Great Discworld Re-Read: Overview and The Colour of Magic

Anyone who knows me knows that the Discworld books by Sir Terry Pratchett are some of my favorite books of all time. The series is mighty, weighing in at 41 core books and assorted related books (like the Science of Discworld series), and it's not the kind of series where every book has to be read in order to be able to understand what's going on. There are sub-series within the main books, as several books focus on different characters, and you do get to see the characters grow and develop over the books. (Hi, we're Discworld fans - let us show you our flow charts!)

You thought I was joking, didn't you?

Sadly, Sir Terry passed away in March 2015. The last book that he finished, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, and as much as I love the series, I have never read the last book. So long as it remained unread, there was still a "new" Discworld book for me to discover, and I could pretend it wasn't over.

Recently, however, articles were coming up about the tenth anniversary of the publication of The Shepherd's Crown, and there was a message from Rob Wilkins, Sir Terry's longtime assistant. The message read, in part, "I also know that Terry wanted his books to be read and enjoyed far more than he wanted them kept on a shelf. And as time passes it becomes ever more apparent how much the Discworld books reward re-visiting, perpetually revealing something new, literary gems Terry had hidden away for a second or third, or even more, re-read. Every Pratchett is to some degree an unread Pratchett, including the ones you've already enjoyed and including The Shepherd's Crown."

This made me realize that it's time. But, because I'm me, I can't just jump to the last book - that almost feels like cheating, somehow. So I'm starting from the beginning, and going through them all* in publication order. It's been ages since I've touched some of them, and just a few months for others - if I did all my reading with physical books, there are a few that would be falling apart by now because of how often they've been read. I'm also taking the opportunity to update the audiobook versions I have to the newest editions - much as I love the Nigel Planer and Stephen Briggs versions, having Bill Nighy read all the footnotes in all of the books has a pleasant continuity that I'm looking forward to.

I started at the beginning with The Colour of Magic (1983). Here's where it all begins - the introduction to the Discworld, the Great A'Tuin, Rincewind, the wizards, all the things. It's where the world starts!

And it's...OK. One thing that I've learned as a writer is that the more you write, the better you get, and it's unfair to compare one of Sir Terry's first books against the ones he wrote, you know, thirty-some books down the line. The ideas and the characters are there, and there are breadcrumbs that he drops here - in book ONE - that pay off again, thirty-some books down the line. He manages to develop a world that is different enough from the "average" fantasy world to be interesting (light moves slower than sound! The world is a disc carried on the back of four elephants which are riding a giant turtle!) while still being familiar to fantasy readers (wizards doing magic, trolls, references to the gods who have a direct hand in the affairs of mortals). His turns of phrase haven't gotten the polish that they'll develop, but (and it might be because I know what it will become) I can see the potential underneath.

I admit that Rincewind, the failed wizard who is the main character of this book (along with the Disc's first-ever tourist, Twoflowers) is not my favorite character. At least, he hasn't been in the past. This time through, I feel a little bit more for the guy - he has the ability to see just how badly things can and will go, and realizes that there's not really anything he can do to stop it, but he's going to try (usually by running away). He's the ultimate pessimist/realist. Twoflowers, on the other hand, is the epitome of an optimist - he's certain that nothing bad can really happen to him, because he's not directly involved in what's going on, and really, everything can be settled if people just sit down and behave "sensibly." The combination of the two mindsets is the engine that drives the book, and it's a solid machine.

The book ends on a cliff...well, not quite hanger, since they've fallen off the cliff, but you know what I mean - the story is obviously going to continue in the next book. And I'll be following right along with it.

*There are probably one or two books that I'll end up skipping because I know I don't like them very much, and I don't intend to hit the related books in this read-through.