I came to Discworld late. Somehow it never really appeared on my radar until Terry Pratchett died, and I read quotations from the books, and found myself thinking “hah, this is very much my sense of humour”. At the encouragement (insistence, really) of a good friend I picked up a Kindle copy of “The Colour of Magic”, and finished it in a couple of sittings; the fantasy parody, D&D-esque antics of Rincewind were very much my thing.
I chose to read through the whole Wizards series first, and found there a rich parody of a world I myself was finding my way through (being a PhD student at the time, and having been raised in a rather academic household). I was, however, aware that as things went on they were changing. By the later Rincewind books I was no longer reading (just) comedy, I was reading cutting satire.
Earlier this year I finally finished my last main-line Discworld novel (I’ve not ready the Tiffany Aching novels, yet). As I turned over the final page of Raising Steam I felt bereft.
I’ve decided to start anew, right at the beginning, and experience the the flat world balanced on the backs of some elephants standing on the great turtle as it evolved. As it went from fantasy parody to a very real commentary on the human experience.
With so, so many dreadful, excellent puns.
This is my unauthorised and unrequested re-read [1] of the Discworld.
[1] Or read, as it will, in some cases, be.