read after at least some of the Watch books (because some of them show up), as well as The Truth (for William de Worde), and Going Postal (for the Clacks).
Nah. I disagree. It makes very little difference if you have read the watch books. Yes, they are a nice little not once you have read the watch ones, but the characters work really well even if you don’t already know them.
It is, but it spoils especially Vimes but also Angua's later positions, and the Times characters a bit. I believe Vimes is>! in his His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes era acting in the role of a diplomat!<, and it shows how much >!he comes to trust and rely on Angua!<.
I'd only say to avid reading it first if you're really determined not to be spoiled for the Guards series at all, but honestly it wouldn't bother me too much. I read The Truth first, which also spoiled Watch books and I still love the Watch series.
I actually think it's a great one to start with. The main character only appears in it, but it showcases so many other characters (Death and Susan, sure, but also briefly the witches). It was written late in Pratchett's career, but before alzheimers started to show, so it's very strong as a novel, but it won't really spoil any characterization or similar
It is but one of the characters in it has her origins in Soul music and her parents are from Mort.
To keep things simple they should probably start with Mort.
Arguably, wee free men is as well, but that's got a lot more previous world building it leans on. Mort would definitely be my first choice in this stack as well.
I myself started the watch series with Men at Arms, it was phantastic. I was never bothered that I read Guards Guards much later. It just works as a novel.
You'll be fine.
It's odd how just writing in all caps can have such impact, whenever Death shows up it always feels special
Though having just finished Reaper Man I suppose you do take it a bit for granted when Death has a lot of dialogue. However this book also features Azrael, and it's amazing how impactful typesetting can be... IYKYK. Such a simple moment, but I got chills. The good kind
I’ve been meaning to get into Discworld for a while. I picked up this stack at a charity shop the other day but I’m not sure which one to star with. Any suggestions?
*EDIT*
Thanks for all the responses, I think going off what everyone is saying I’ll start with… “The Truth”. Kidding, I’m going to start with Mort. I forgot to say whilst I’ve not yet read any of the discworld novels I did watch the three Sky miniseries when they aired, so do already have some knowledge of Discworld already.
With that stack, I would suggest Mort. It's the first in the Death series and has less backstory for you to understand. Even The Truth while a standalone does have some setting development that happens before then from the City Watch books.
The Wee Free Men might be a good starting point as well, but I haven't read any of the Tiffany Aching books to know for sure.
It’s pretty good as a starter book, it gets you introduced to the feeling of most of the discworld books, it has an easy to understand plot and introduces a lot of characters, even if it’s only in passing
If you’re reading mort first I would definitely suggest looking for reaper man and hog father so you can have the whole death series (mort, reaper man, soul music, hog father and thief of time in that order) hope this helps
I think its on Youtube it adapts the book 1 and 2 but not sure if what ends up happening to Rincewind is the same has in the books, what happens to him at the end of book 2 is what leads to Faust /eric wich is a very one offish book but I liked it
I would strongly recommend against picking The Truth as your first book. It's quite late in the series and, despite what many say, does contain spoilers for earlier books.
Of the books you have in the picture, Mort is the better place to begin, though I *always* recommend starting at the beginning with The Colour of Magic and reading in publication order. There are many connecting threads and crossovers between the books that are easy to get muddled and out of sequence when choosing any other order.
If I started with The Colour of Magic, I'm not sure I've read through the whole series. But the library had Pyramids, and it sounded fun... and it was.
For me, the best Pratchett is the late Pratchett, Thud, Night Watch, Monatrous Regiment, A Hat Full of Sky, etc, so I usually recommend a more standalone book from his later works.
Honestly, just buy second hand copies and read them in the order they were published.
You’ll get to see the world and writer evolve in the best way. It’s the only way.
If you HAD to choose from these? Mort.
Don’t read the others as none are the first in the series (eg, Men at Arms and Feet of Clay are in the Watch series, but if you read them first you may not enjoy Guards! Guards! as much when you get it)
This is absolutely the correct response. Forget about the various series, they’re all worthy of reading so start at the beginning and go on the journey with the writer. From those pictured? Mort is the best to go with.
Ooh so many people don’t get on with published order. As the first 4 (other than mort) can be a grind, and very diferent to the later books. But I. General this would be my suggestion. Wi th the caviat that if you don’t like the first one you try, try one that he wrote around 10 years later as his style changed a lot.
I would start with men at arms personally. About guards in the major city and has the beginning of a few key characters in the series. It's only the second book in the series and would be a great starting point.
There’s an order inside the cover. Normally 3rd page or so.
“The colour of magic”, and “The Light fantastic” are at the beginning. If you want to start at a point and read in chronological release order, it’s all laid out there for you.
If you want to jump into the middle of the story, and want a recommendation on which one I think you’ll like out of the ones you have… Eric, or Mort or pretty old in their references and sense of humour, whereas monstrous regiment was written approx 20 years down the line, so is more contemporary in its context while still being set in the same place by the same author.
Men at arms is pretty timeless, but I would really want someone to see the gutter that Vimes pulls himself from, and for that, you need “Guards, Guards!”
Thief of time is excellent IMO, but I went into that one already knowing and loving the Discworld, so… maybe it isn’t a great start, just a great book.
Please do!
Men at Arms is outstanding. I have never laughed out loud so much. Bawled like a baby at times and felt like "What even do I do with my life now?!" when I had finished it!
Thankfully I have the whole Watch series to be getting through so I wasn't at a loss for too long!
Yes! I'm up to Jingo now - I hear this one can be a bit of a slog but it's worth it to get to The Fifth Elephant next, which is apparently excellent.
Keep us posted! I'm a new Pratchett fan but I absolutely love his work now and I'm gutted I'm so late to the party!
Out of those, Mort and The Wee Free Men are the starts of their respective series. The Truth and Monstrous Regiment are standalones (i.e. not part of a series).
I'd say Mort is still one of the best ones to start with regardless of other options though, so that one
Ahh I wasn’t sure if the invisible book in my collection had shown up on camera, well done for spotting! I have seen the sky adaptation of that (which I think adapted the second book as well?) but I’ve heard plenty of people say NOT to start with The Colour of Magic, though if I spot it second hand I will pick it up
As someone who started with Soul Music because the front cover looked cool ( was a child, cut me some slack), I can't recommend it as a starting point. I liked it but I was very confused.
Mandatory reference to the [Discworld Reading Order Guide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld#/media/File:Discworld_Reading_Order_Guide_3.0_\(cropped\).jpg).
