Terry Pratchett is a towering figure in fantasy literature – a mythmaker and a mirth-maker. His comedic novels twinkle with humour, humanity, an enduring sense of wonder and a fierce belief in justice and dignity for all. His devoted readership was understandably heartbroken when he died in 2015, aged 66 and with so many stories still to tell – but in the years since his passing, his reputation has continued to grow while his books still sell in huge numbers.
The latest chapter in his legacy came in the form of Prime Video’s adaptation of his 1990 Neil Gaiman collaboration, Good Omens , which concluded last month. But it is for his books set in the weird, occasionally wacky universe of Discworld that he will be forever beloved. With some 41 novels in the series, knowing where to start can be a challenge for newcomers. Fear not: here is a (highly subjective) guide to the 10 best Discworld novels – many of which can be enjoyed both as continuations of Pratchett’s grand saga and as standalone reads.
10 The Shepherd’s Crown (2015)
A hugely emotional yet ultimately uplifting read
Published five months after Pratchett’s death, the final Discworld novel is a hugely bittersweet read, weighed down with a poignant sense of finality. Aware of his failing health – he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 59 – Pratchett is saying farewell to Discworld and the stories he told across dozens of books. He is also bidding adieu to one of his most beloved characters (whose identity we shall not spoil). Their death provides the backdrop to the coming-of-age of junior witch Tiffany Aching, who must fend off an incursion of extradimensional beings while also accepting the reality of grief and finding the strength to move on. It is a journey that Pratchett’s readers were themselves undertaking, making for a hugely emotional yet ultimately uplifting read.
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9 Unseen Academicals (2009)
A team from Unseen University is forced to field a football starting XI
Every so often, Pratchett liked to drop-kick a gimmick into Discworld. Moving Pictures (1990) is a parody of early Hollywood (complete with Discworld’s answer to Gone with the Wind ), while Making Money (2007) chronicles the arrival of paper money in the metropolis of Ankh-Morpork (and the ensuing chaos). In Unseen Academicals , the plot revolves around the invention of 11-a-side football, as a team from Unseen University is forced to field a starting XI to fulfil the obligations of their endowment. A heartbreaking parallel story finds wizard’s assistant Mr Nutt making peace with his heritage as an orc – a race that, in the writings of Tolkien, is irredeemably evil, but which Pratchett imbues with humanity.
“In Lord of the Rings orcs are bad,” Pratchett told me when I interviewed him in 2011. “We know that. It’s a given. You don’t exactly know why they are bad – apart from the fact they eat you and things like that. In their souls, you don’t know why. Men can fall in Tolkien. Boromir in Lord of the Rings could fall. I thought, ‘Why couldn’t orcs rise?’ Why couldn’t there be an orc that wanted a nice job, involving kittens or flowers? You shouldn’t just stereotype people. I wasn’t cocking a snook at Tolkien. I was thinking, ‘Hang on a minute – we can have fun with these concepts.’”
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8 Equal Rites (1987)
This is the book that introduced the wise, albeit sarcastic witch Granny Weatherwax
Even Pratchett’s biggest fans will admit he was still getting into his stride with his early Discworld novels and that the very first entry in the series, The Colour of Magic , is the work of a writer still finding his feet (apt, as it features a sentient luggage chest with multiple legs). But by the third book, Equal Rites , he was up and running. This is the book that introduced one of his most beloved characters, the wise, albeit sarcastic witch Granny Weatherwax (whose “pointy personality” can be seen as an extension of Pratchett’s own no-nonsense style ). It also sees Pratchett go beyond the merely fantastical with the story of a young female wizard, Eskarina Smith, who must take on the patriarchy in order to win admittance to the old boys’ club that is Unseen University.
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7 Guards! Guards! (1989)
A story crammed with secret societies and a loose dragon
Just as Equal Rites introduced Granny Weatherwax and the witches of Discworld, so Guards! Guards! marked the first adventures of the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork (think Minas Tirith in Lord of the Rings crossed with Mega-City One from Judge Dredd). Say hello to hardened cynic Sam Vimes, the seemingly lazy but quietly street-smart Fred Colon and the muscle-bound watchman Carrot Ironfoundersson (a human raised by dwarfs) in a story crammed with secret societies and a loose dragon.
Pratchett was a keen reader of fantasy, and his influences went way beyond Tolkien. Guards! Guards! is, among other things, his tribute to classic sword-and-sorcery writers such as Fritz Le…
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