Thud! - Terry Pratchett

Doubleday, 2005, 362 pages

ISBN: 0-385-60867-5

Read: July 2025, age 47 

 

Discworld, book 34 

 

Amazing that there can be so much quality in such a long series.  This was an excellent instalment, and I suspect that it will be even better on a re-read. 

 

Rating: 4+ 

Hogfather - Terry Pratchett

Harper Torch, 1999, 421 pages

Read: January 2025, age 46 

Discworld, book 20

 

This was yet another fantastically quotable book,  funny, and deeper than it had any right to be.  Prime Pratchett, in other words.  

 

My only real quibble is that in the ebook format, the footnotes were unlinked end-notes, and that didn't work very well for me.  Reading them all at the end just isn't the same.

Rating: 5

A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2005, 351 pages

Original copyright 2004

ISBN: 0-552-55264-X

Read: March 2024, age 45 

 

Discworld book 32, Tiffany Aching book 2 

In which Tiffany meets Granny Weatherwax.  How could it be anything but fantastic?  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating: 5

Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 1993, 382 pages

Original copyright 1992

ISBN: 9780552138918

Read: June 2023, age 45

 

Discworld #14

 

Ten years ago, this was my favourite of all the audiobooks that I listened to.  I finished the book, went back to the start and kept going.  This time... it was good, but not as good as I remembered.   Lots of fun, but not nearly as good as Night Watch.  I was in a bit of a mood, as well - I'm not sure that I would have fully enjoyed anything.

 

Rating: 4

Going Postal - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2004, 474 pages

IBSN:0-552-14943-8

Read: February 2023, age 44

Discworld #33, Moist von Lipwig #1

 

Moist isn't my favourite protagonist (I'm on team Witch), but the story was fun, rather pointed in places, and there were lots of fun quotes.  I've read it before (decades ago, apparently), and this matched my previous feel for the book.

 

Rating: 4

The Dark Side of the Sun - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 1998, 235 pages

Original Copyright 1976

ISBN: 978-0-552-13326-5

Read: October 2022, age 44

As far as I know, this is Pratchett's only foray into science fiction, and it was all right.  It was early Pratchett, and not everything worked quite as planned.  It was an interesting setting and packed a lot of things into a fairly small package.  As a result, there wasn't much heft to the characters or their actions.  A bit madcap and not as quotable as most Discworld books, it was an all-right read, but nothing spectacular.

Rating: 3

The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

HarperTempest, 2003, 375 pages

ISBN: 978-0-06-001238-0

Read: July 2022, age 44

 

Discworld, book 30

So much fun.  I kept pulling my wife aside to read her lines.  I really like the witches books.

Rating: 5

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2001, 270 pages

ISBN: 0-552-54693-3

Read: July 2021, age 43

This, along with Eric, are two of the lesser Pratchett books that I've read recently.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, and I'm pretty well expecting great from Sir Pratchett in every book, now.  It was a kid's book, which changes expectations a bit, but it was just okay.  I didn't really care about the characters, and that's unusual.

Rating: 3

Eric - Terry Pratchett

Gollancz, 2003, 155 pages

Original copyright 1990
ISBN: 1-85798-954-6
Read: July 2020

Discworld #9

This is my least favorite Pratchett book to date.  Two main reasons, I suspect:

1:  Rincewind is a reactionary character, a protagonist who doesn't protag.  That makes it tough for me to like him as a story driver.  

2:  I have no experience with Faust, and this book is a play on that.  Maybe people who have read the original source material would like this more.

That said, it was better than I remembered.  Not good, per se, but also not bad.

Rating: 3

Night Watch - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2003, 474 pages
original copyright 2002
ISBN 0-552-14899-7
Read March 2020, age 41

I'm not particularly a fan of the Sam Vimes stories, but they're getting better as they go on.  This one was a good one.  It got Vimes back away from his dukedom and responsibilities, and let him be himself a bit more.  Lots of fun.

Rating: 5

Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, copyright 1996, published 1997, 415 pages
ISBN: 0-552-12437-9
Read October 2019, age 41

Discworld # 19

So, Sam Vimes and Anhk-Mopork are not my favorite Discworld stories.  They're funny, meaningful, and superbly written, but they don't tickle my fancy like the Witches or Death.  That said, this one was pretty good.  I'd heard bits and pieces in a corrupted audiobook, and it was much better to read it.