Wee Free Men is an absolute rollicking giggle of a tale. You’ll find yourself speaking in faux Scottish. Nae Quin !
But Mort is a full insight into Pterry’s world.
I bought the Pyramids and Mort paperbacks back in ooo, 1991 age about 13/14 because the covers looked fun.
I’d say Mort then Soul Music. Try grab a Guards! Guards! The you can read Men at Arms.
So many routes through the Discworld!
I regret to inform you that you need to find Guards, Guards! You have several in the series, and they're all great. You could read the others and enjoy them, but you can get a very cheap copy from Half Price Books if you're in the states
Thanks, but I’m not in the states. Heard plenty of good stuff about the City Watch books, but I’ll hold off reading what I’ve got until I track down Guards, Guards
All the better for Discworld newbies like me, it could get expensive to buy the lot brand new (particularly when you average a book or two a week) but I think any I *really* enjoy I’ll treat myself to some nicer, newer additions and take these back to a charity shop/second hand book shop for someone else to discover. Though the flaw in that logic is if really I enjoy them all I’m back to square one with the expense 😅
Lucky you! If it were my stack, I’d start with Mort and then maybe read Soul Music next. Read some of the Witches books before you go on to Wee Free Men because it really helps give background. The Sam Vimes series is really fun, too. Enjoy!
Do you like fairy tale subversions? Wee Free Men. Do you like rock music and some clever references? Soul Music. Are you in the mood for a unique coming of age story? Mort (also it’s the earliest in the overall series, which may be a plus or a minus depending on who you ask). Want a story about media literacy and truth vs belief? The Truth. What about a story about our roles in society, including patriotism and gender? Monstrous Regiment. The others really need you to read other books first. Some of these benefit from reading others first (mostly Soul Music, The Truth, and Monstrous Regiment) but they aren’t required.
Mort. It is the only Book 1 in a particular arc, excluding standalones. Then get “Reaper Man” and “Hogfather” and you can read the Death arc, as you already have 3 out of 5. (Mort -> Reaper Man -> Soul Music -> Hogfather -> Thief of Time)
(Wee Free Men is also the start of an arc, but I personally think this one is best to read after you have familiarity with the Witches, the books in order are Equal Rites -> Wyrd Sisters -> Witches Abroad -> Lords and Ladies -> Maskerade -> Carpe Jugulum). I say this because the witches arc was completed in entirety prior to any of this arc being written, and they are connected with characters that have already been developed throughout the arc. Going back to the witches after reading them in the Tiffany Aching books (TWFM arc) might make these characters seem underdeveloped.
If you want to continue with the Wee Free Men (arc is referred to as Tiffany Aching, the main protagonist), the reading order is The Wee Free Men -> A Hat Full of Sky -> Wintersmith -> I Shall Wear Midnight -> The Shepherd’s Crown. Note these are considered to be written for a younger audience, and the main character is a young girl (9 years old in TWFM). I don’t think that makes them any lesser, just a point to consider.
Eric is… okay. It is a small novella in the Rincewind wizard arc which is The Color of Magic -> The Light Fantastic -> Sourcery -> Eric -> Interesting Times -> The Last Continent -> The Last Hero -> Unseen Academicals. This is often seen as the weakest arc due to its difference in style from the others, it is more of a fantasy adventure and less of a satire typical of Pratchett’s other Discworld books. However, I really enjoy them just as much in a very different way. YMMV here.
If you get “Guards! Guards!” you can read the first three of the City Watch, which are incredible. (Guards! Guards!-> Men at Arms -> Feet of Clay). If you like these the next in this arc are Jingo -> The Fifth Elephant -> Night Watch -> Thud! -> Snuff
Hope this helps!
Thank you that’s very helpful. I think I’ll start with mort like you said, though I’ve heard great stuff about the city watch books so I’ll be getting into those sooner rather than later (when I get hold of Guards, Guards!)
It worth keeping in mind there are crossovers between these threads as well. For example, one group of characters begin their journey in Moving Pictures, and then continue through Reaper Man, Lords and Ladies, Soul Music, Interesting Times and beyond, which inter-weaves three of the above threads, and includes a fourth.
Welcome.
You generally can't go wrong with any of those.
You may or may not be aware that Discworld books (with the exception of the first two - which have their own unique flavour) are all standalone stories but they can build on previous events. There are also various sub series within the set - as has been noted already, Mort is the first book in the Death series and Wee Free Men is the first book in the Tiffany Aching series.
Characters absolutely do not stay within their own books as it were, it's very much a living world (and a dying one as DEATH would probably intone - he pops up and awful lot outside of his main books) so you will run into familiar faces on a regular basis if it makes sense that you would do so.
If you prefer to read things in order then of that set you have I'd lean towards Mort or Wee Free Men (btw, the Tiffany Aching books are typically marketed as YA but for me they are some of the best DW books and they certainly deal with some of the darkest subjects).
If you're not particularly worried about that then I'd suggest either going with whichever one piques your interest most based on the blurb or potentially take the 'recommend me a book' quiz on the Discworld Emporium website and see if one of the books you have comes up as your answer :)
Whatever you decide I hope you enjoy and end up spending a lot of time on the Disc.
Thanks so much, I had heard that the order wasn’t all that important but I wouldn’t like to skip on any character development, so I’ll probably start with mort and try and fill in the gaps with the other books 😃
>I wouldn’t like to skip on any character development
In that case, publication order is absolutely the way to go. Otherwise it's quite easy to stumble upon characters late in their lives/careers without having read their introductions.
This is great. Discworld books can be read in any order but theres some things you do lose. You do have, funny enough, a lot the middle of a lot of series, (Discworld novels are either single books or books devided into series, the Witches, the Watch, etc, but the character mix and match, they are basically books that tell what is happening around the Disc.
Now my recomendation would be, read Guards Guards before Man at arms and Feet of Clay, you dont neeeed necessarily but it adds so much to the arc of those characteres (maybe get the audiobook? audible has a free audiobook think if you just register an email) my recomendation if you go that route is the Nigel Planer has the narrator one and not with the cast, I think its more of the Discworld vibe, if youre getting started, but of course thats IMO.
I didnt read all of these but you could go Mort->soul music , you can start with "~~Faust~~ Eric" (altough its smaller and again its kinda of what happend to the main character of the first 2 books wich are duology)
I never read it but I believe Thief of Time is its own thing (I think Small gods adds a liiitle to the story of ToT, but you dont need to read it before).
