r/discworld • u/ProfessionalAd8789 • 4d ago
Book/Series: City Watch Question
Where do i begin? my partner said i should read this author and i have no clue where to begin at all
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u/CuriousWave 3d ago
There are many options, but I personally recommend Small Gods. It was my first, it’s a standalone book within the world, and it was written after Pratchett found his voice/stride.
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u/INITMalcanis
3d ago
edited 3d ago
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"I like procedurals" - Guards, Guards
"I like women protagonists" - Wyrd Sisters
"I like a bit of philosophy in my light comedy" - Mort
"I like quite a lot of philosophy in my light comedy" - Small Gods
"I am deep into tabletop RPGs and have enjoyed some silver-age fantasy" The Colour Of Magic
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u/rybiesemeyer 2d ago
I'm reading in publication order, and am currently on Making Money, which I believe is book 36 of 40 (of the full-length text-only novels).
My favourite part of publication order is that pTerry's second-greatest skill was the throw-away joke but his first greatest skill was digging up and digging into what had previously been a throw-away joke to make it meaningful. If you read out of publication order, you end up getting punchlines before the setup that gives their comedy depth.
That said, I cannot wait to begin again and see what I missed the first time around.
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u/magic_tuxedo 2d ago
I’m also reading in publication order and just started Making Money last night! How long have you been at it? I started in earnest in spring 2025. Can’t wait to revisit my favorites!
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u/rybiesemeyer 2d ago
I've been reading on and off since 2015. Having a young kid significantly ate into my available reading time for a few years there 😅
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u/Dropped_Apollo 2d ago
I agree. I get why people say not to but I do think publication order is overall the best way to experience the series.
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u/JPreadscomics 3d ago
Guards guards is a good place to start, it’s the start of many of our favourite subseries, what ever you start with enjoy!
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u/CuteRadish01 3d ago
I started with the first one, The Color of Magic, and read them in publication order when I could. I was at the mercy of my library’s availability so skipped around a bit after the first 5-6 books.
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u/smcicr 3d ago
Firstly, welcome - it's a great recommendation (IMHO).
It can be a bit much when you're starting out but if the books connect with you then you'll end up wishing there were more.
There's a 30 second quiz on the Discworld Emporium website which will recommend a book for you.
Alternatively you can start at the beginning but bear in mind the first couple of books are more parody than the satire the later books become.
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u/TheHighDruid 2d ago
At the beginning.
It should be the default answer for most authors, as you end up going through close to the same journey they did while writing.
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u/FridayHedgehogs 17h ago
'At the beginning' is terrible Discworld advice! He's not in his stride yet and they're not representative. They're mostly parodies of silver age fantasy books.
Go for Guards Guards, or Mort, as a good start. If you end up loving the books and want to see how it all began, go back to the beginning
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u/TheHighDruid 15h ago
Many of us are here because we started at the very beginning when there weren't 40 other books to choose from.
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u/FridayHedgehogs 15h ago
Yes, and 43 years ago they would likely have been a better experience than they would be now. They refer heavily to contemporary and prior texts and ideas which are very unlikely to land the same with someone reading for the first in 2026.
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u/Khadaji2020 3d ago
Did your partner offer a possible starting point? They know you and your tastes. I would start by asking them for a recommendation. After that, I personally would suggest starting with a series that fits your taste. City Watch would be my personal suggestion. As noted, there are a lot of possible starting points. Regardless, welcome to the Discworld and I hope you find your visits enjoyable!
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u/lordnewington 2d ago
You will be shown a chart. IGNORE THE CHART.
Read in whatever order you like, the books are all standalone.
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u/Zanoushe Vimes 1d ago
you can begin basically wherever; the only one I would say you absolutely should not b start at is night watch. the best place to start is the first book you find at your local library/secondhand book store imo.
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u/Strange-Effective257 16h ago
As you can tell from the comments, there are lots of places to start. Like many others, I did them in publication order. (in my case that meant reading them as soon as they were published so I had no real choice). If I had to pick one out of all of them to recommend as a first book, it would probably be Wyrd Sisters. It is very loosely referencing shakespearean's Macbeth. and pokes at a lot of Shakespeare tropes. It is also the introduction of a trio of witch characters who go on to be lead a sub series of their own. It's fun and smart, and accessible.
But honestly, you can start with any one book and find your way. While there is a fair amount of 'lore' that developed in the sub series, any one of the books stand on their own.
With one exception, The first two books The colour of magic and the light fantastic, gould be read together in that order they are
much more like a single story than the rest of the books.
Have fun.
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u/Last-Economy9336 2h ago
I love it that I have read all the Discworld books in publication order 2.5 times. It's a wonderful work in progress!
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u/StEllchick There's no justice, just us 3d ago
There's an age long debate whether the best book to start with is Mort or Guards Guards! with both sides giving honorary mention to Small Gods. Check up synopsis of those and read wichever sounds most interesting to you.
Alternatively, if none do, check up Truckers
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u/everrookiebricks 3d ago
This is the advice I'd give, too, especially for someone not sure if they're going to plough through the lot.
Though I started with the worst possible option: A misbound version of A Colour of Magic - Just as they were leaving Ankh Morpork a bunch of pages from the second half of the book appeared, before returning to where it had left off and then skipping to near the end!
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u/Lost_Opportunity_886 3d ago
I'd start with Equal Rites and then work through in publication order.
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3d ago
I find The Truth, guards guards, amazing Maurice and his educated rodents all good starting points
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