Rating: 4

The Truth - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2000, 444 pages
ISBN 0-552-14768-0
Read (and listened to): May, 2019, age 41

Discworld #25

I listened to the book in parallel with reading it - my version of the audiobook was so corrupted that I couldn't really follow the story.  From the intact bits, it was a really good narration. 

I never warmed up to this book.  I think part of it is that the Ankh-Mopork stories are generally not my favorites, part of it was that I found the protagonist to be bland, and part of it was that the story went to some pretty dark places.  I wasn't expecting that.  It was really good in places, but overall - maybe the weakest since Soul Music?  The double-reading didn't really do much for me, either.

I first read this book many years ago, and, well, I remember having had about the same reaction.

Rating: 3

Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 1997, original copyright 1993, 381 pages
ISBN: 0-552-14028-7
Read July 2018, age 40

Not my favorite storyline, but man, are there ever good one-liners in this one.  Fun.

Rating: 4

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Corgi, 1991, 383 pages
ISBN: 0-552-13703-0
Read December 2017, age 39

An archangel and the Serpent of Eden conspire to prevent Armageddon.  A lot of fun, and pretty offbeat.  A bit silly.  I listened to the audiobook some years ago, and quite liked it.  I think it was better to read, rather than listen to, but likely (as I've been doing with other Pratchett books) listening and reading at similar times would add to both experiences.

Rating: 4

Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2001, 430 pages
ISBN: 0-552-14840-7
Read: January 2018, age 39

Audiobook: Isis Audiobooks, 2001, read by Steven Briggs

Discworld, #26

Nuggets of fun, but not one of the stronger Discworld books.  It went a bit heavy into metaphysical fluff, trying to nail down the nature of time, and I didn't quite buy in.  But it's still Discworld - I wasn't disappointed.  I had pretty much the same response to the audiobook, as well, or at least the non-corrupted sections that I could hear.

Rating: 4

Carpe Jugulum - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 1999, originally copyright 1998, 425 pages
ISBN:0-552-14615-3
Read (and listened to) February, 2016, age 37

This was yet another corrupted audiobook.  I need to find a new source, it seems.  Anyway, I read and listened to it in parallel, and again, each improved the other.  It seems everyone chooses a team of favorite Discworld characters, and I'm on Team Witch.  This is a witch book.  I was not disappointed.

Rating:  4

The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett (Audiobook)

Isis Audio Books, 2000, almost 11 hours
Original copyright 1999
Read by Steven Briggs
Listened to October 2016, age 38

Discworld #24


Another city watch book, which I understand is most of the rest of them.  That makes sense, as most of the overall story arc happens in this theme.

In my rating of Discworld themes, I like the Witches best, followed by Death and his family, then the Watch, and finally the Wizards. It started out just ok, and continued to be just ok for most of the book, but then it ended really strongly and I ended up quite enjoying the story.  I should probably read my dead-tree edition, but, well... I got the ending already...

Rating:  4

The Last Continent - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 1999, original copyright 1998, 412 pages
ISBN:  0-552-14614-5
Read:  January 2016, age 37

The audiobook I was listening to was corrupted.  So I listened to it, and it didn't make sense, so I (re-) read the dead tree version as well.  It's a time travel story, so... it still didn't make sense.  But it made more sense, and was better.

Rincewind is a horribly passive main character.  He runs away from everything.  This can work with an active co-main-character, but in this case, he was all alone.  A main character whose desire is to sit in a pub and eat potatoes... not so much what I wanted to read.  It was a fun book, and funny, but I still had a tough time getting through it.

Rating: 3

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett

Harper, 1978, printed 2005, 213 pages
ISBN 978-0-06-085590-1
Read September 2015, age 37

The Discworld #3

Fantastic book.  Lots of fun.  And I love Granny Weatherwax.  Read it in basically one sitting.

Rating 5

Jingo - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, copyright 1997, printed 1998, 414 pages
ISBN: 0-552-14598-X
Read August 2015, Age 37, I'd read it before, years ago.

I read this in conjunction with the audiobook, which was missing chunks.  Fantastic.

Rating: 5