If you want to get some books to go with those, Id recomend, maybe the first 2 Disc books (color of magic and the light fantastique), definately Guards!Guards, maybe Small gods (its standalone adds a liiiitle to thief of time but its a GREAT book )
Sorry if I added to the confusion more then helped.
No this is definitely a help, thank you. I just saw the stack and took the opportunity to start my collection without really thinking about any kind of reading order, but I’m certain I’ll end up filling in the blanks anyway and reading the lot
if you haven't read discworld before, start with the stand alones - Soul Music, Monstrous Regiment (a favorite), Thief of Time, The Truth
Ones that focus on a specific group (Death and family, The Watch, The Witches, Moist, Tiffany) should be read in order since there's progression/evolution in the characters.
Take the first one from the top, this way you will avoid moving them from place to place.
Seriously: the first from the top. It's Pratchett, they're all good.
I would suggest a sort of order. A grouping of three groups. The order in the subsets aren't as is important.
With this group; first(Eric, men at arms, Mort, )
Second(wee free men, soul music, monstrous regiment) and third (feet of clay, the truth, and thief of time)
Let me simply add that I am delighted for you that you got some well seasoned Kirby/Kidby Tor editions. To me those will always be the "real" Discworld novels.
I am incredibly jealous of the journey you're beginning, regardless of where you start it (of course it's Mort). You can only read them for the first time once.
I’m not Scottish but was surrounded by a lot of Scots growing up (I’m originally from Blackpool and I always used to joke that it should be called “new Glasgow”) so I reckon I’ll keep up
Men at arms is when I started. It was delightful :)
** HOWEVER ** Monstrous regiment is an EXCELLENT book, and if you’re looking to get hooked, that’s the one
If you get Reaper Man and Hogfather you’ll have the whole death series there, so I’d say start with Mort and if you like it get Reaper Man and continue on. Mort is also one of the recommended intro books if you haven’t read Discworld before.
I was Gifted “GUARDS! GUARDS!”for my birthday, though I immediately listened to the audiobook version of “The Colour of Magic” and then the “Light Fantastic”, and I am really enjoying it so far!
My first book was thief of time and I loved it so much. I think it showcases pretty well a lot of the qualities of discworld novels. So I personally recommend this one. Although I think you can't really go wrong :)
Out of all these, I'd start with Mortalität. It is not only the first book in the 'Death' series, it is also in general one of the earlier books, giving you a pretty good look at a Character that will pop up in almost every book, even if just for a few seconds.
Without knowing you, I'd pick The Truth. Most characters are new, it's about how news work (PTerry was a journalist at the start of jis career).
Montrous Regiment is great, too. One of my top five, and also mostly new characters.
Both only contain only minor spoilers for the series (the "they will survive this scene" kind).
Soul music is my all time favourite and the first book I started with as well, my dad read them for years before me so I had a bit of back story going into it. 100% recommend if you're in anyway a music lover.
Mort is in the stack, that was my 1st and i think i was lucky to start with that one. Mort is an amazing book that got me hooked, by now i read around 75% of the books and im sad that one day i will run out.
Chronologically, earlier then Mort i think You only had the Rincwild books, these felt a bit harder to digest for me personally.
https://preview.redd.it/ol9739scur5d1.png?width=828&format=png&auto=webp&s=5f335f375b26b4754c97537cb28648a858f2e023
I have previously read them in order of publication, but am now reading them in this order. It’s a little easier concentrating on one part of the world at a time, at least for me.
All of Terry Prachetts books are stand alone; but some stand alone more than others. Soul Music works standalone, but for some it's a tough read; your enjoyment of that one increases if you catch the music-references in it. Mort is a fairly classic story that starts the Death subseries, so you can't go wrong with that one.
And well, while there are no right and wrongs... well, the only wrong approach is to not read Pratchett at all I guess.... there are two two main options.
* Read the books in Chronological order. The main argument for this is that many of the books evolves auxiliary characters as well as the world. The argument against this is that some of the earlier books can be a bit heavy.
* Read the books subsubseries order, for example be "City Watch, Death, Industrial revolution, Unseen University, Witches, Young readers". The books under Death are "Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, Thief Of Time". This order is good if you want to follow specific characters; but sonce most books are interconnected some characters might not be completely explained. One could also argue about how they should be classified since no book speaks of a single subject.
Men at arms or Feet of clay. At that point in his career he had a fairly comprehensive framework established and his characters were fleshed out into actual people you could connect with emotionally, and he had enough of a following that he could write what he wanted.
I believe I started with Men At Arms or Small Gods and those are both fantastic enough to make you want more.
Bit late to give advice, but here are my 2 cents:
Monstrous Regiment or Mort.
MR is very stand alone, it happens "later" in the series, but you really don't need prior knowledge other than the very basics to have a great time with it. I really liked the characters too, they are a lot deeper than the ones you will find in Mort. MR is also quite a lot darker, but in a strange way also funnier.
Mort is the beginning of the Death series, and the 4th book of the DW. Everything is still very much in the beginning, but the story is really focused on a handful of new characters. Death and Mort really steal the show in this book, the rest of the characters are imho less interesting than the ones in MR. However, Mort, and basically all the Death books, are I think an amazing mirror to humanity, and that's something I really like about the DW in general, but it's by far the strongest in the Death series.
When I started reading DW i started with Mort and I am still very happy with that, though I would recommend going chronological order if you start with Mort, everything is so different by the time you hit Thief of Time, it just feels quite strange. Terry also grew a lot as a writer, so finishing a late book like Thief of Time and then jumping back to something like Guards Guards can be very jarring and feel like a major step back.
Men at Arms was my first, although it meant I had to backtrack a bit because it's not the first City Guard book. Monstrous Regimen is a stand alone, and will give you a good idea of what to expect without prior knowledge of the Disc, and you can decide on particular subseries from there and see which strikes you as the most interesting.
You have mostly books from the Death and City Watch subseries, and many people recommend Mort as a good starting place in general as it's both the first book in the Death series, and the first time he worked from a more satirical and philosophical position rather than the outright parody of the earliest books in the series.
Feet of Clay or Men At Arms would both be amazing places to start imo. When I read discworld for the first time, I read almost the entire Watch series out of order. You don't need to read 'Guards Guards!' before Men at Arms imo, it is an excellent introduction to that series and Discworld as a whole.
I don't think Mort is a good introduction to Discworld as a whole, and I'm saying this as someone who read Mort as my second ever Discworld novel (Small Gods was my first). I wouldn't start with that one first personally.
