Any Terry Pratchett fans in the house?

Chrematisai

He has got to be one of my favourite authors of all time. I know he's got fans everywhere - huuge following in the UK to the best of my knowledge, and something of an underground here in Canada; most normal people still don't know about him. Mind you, I shouldn't think many people stay normal after reading his books :P

noelle

My son is a devoted Terry Pratchett reader. Pratchett is such a nimble, imaginative thinker/writer. My son would enjoy being around other Pratchett fans! Maybe I should start reading his books this winter and find out more about Disc World. Which book would you recommend for newcomers?

Chrematisai

Gee, thats a toughie . . . see, in his Discworld series there are over 30 books, but they're not all about the same characters. The first DW book I read was The Last Continent. It's an outrageously funny parody of all things Australian. It managed to get me hooked. Keep in mind that although there is a certain chronology in these books, there is no need to read them in order. In fact, I would suggest something from somewhere in the middle, because Pratchett matures as a writer throughout the series. If you like particularly fantasy-esque stories, I'd say go for The Last Continent, or Interesting Times (both of which feature Rincewind the [incompetent] wizard as main character) or Lords and Ladies (which features the witches). If you tend to enjoy the whodunnit, read one of the novels about the city watch (some of my faves include Men At Arms, Jingo, or The Fifth Elephant). But you can pretty much just pick one at random and be more or less guarenteed a great read. HTH!

Snarls

Well, this is a mighty late response, but I've read just about all his books. Mr. Castella is a sci-fi freak and I'll read just about anything when I'm out of material.

I like the ones with the witches best, and also the ones about Death (Mort, Hogswatch etc). Guards! Guards! is also a lot of fun. He really cranks them out, and I think that overall his approach risks becoming formulaic, but he is quite entertaining. He gave a little talk at our local Barnes and Noble and we went to that. He's a humorous guy!