![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Pratchett, Terry - Mort (reread)
(Apologies for spamming! Um, yes, I am trying to catch up with my backlog, so there may be a few more...)
I actually haven't read very much Terry Pratchett at all. The first time I read this, I was mildly amused but not too impressed. I suspect for most things intended to be funny, I have to read them a few times. Otherwise, the prose strikes me as too twee or too contrived.
Mort is all elbows and thinks entirely too much for his small village, which is how he ends up at a fair for people trying to find apprentices. Fortunately (?) for Mort, Death of Discworld is looking for an apprentice.
Mort gets himself into a giant scrape involving the very fabric of reality, and antics ensue.
I enjoyed this the second time around, now that I had a better feel for Pratchett's sense of humor. I love the long footnotes, though I got sick of a few of them closer to the end of the book. I also like the characters a lot more; the first time I read it, I couldn't quite figure out how sympathetic I was supposed to feel and how much Pratchett was making fun of them. I think I rather like the gentle fun he pokes; I had originally read them with the vague idea that he wrote satire and not good story (this was pre-LJ).
My favorite character was Ysabell, even though she didn't get many pages; I am a sucker for overlooked girls who prove to be useful and down-to-earth.
I could tell from vague knowledge collected from LJ that Pratchett was bringing Mort to meet several established Discworld characters, but since I don't know any of them outside of Granny Weatherwax, it had very little impression on me.
So: I think I am going to try and read up on Pratchett, just to keep up with LJ, if nothing else. Also, he won me over in another book with SQUEAK! from the Death of rats.
I definitely like the Death books, so I think that is Soul Music and Hogsfather. Mely and Rachel both say to avoid Rincewind and to read the Guards books. Rec me! Also, let me know if I should read in any particular order!
Of the Discworld books, I have read: this book, The Amazing Maurice and The Color of Magic (was not terribly impressed by the last, but Mely says it is because it sucks).
I actually haven't read very much Terry Pratchett at all. The first time I read this, I was mildly amused but not too impressed. I suspect for most things intended to be funny, I have to read them a few times. Otherwise, the prose strikes me as too twee or too contrived.
Mort is all elbows and thinks entirely too much for his small village, which is how he ends up at a fair for people trying to find apprentices. Fortunately (?) for Mort, Death of Discworld is looking for an apprentice.
Mort gets himself into a giant scrape involving the very fabric of reality, and antics ensue.
I enjoyed this the second time around, now that I had a better feel for Pratchett's sense of humor. I love the long footnotes, though I got sick of a few of them closer to the end of the book. I also like the characters a lot more; the first time I read it, I couldn't quite figure out how sympathetic I was supposed to feel and how much Pratchett was making fun of them. I think I rather like the gentle fun he pokes; I had originally read them with the vague idea that he wrote satire and not good story (this was pre-LJ).
My favorite character was Ysabell, even though she didn't get many pages; I am a sucker for overlooked girls who prove to be useful and down-to-earth.
I could tell from vague knowledge collected from LJ that Pratchett was bringing Mort to meet several established Discworld characters, but since I don't know any of them outside of Granny Weatherwax, it had very little impression on me.
So: I think I am going to try and read up on Pratchett, just to keep up with LJ, if nothing else. Also, he won me over in another book with SQUEAK! from the Death of rats.
I definitely like the Death books, so I think that is Soul Music and Hogsfather. Mely and Rachel both say to avoid Rincewind and to read the Guards books. Rec me! Also, let me know if I should read in any particular order!
Of the Discworld books, I have read: this book, The Amazing Maurice and The Color of Magic (was not terribly impressed by the last, but Mely says it is because it sucks).
no subject
City Watch books:
Guards! Guards! (most re-read), Men at Arms, Feet of Clay (this is the weakest, but it's still worth a look), Jingo, Fifth Elephant, Night Watch (Possibly the best of the lot), and then they proceed to mentioned in quite a few books, but Thud! is the last official Watch book (anti-war, kinda preachy).
They really suffer from not being read in order. I read Jingo, and then Men at Arms, and it almost ruined Guards! Guards! for me
Witches books:
Equal Rites (skip it), Wyrd Sisters (It's like MacBeth, but fun!), Witches abroad (fabulous fairy tale parody), Lords and Ladies (my favourite! Mythology, mostly elves and Faery), Maskerade (Phantom of the Opera and Opera in general, you could skip it entirely imo), Carpe Jugulum (Vampire send up)
The Tiffany Aching books:
Wee Free Men, Hatful of Sky, Wintersmith
All equally fantastic. Add Tiffany to your list of practical women/girls.
Death/Susan
Mort, Reaper Man (This is the best! Death of Rats, Death working on a farm, spoiler, spoiler, spoiler.), Soul Music, Hogfather, Thief of Time
I don't really like Susan. I wish he'd kept Ysabell.
You can skip Rincewind. It' not that I don't like him, he's just extraordinarily boring compared to just about every other Discworld character.
Stand Alones of Note:
Pyramids was the first Discworld book I read, and it's much funnier after reading 'Tom Brown's schooldays' and it's nice to get out of Ankh-Mopork every now and then.
The Truth Free press in Discworld, what's not love. I hope this continues as a series.
Going Postal No longer a stand-alone, since Making Money is coming out this year. But it's pretty easy to get into with little to no previous Discworld knowledge. The lead character's name is Moist, and not a lot is made of it.
Small Gods everyone else loves it. I was put off because although it's based on the Spanish inquisition to an extent, the explicit othering of the barbaric religion got to me.
Look here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld#Lists_of_Novels) for a more comprehensive list of what all the novels are about.
no subject