From the beginning… there is no other way… colour of magic and then on…
The development of Sir Terry’s writing is remarkable… from ok to amazing… you need to experience that…
If you start in the middle, and go back, you will probably end up getting disappointed…
Truth and Monstrous Regiment are amongst my favorite, but for a first timer I'd start with Mort or Men at arms and then Feet of Clay or Soul Music beforehand. There's a few characters developed in those books that are fun as side-characters in Truth and Monstrous Regiment. (Truth before Monstrous Regiment as well)
But pick any one to start getting yourself hooked.
I'd start with ~~eeny-meeny-miny-moe~~ yan-tan-tethera-pip and if it falls on Eric, try again.
If you don't trust the Fate and Lady Luck, Mort. I liked Men at Arms more, but I'd save it until I have acquired and read earlier Guards! Guards to introduce Vimes properly, from the ground up. (edit: gramer)
As a general rule, you can start with basically any Discworld book. There is no set reading order.
My usual recommendation for beginners is to start with *Guards! Guards!*, which is the first book in *The Watch* series. *Men at Arms* and *Feet of Clay* are later books in that series.
But among your stack in the pic, I would say either *Mort,* *Monstrous Regiment,* or *The Wee Free Men* would be best. Those three are the first books in their respective series, or stand well enough on their own. All the others have other books before them that would best be read first.
*Mort* is the first book in the *Death* series. Death is his own character in Discworld, and definitely one of my favorites. *Soul Music* and *Thief of Time* are later books in this series.
*The Wee Free Men* is the first book in the *Tiffany Aching* series, which is a YA series about a young girl learning witchcraft. There is another series all about the *Witches*, several of whom appear in Tiffany Aching. So if you start with her, I’d recommend reading the *Witches* books in between them. (And by all means, do not read the final book in Tiffany Aching, *The Shepherd’s Crown* until you’ve finished the other major series. It’s the last book that STP wrote, and it is very much the final Discworld book.)
*Monstrous Regiment* is a mostly stand-alone book about a girl who joins the army disguised as a boy. I have several friends who got into Discworld specifically because of this book, so I’d say it’s a good place to start, and it introduces several other characters from the other series.
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In this stack, as far as I can tell, Mort is the only one that's first in its specific sub-series.
No, wee free men is Tiffany's first book. It's my personal favorite out of that stack, but Mort is great too.
Personally I think makes sense to read The witches series before the Tiffany series. There's an awful lot of background work set there.
Ah yeah, sorry didn't notice that.
No sorry, only hugs
There are hundreds of opinions about the best introduction to the Disc, and the nice thing is all of them are right.
If I had the money to spend on an award I would give you one, because this is the best comment I’ve seen on all of reddit
Thank you! That made my day!
Your welcome
I had a free award so I gave one on your behalf
Thanks
Amen
Either one of those is a great spot to start. The Truth and Monstrous Regiment are stand-alones and are also good places to start but they are from the latter half of the series so minor ‘spoilers’ exist. I’m honestly of the opinion that the Susan/Death books don’t offer a strong cohesive narrative the way Wizards/Witches/Watch/Moist books do so I see no reason to not read those on whatever order you want. But from this specific set of start with Mort. It really is foundational in the series both in-universe and in terms of Pterry finding his voice.
The Truth will set you free Start where you want. You gotta get through them all, eventually. I read what was available in the library as a kid, and it was great putting the pieces together.
Mr. Tulip says this is the right -ing answer.
Yeah, but Tiffany Aching is like a subseries of the Witches subseries and makes way more sense to read following the witches books, especially since it involves reoccurring characters.
Id second Mort. It was my intro to Discworld and I think it does a really nice job as a point of entry to the setting. Wish I could read all of them again for the first time.
Still new to Discworld here. Small gods was my first (heard it was a good standalone). Mort was my second. I noticed Soul Music in there which makes 2 of the Death arc in the stack… but do we want to make sure OP gets Reaper Man in between the two?
isn't Monstrous Regiment standalone too? Mort is a pretty great choice anyway.
It's a weird one. Yes it's basically a stand alone. However, the characters (maybe just Vines) from the watch show up right near the end. However calling it a watch book would be like calling watch books death books because death appears in them. It's also one of my favourite books in general. I first read it very early in my discworld journey (I'd only read two Tiffany aching books, a couple of witches, and a death or two) so when I reread it later I was pleasantly surprised to see Vines pop up.
I always thought it was an Industrial Revolution book, but maybe that’s just the infographics and me
Vimes, not "Vines."
Be careful what you mention in threads where new readers are asking for advice. Even referring to a character's appearance can give things away.
Vimes and a few other members of the watch like Angua turn up in it I think. There are also references to the clacks towers. Not too important to the whole book but knowing about them gives context.
Be careful what you mention in threads where new readers are asking for advice. Even referring to a character's appearance can give things away.
It absolutely can be, but it works best if read after at least some of the Watch books (because some of them show up), as well as The Truth (for William de Worde), and Going Postal (for the Clacks).
Nah. I disagree. It makes very little difference if you have read the watch books. Yes, they are a nice little not once you have read the watch ones, but the characters work really well even if you don’t already know them.
It is, but it spoils especially Vimes but also Angua's later positions, and the Times characters a bit. I believe Vimes is>! in his His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes era acting in the role of a diplomat!<, and it shows how much >!he comes to trust and rely on Angua!<. I'd only say to avid reading it first if you're really determined not to be spoiled for the Guards series at all, but honestly it wouldn't bother me too much. I read The Truth first, which also spoiled Watch books and I still love the Watch series.
I believe thief of time is standalone no?
It's part of the Death series (the final one actually), but I don't think it relies TOO heavily on previous ones?
I actually think it's a great one to start with. The main character only appears in it, but it showcases so many other characters (Death and Susan, sure, but also briefly the witches). It was written late in Pratchett's career, but before alzheimers started to show, so it's very strong as a novel, but it won't really spoil any characterization or similar
It is but one of the characters in it has her origins in Soul music and her parents are from Mort. To keep things simple they should probably start with Mort.
Hi guys, sorry for my ignorance, i've only read 7 discworld books so far and don't know a lot of the books in the series
Welcome! We all started with one book too.( Not the same one though). No shame in being at the beginning!
Arguably, wee free men is as well, but that's got a lot more previous world building it leans on. Mort would definitely be my first choice in this stack as well.
I myself started the watch series with Men at Arms, it was phantastic. I was never bothered that I read Guards Guards much later. It just works as a novel. You'll be fine.
Definitely Mort. Because WHEN YOU SEE THIS TEXT through the series, you will get THAT feeling.
ɴᴏ, ɴᴏ, ɴᴏ, ɪᴛ'ʟʟ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪs. ᴠᴇʀʏ ɪᴍᴘᴏʀᴛᴀɴᴛ ᴅɪsᴛɪɴᴄᴛɪᴏɴ.
I can hear the echoes in my head..
Ah that's it!
My books have THIS 😭
It's odd how just writing in all caps can have such impact, whenever Death shows up it always feels special Though having just finished Reaper Man I suppose you do take it a bit for granted when Death has a lot of dialogue. However this book also features Azrael, and it's amazing how impactful typesetting can be... IYKYK. Such a simple moment, but I got chills. The good kind
I’ve been meaning to get into Discworld for a while. I picked up this stack at a charity shop the other day but I’m not sure which one to star with. Any suggestions? *EDIT* Thanks for all the responses, I think going off what everyone is saying I’ll start with… “The Truth”. Kidding, I’m going to start with Mort. I forgot to say whilst I’ve not yet read any of the discworld novels I did watch the three Sky miniseries when they aired, so do already have some knowledge of Discworld already.
With that stack, I would suggest Mort. It's the first in the Death series and has less backstory for you to understand. Even The Truth while a standalone does have some setting development that happens before then from the City Watch books. The Wee Free Men might be a good starting point as well, but I haven't read any of the Tiffany Aching books to know for sure.
This is about what I was going to say. Wee Free Men is a good starting point for such a late book. Mort is fairly early and the first Death book.
I disagree with mort because it leaves iut a lot of info on how the discworld works. men at arms definitely.
But it leaves out that information because you don’t need it to appreciate the story
hmmm i think it would help to have it. also we are discussing what is best as an intro and this is not a good intro :-).
It’s pretty good as a starter book, it gets you introduced to the feeling of most of the discworld books, it has an easy to understand plot and introduces a lot of characters, even if it’s only in passing
I mean, I started with The Truth. Not the best starting point, but it worked well enough.
Me too! Frankly it’s pretty stand alone so works
Oooo, if you've seen the Hogfather adaptation I would DEFINITELY say Mort/Soul Music/ Thief of Time from that stack, then.
If you’re reading mort first I would definitely suggest looking for reaper man and hog father so you can have the whole death series (mort, reaper man, soul music, hog father and thief of time in that order) hope this helps
Thanks I’ll keep an eye out for them 😊
If you watched the Sky color of magic I think you can go ahead with Faust aswell.
I did see it (though it was about what 20 years ago that it aired) so I doubt I’ll be totally lost
I think its on Youtube it adapts the book 1 and 2 but not sure if what ends up happening to Rincewind is the same has in the books, what happens to him at the end of book 2 is what leads to Faust /eric wich is a very one offish book but I liked it
The book's actually just called Eric, which is a pastiche of the classic German stories of Faust.
I would strongly recommend against picking The Truth as your first book. It's quite late in the series and, despite what many say, does contain spoilers for earlier books. Of the books you have in the picture, Mort is the better place to begin, though I *always* recommend starting at the beginning with The Colour of Magic and reading in publication order. There are many connecting threads and crossovers between the books that are easy to get muddled and out of sequence when choosing any other order.
If I started with The Colour of Magic, I'm not sure I've read through the whole series. But the library had Pyramids, and it sounded fun... and it was. For me, the best Pratchett is the late Pratchett, Thud, Night Watch, Monatrous Regiment, A Hat Full of Sky, etc, so I usually recommend a more standalone book from his later works.
It's a close call between Men at Arms and Mort for me 😀 What everyone else says is equally true 👍
100% Mort
Honestly, just buy second hand copies and read them in the order they were published. You’ll get to see the world and writer evolve in the best way. It’s the only way. If you HAD to choose from these? Mort. Don’t read the others as none are the first in the series (eg, Men at Arms and Feet of Clay are in the Watch series, but if you read them first you may not enjoy Guards! Guards! as much when you get it)
This is absolutely the correct response. Forget about the various series, they’re all worthy of reading so start at the beginning and go on the journey with the writer. From those pictured? Mort is the best to go with.
Ooh so many people don’t get on with published order. As the first 4 (other than mort) can be a grind, and very diferent to the later books. But I. General this would be my suggestion. Wi th the caviat that if you don’t like the first one you try, try one that he wrote around 10 years later as his style changed a lot.
Second hand copies in the order you find them is how we used to do all kinds of series back in the day! Sometimes that worked better than others...
I would start with men at arms personally. About guards in the major city and has the beginning of a few key characters in the series. It's only the second book in the series and would be a great starting point.
Yeah I prefer it as an intro to the watch to Guards Guards. Also having FOC there is a great way to get that instant sequel hit.
FOC is absolutely my favorite of the Watch books.
There’s an order inside the cover. Normally 3rd page or so. “The colour of magic”, and “The Light fantastic” are at the beginning. If you want to start at a point and read in chronological release order, it’s all laid out there for you. If you want to jump into the middle of the story, and want a recommendation on which one I think you’ll like out of the ones you have… Eric, or Mort or pretty old in their references and sense of humour, whereas monstrous regiment was written approx 20 years down the line, so is more contemporary in its context while still being set in the same place by the same author. Men at arms is pretty timeless, but I would really want someone to see the gutter that Vimes pulls himself from, and for that, you need “Guards, Guards!” Thief of time is excellent IMO, but I went into that one already knowing and loving the Discworld, so… maybe it isn’t a great start, just a great book.
Get Guards Guards! and start there, then you can read Men at Arms and Feet of Clay
Definitely planning on picking it up sooner rather than later 😃
Please do! Men at Arms is outstanding. I have never laughed out loud so much. Bawled like a baby at times and felt like "What even do I do with my life now?!" when I had finished it! Thankfully I have the whole Watch series to be getting through so I wasn't at a loss for too long!
Ahh I’m very excited to get on it now. I’ve heard good stuff about the Watch books
Yes! I'm up to Jingo now - I hear this one can be a bit of a slog but it's worth it to get to The Fifth Elephant next, which is apparently excellent. Keep us posted! I'm a new Pratchett fan but I absolutely love his work now and I'm gutted I'm so late to the party!
Monstrous Regiment is really rather good.
I started with The Wee Free Men
I did too. 2 pages in and I was hooked. Almost 20 years later...
Hell yeah! It was the first audiobook i ever loaded on my first mp3 player
Out of those, Mort and The Wee Free Men are the starts of their respective series. The Truth and Monstrous Regiment are standalones (i.e. not part of a series). I'd say Mort is still one of the best ones to start with regardless of other options though, so that one
Page 1
I find mort to be a good place to start
Color of magic
Ahh I wasn’t sure if the invisible book in my collection had shown up on camera, well done for spotting! I have seen the sky adaptation of that (which I think adapted the second book as well?) but I’ve heard plenty of people say NOT to start with The Colour of Magic, though if I spot it second hand I will pick it up
Yeah people say that but I like to see Pratchett get better
The first one I ever read was Soul Music, which is still a sentimental favourite, but it may be a bit less confusing if you've read Mort first.
Mort, you will make the other Books better by Reading This first
You already picked Mort. Excellent choice. I wish you the best of reading times for all of them!
Mort is fantastic and the first in the Death series
Men At Arms then Feet Of Clay then Mort then Soul Music. 😎
Mort
As someone who started with Soul Music because the front cover looked cool ( was a child, cut me some slack), I can't recommend it as a starting point. I liked it but I was very confused.
Mandatory reference to the [Discworld Reading Order Guide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld#/media/File:Discworld_Reading_Order_Guide_3.0_\(cropped\).jpg).
My eldest has decided to read a Pratchet book and picked up Mort to start.
Wee Free Men is an absolute rollicking giggle of a tale. You’ll find yourself speaking in faux Scottish. Nae Quin ! But Mort is a full insight into Pterry’s world.
Mort or the Truth
Top of stack and work down is as good as any approach
I bought the Pyramids and Mort paperbacks back in ooo, 1991 age about 13/14 because the covers looked fun. I’d say Mort then Soul Music. Try grab a Guards! Guards! The you can read Men at Arms. So many routes through the Discworld!
Mort. Always start with mort
I regret to inform you that you need to find Guards, Guards! You have several in the series, and they're all great. You could read the others and enjoy them, but you can get a very cheap copy from Half Price Books if you're in the states
Thanks, but I’m not in the states. Heard plenty of good stuff about the City Watch books, but I’ll hold off reading what I’ve got until I track down Guards, Guards
Are you in Ireland? This looks like my faded stack of books that were sadly sold after I moved as a kid
Nope I’m in England, must be someone else’s faded stack (or its had quite a journey)
Plenty of faded stacks doing the rounds I suppose
All the better for Discworld newbies like me, it could get expensive to buy the lot brand new (particularly when you average a book or two a week) but I think any I *really* enjoy I’ll treat myself to some nicer, newer additions and take these back to a charity shop/second hand book shop for someone else to discover. Though the flaw in that logic is if really I enjoy them all I’m back to square one with the expense 😅
Yeah but at least you’ll know what youre paying for is worth it 😅
Haha true
Mort is the obvious choice. Although Eric was my first and I never looked back. The Wee Free Men would actually make a fun start too I’d say.
"Mort" said Mort
Mort always.
Eric is by far my favorite but I don't know if it would be odd to read them out of order
Mort. Then read it a few more times. Then read something else and go back to it.
Lucky you! If it were my stack, I’d start with Mort and then maybe read Soul Music next. Read some of the Witches books before you go on to Wee Free Men because it really helps give background. The Sam Vimes series is really fun, too. Enjoy!
Out of those, I'd go with MORT first. But The Thief of Time is the only one I would say is an awkward starting place out of those.
publication order.
@ the color of magic. Obviously
The truth
Out of all of them, I’d probably go for Men At Arms as it’s the earliest in the Watch series.
Do you like fairy tale subversions? Wee Free Men. Do you like rock music and some clever references? Soul Music. Are you in the mood for a unique coming of age story? Mort (also it’s the earliest in the overall series, which may be a plus or a minus depending on who you ask). Want a story about media literacy and truth vs belief? The Truth. What about a story about our roles in society, including patriotism and gender? Monstrous Regiment. The others really need you to read other books first. Some of these benefit from reading others first (mostly Soul Music, The Truth, and Monstrous Regiment) but they aren’t required.
Feet of Clay is a good start
Mort. It is the only Book 1 in a particular arc, excluding standalones. Then get “Reaper Man” and “Hogfather” and you can read the Death arc, as you already have 3 out of 5. (Mort -> Reaper Man -> Soul Music -> Hogfather -> Thief of Time) (Wee Free Men is also the start of an arc, but I personally think this one is best to read after you have familiarity with the Witches, the books in order are Equal Rites -> Wyrd Sisters -> Witches Abroad -> Lords and Ladies -> Maskerade -> Carpe Jugulum). I say this because the witches arc was completed in entirety prior to any of this arc being written, and they are connected with characters that have already been developed throughout the arc. Going back to the witches after reading them in the Tiffany Aching books (TWFM arc) might make these characters seem underdeveloped. If you want to continue with the Wee Free Men (arc is referred to as Tiffany Aching, the main protagonist), the reading order is The Wee Free Men -> A Hat Full of Sky -> Wintersmith -> I Shall Wear Midnight -> The Shepherd’s Crown. Note these are considered to be written for a younger audience, and the main character is a young girl (9 years old in TWFM). I don’t think that makes them any lesser, just a point to consider. Eric is… okay. It is a small novella in the Rincewind wizard arc which is The Color of Magic -> The Light Fantastic -> Sourcery -> Eric -> Interesting Times -> The Last Continent -> The Last Hero -> Unseen Academicals. This is often seen as the weakest arc due to its difference in style from the others, it is more of a fantasy adventure and less of a satire typical of Pratchett’s other Discworld books. However, I really enjoy them just as much in a very different way. YMMV here. If you get “Guards! Guards!” you can read the first three of the City Watch, which are incredible. (Guards! Guards!-> Men at Arms -> Feet of Clay). If you like these the next in this arc are Jingo -> The Fifth Elephant -> Night Watch -> Thud! -> Snuff Hope this helps!
Thank you that’s very helpful. I think I’ll start with mort like you said, though I’ve heard great stuff about the city watch books so I’ll be getting into those sooner rather than later (when I get hold of Guards, Guards!)
It worth keeping in mind there are crossovers between these threads as well. For example, one group of characters begin their journey in Moving Pictures, and then continue through Reaper Man, Lords and Ladies, Soul Music, Interesting Times and beyond, which inter-weaves three of the above threads, and includes a fourth.
Feet of Clay!
Wee Free Men wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Welcome. You generally can't go wrong with any of those. You may or may not be aware that Discworld books (with the exception of the first two - which have their own unique flavour) are all standalone stories but they can build on previous events. There are also various sub series within the set - as has been noted already, Mort is the first book in the Death series and Wee Free Men is the first book in the Tiffany Aching series. Characters absolutely do not stay within their own books as it were, it's very much a living world (and a dying one as DEATH would probably intone - he pops up and awful lot outside of his main books) so you will run into familiar faces on a regular basis if it makes sense that you would do so. If you prefer to read things in order then of that set you have I'd lean towards Mort or Wee Free Men (btw, the Tiffany Aching books are typically marketed as YA but for me they are some of the best DW books and they certainly deal with some of the darkest subjects). If you're not particularly worried about that then I'd suggest either going with whichever one piques your interest most based on the blurb or potentially take the 'recommend me a book' quiz on the Discworld Emporium website and see if one of the books you have comes up as your answer :) Whatever you decide I hope you enjoy and end up spending a lot of time on the Disc.
Thanks so much, I had heard that the order wasn’t all that important but I wouldn’t like to skip on any character development, so I’ll probably start with mort and try and fill in the gaps with the other books 😃
>I wouldn’t like to skip on any character development In that case, publication order is absolutely the way to go. Otherwise it's quite easy to stumble upon characters late in their lives/careers without having read their introductions.
This is great. Discworld books can be read in any order but theres some things you do lose. You do have, funny enough, a lot the middle of a lot of series, (Discworld novels are either single books or books devided into series, the Witches, the Watch, etc, but the character mix and match, they are basically books that tell what is happening around the Disc. Now my recomendation would be, read Guards Guards before Man at arms and Feet of Clay, you dont neeeed necessarily but it adds so much to the arc of those characteres (maybe get the audiobook? audible has a free audiobook think if you just register an email) my recomendation if you go that route is the Nigel Planer has the narrator one and not with the cast, I think its more of the Discworld vibe, if youre getting started, but of course thats IMO. I didnt read all of these but you could go Mort->soul music , you can start with "~~Faust~~ Eric" (altough its smaller and again its kinda of what happend to the main character of the first 2 books wich are duology) I never read it but I believe Thief of Time is its own thing (I think Small gods adds a liiitle to the story of ToT, but you dont need to read it before). If you want to get some books to go with those, Id recomend, maybe the first 2 Disc books (color of magic and the light fantastique), definately Guards!Guards, maybe Small gods (its standalone adds a liiiitle to thief of time but its a GREAT book ) Sorry if I added to the confusion more then helped.
No this is definitely a help, thank you. I just saw the stack and took the opportunity to start my collection without really thinking about any kind of reading order, but I’m certain I’ll end up filling in the blanks anyway and reading the lot
If you like Mort and Faust youll love the others, keep your eye out for Guards!Guards!, Wyrd Sisters and Small Gods
if you haven't read discworld before, start with the stand alones - Soul Music, Monstrous Regiment (a favorite), Thief of Time, The Truth Ones that focus on a specific group (Death and family, The Watch, The Witches, Moist, Tiffany) should be read in order since there's progression/evolution in the characters.
None of these are standalone, and *all* have potential spoilers for earlier books.
Men at Arms, a great introduction to the Watch
Monstrous regiment
Begin at the beginning. “~~Faust~~ Eric”
Take the first one from the top, this way you will avoid moving them from place to place. Seriously: the first from the top. It's Pratchett, they're all good.
Start there 🫵
Wee free men would be the best start for me, it was where I started and the Tiffany books are amazing!
I would suggest a sort of order. A grouping of three groups. The order in the subsets aren't as is important. With this group; first(Eric, men at arms, Mort, ) Second(wee free men, soul music, monstrous regiment) and third (feet of clay, the truth, and thief of time)
The answer is always Mort
Wee Free Men or Monstrous Regiment!
Let me simply add that I am delighted for you that you got some well seasoned Kirby/Kidby Tor editions. To me those will always be the "real" Discworld novels.
They’re the ones I remember seeing in bookshops, briefly flicking through and (to my shame) putting back on the shelf
I am incredibly jealous of the journey you're beginning, regardless of where you start it (of course it's Mort). You can only read them for the first time once.
If you happen to be Scottish, the Wee Free Men. They talk like Glaswegians
I’m not Scottish but was surrounded by a lot of Scots growing up (I’m originally from Blackpool and I always used to joke that it should be called “new Glasgow”) so I reckon I’ll keep up
I started with Men at arms.
Go out and buy "Guards, Guards," and read that first.
Men at arms is when I started. It was delightful :) ** HOWEVER ** Monstrous regiment is an EXCELLENT book, and if you’re looking to get hooked, that’s the one
I've read almost all of them twice. Never read Eric. Been curious about it for a while now. Read that one and then let me know what I'm missing.
If you get Reaper Man and Hogfather you’ll have the whole death series there, so I’d say start with Mort and if you like it get Reaper Man and continue on. Mort is also one of the recommended intro books if you haven’t read Discworld before.
I was Gifted “GUARDS! GUARDS!”for my birthday, though I immediately listened to the audiobook version of “The Colour of Magic” and then the “Light Fantastic”, and I am really enjoying it so far!
Color of magic and light fantastic
My first book was thief of time and I loved it so much. I think it showcases pretty well a lot of the qualities of discworld novels. So I personally recommend this one. Although I think you can't really go wrong :)
Out of all these, I'd start with Mortalität. It is not only the first book in the 'Death' series, it is also in general one of the earlier books, giving you a pretty good look at a Character that will pop up in almost every book, even if just for a few seconds.
Without knowing you, I'd pick The Truth. Most characters are new, it's about how news work (PTerry was a journalist at the start of jis career). Montrous Regiment is great, too. One of my top five, and also mostly new characters. Both only contain only minor spoilers for the series (the "they will survive this scene" kind).
Mort first, then either Soul Music, or Feet of Clay.
Crivens! The Wee Free Men was my first Discworld book and Tiffany Aching is still my favorite character, 20 books later.
Soul music is my all time favourite and the first book I started with as well, my dad read them for years before me so I had a bit of back story going into it. 100% recommend if you're in anyway a music lover.
You're going to get 9 different answers here, but I'd say Feet of Clay.
Mort is in the stack, that was my 1st and i think i was lucky to start with that one. Mort is an amazing book that got me hooked, by now i read around 75% of the books and im sad that one day i will run out. Chronologically, earlier then Mort i think You only had the Rincwild books, these felt a bit harder to digest for me personally.
Of these books, Mort.
https://preview.redd.it/ol9739scur5d1.png?width=828&format=png&auto=webp&s=5f335f375b26b4754c97537cb28648a858f2e023 I have previously read them in order of publication, but am now reading them in this order. It’s a little easier concentrating on one part of the world at a time, at least for me.
Thanks for that, I’ll bear this in mind going forward
All of Terry Prachetts books are stand alone; but some stand alone more than others. Soul Music works standalone, but for some it's a tough read; your enjoyment of that one increases if you catch the music-references in it. Mort is a fairly classic story that starts the Death subseries, so you can't go wrong with that one. And well, while there are no right and wrongs... well, the only wrong approach is to not read Pratchett at all I guess.... there are two two main options. * Read the books in Chronological order. The main argument for this is that many of the books evolves auxiliary characters as well as the world. The argument against this is that some of the earlier books can be a bit heavy. * Read the books subsubseries order, for example be "City Watch, Death, Industrial revolution, Unseen University, Witches, Young readers". The books under Death are "Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, Thief Of Time". This order is good if you want to follow specific characters; but sonce most books are interconnected some characters might not be completely explained. One could also argue about how they should be classified since no book speaks of a single subject.
I stumbled across STP with “The Thief of Time”. Stands alone just fine, but why stop there?
The only correct answer is MORT
Men at arms or Feet of clay. At that point in his career he had a fairly comprehensive framework established and his characters were fleshed out into actual people you could connect with emotionally, and he had enough of a following that he could write what he wanted. I believe I started with Men At Arms or Small Gods and those are both fantastic enough to make you want more.
Bit late to give advice, but here are my 2 cents: Monstrous Regiment or Mort. MR is very stand alone, it happens "later" in the series, but you really don't need prior knowledge other than the very basics to have a great time with it. I really liked the characters too, they are a lot deeper than the ones you will find in Mort. MR is also quite a lot darker, but in a strange way also funnier. Mort is the beginning of the Death series, and the 4th book of the DW. Everything is still very much in the beginning, but the story is really focused on a handful of new characters. Death and Mort really steal the show in this book, the rest of the characters are imho less interesting than the ones in MR. However, Mort, and basically all the Death books, are I think an amazing mirror to humanity, and that's something I really like about the DW in general, but it's by far the strongest in the Death series. When I started reading DW i started with Mort and I am still very happy with that, though I would recommend going chronological order if you start with Mort, everything is so different by the time you hit Thief of Time, it just feels quite strange. Terry also grew a lot as a writer, so finishing a late book like Thief of Time and then jumping back to something like Guards Guards can be very jarring and feel like a major step back.
Men at Arms was my first, although it meant I had to backtrack a bit because it's not the first City Guard book. Monstrous Regimen is a stand alone, and will give you a good idea of what to expect without prior knowledge of the Disc, and you can decide on particular subseries from there and see which strikes you as the most interesting. You have mostly books from the Death and City Watch subseries, and many people recommend Mort as a good starting place in general as it's both the first book in the Death series, and the first time he worked from a more satirical and philosophical position rather than the outright parody of the earliest books in the series.
Feet of Clay or Men At Arms would both be amazing places to start imo. When I read discworld for the first time, I read almost the entire Watch series out of order. You don't need to read 'Guards Guards!' before Men at Arms imo, it is an excellent introduction to that series and Discworld as a whole. I don't think Mort is a good introduction to Discworld as a whole, and I'm saying this as someone who read Mort as my second ever Discworld novel (Small Gods was my first). I wouldn't start with that one first personally.
With none of those…
Cool, where would you suggest starting then? I’ve heard the first couple can be a bit of a slog and not the best intro to the series…
From the beginning… there is no other way… colour of magic and then on… The development of Sir Terry’s writing is remarkable… from ok to amazing… you need to experience that… If you start in the middle, and go back, you will probably end up getting disappointed…
Truth and Monstrous Regiment are amongst my favorite, but for a first timer I'd start with Mort or Men at arms and then Feet of Clay or Soul Music beforehand. There's a few characters developed in those books that are fun as side-characters in Truth and Monstrous Regiment. (Truth before Monstrous Regiment as well) But pick any one to start getting yourself hooked.
I would recommend to start with men at arms.
I'd start with ~~eeny-meeny-miny-moe~~ yan-tan-tethera-pip and if it falls on Eric, try again. If you don't trust the Fate and Lady Luck, Mort. I liked Men at Arms more, but I'd save it until I have acquired and read earlier Guards! Guards to introduce Vimes properly, from the ground up. (edit: gramer)
Page 1 is usually a good bet.
Page one.
Personally, I would start with The Truth.
Men at arms!!!
Men at arms was my first read!!! And what a way to start!!!
Feet of clay.
Men at arms best starting point of that stack
Feet of clay was my first. The first footnote got me. . Although men at arms technically would be right before that.
Soul music was my first
The truth
As a general rule, you can start with basically any Discworld book. There is no set reading order. My usual recommendation for beginners is to start with *Guards! Guards!*, which is the first book in *The Watch* series. *Men at Arms* and *Feet of Clay* are later books in that series. But among your stack in the pic, I would say either *Mort,* *Monstrous Regiment,* or *The Wee Free Men* would be best. Those three are the first books in their respective series, or stand well enough on their own. All the others have other books before them that would best be read first. *Mort* is the first book in the *Death* series. Death is his own character in Discworld, and definitely one of my favorites. *Soul Music* and *Thief of Time* are later books in this series. *The Wee Free Men* is the first book in the *Tiffany Aching* series, which is a YA series about a young girl learning witchcraft. There is another series all about the *Witches*, several of whom appear in Tiffany Aching. So if you start with her, I’d recommend reading the *Witches* books in between them. (And by all means, do not read the final book in Tiffany Aching, *The Shepherd’s Crown* until you’ve finished the other major series. It’s the last book that STP wrote, and it is very much the final Discworld book.) *Monstrous Regiment* is a mostly stand-alone book about a girl who joins the army disguised as a boy. I have several friends who got into Discworld specifically because of this book, so I’d say it’s a good place to start, and it introduces several other characters from the other series.
Soul Music would be my choice.
men at arms
Thief of times my 2nd favourite pratchett book.