I’d second this.
My take is if you’re jumping in after reading Monstrous Regiment, you could do a lot worse than reading the Watch novels in order so that you get Vimes back-story.
It’s a solid place to start, PTerry has really hit his straps by this point and there’s some great character development.
I would posit that surely The Colour of Magic is the most standalone of all the Discworld novels being that it is not just the only one which has ever actually stood alone, but did so well enough to engender all the others.
Ah, that makes more sense yes. I can see why he cut down on the fantasy chicles, as he started writing for a more general audience, but that wasn’t naturally an advantage.
I assumed that there was more parallels to Muslims being drawn, rather than Jews, but all religions have their weird (and often offensive) traditions among the less tolerant members, so really you could insert any religion/ethnic group in there.
This entire thread is an abomination unto Nuggan.
But seriously, I enjoyed MR and plan to read it again, but no love for Carpe Jugulum?
Edited for note to self: Reading all the way to the bottom of the thread is a good thing that should be done more often. Have another coffee.
I came in to chime Small Gods as a great stand alone title but have been beaten to it by several others. DEATH features (as I’m sure he does in every Discworld book) and we catch a glimpse of the Librarian emerging through a portal to swipe a few tomes from the destruction of an ancient library.
Except of course that Strata came first. The only question is whether it is truly a “discworld” novel, As it takes place on a world which is a disc and very obviously begat the entire Discworld ouvre, omitting it from the discussion seems at best artificial, and maybe just a wee bit patricidal.
Yes, but though it’s on a disc shaped world, it is very definitely not on the Discworld. Spiritual ancestor perhaps, but it can’t be seen as part of the same series.
I didn’t say it was a Matrix parody, but it can be pictured as one since as you said it’s a story about Hollywood-style Zen Buddhist monks kicking each other’s asses with time-fu and it’s full of agent Smiths(Auditors of Reality).
I’m under the impression that kupfernigk is having quite a lot of conversations in the privacy of his own mind.
I too suspect that the post is our dear Corey merely being Contrarian, trying to shake us out of our complacency. I’ve been reading Terry Pratchett since The Light Fantastic came out (buying it together with The Color of Magic, the only books I bought the US versions of), and by the time Monstrous Regiment came out it felt as if it was only on the Discworld out of habit. Perhaps it would have been better off as an alternate Earth book, like Nation, with toned down fantasy elements?
But this is just nitpicking, really. Even the most mediocre Terry Pratchett is an enjoyable read. And Small Gods still remains the one book that should be required reading for all ongoing theologians, no matter the faith. Fnord.
Obviously you haven’t tried The Long War.
Although I don’t know how much of that was Pratchett. I’m inclined to blame Stephen Baxter.
Well, all right, for me they are enjoyable reads. Your mileage may vary, caveat lector, et cetera.
Kupfernigk, you actually did convince me that there are parallels to the Jewish immigrant experience and the conservative-progressive conflict in Pratchett’s later dwarf stories. In that light, the whole “gold gold gold” thing from earlier stories is unfortunate, but clearly not intentional.
Dee the Ideas Taster from The Fifth Elephant appears to be a standard Evil Religious Conservative until his actual motivation is revealed (avoiding spoilers).
I can see where that would be upsetting to you. It’s very easy for those of us who are familiar with trans issues to read Monstrous Regiment as being about transmen, which causes problems because I don’t think that’s what Pratchett intended. Rather, I think it’s meant to be a more straightforward thing about feminism and misogyny and the lengths that women have to go to to be taken seriously; the characters are intended to be exactly what they appear to be, cis women struggling for agency in an oppressive society. God knows it would be nice to have someone as well-regarded as Pratchett do a serious pro-trans novel, but I can’t criticize him too much for attempting something else.
That said, if we do read it as being about transmen, I can still sort of see Sergeant Jackrum’s actions being justified. Calling a trans person by their old name is a cruel and humiliating thing to do, of course. But in this reading, Jackrum is an elder transman who has spent years mentoring and supporting dozens of others through transition, and has just discovered that a bunch of his protegees have formed a tribunal to marginalize and disgrace a younger batch of transmen. I can see a trans Jackrum feeling that a bit of a cruel and pointed response is called for.
I can’t actually recall finishing Monstrous Regiment. I do recall finding it bereft of humour and lacking the playful translation of a technology or service in our own world to that of the discworld.
Small Gods, which I recently finished rereading, does a great job of drawing back the curtain on religion, philosophy and society, revealing it’s inner workings. I wouldn’t say I thoroughly enjoyed it as I would say Witches Abroad or Going Postal.
Horses for courses I guess… It depends what sort of stimulation you are looking for:
There isn’t so much a clear cut content and style as a blend with a predominant tone. Overall Discworld is one of my favourite series and I thank Terry Pratchett for being as prolific as he has been.
I don’t know if Pratchett knew about the situation (He used to know someone who was affected by it), but there is a Lesbian/Bisexual group somewhere in the UK who used to have a no pre-op/non-op m2f transgender policy, that was put in place by post-op m2f transsexuals
The policy was eventually dropped by younger cisgender women who were upset that some of their trans friends could not join. UK law says that they cannot change it back to the exclusive rule now.
This would be the same universe which has a (usually) benevolent dictator in charge of its largest city, and even occasionally points out what a disaster it would be for Ankh-Morpork if it had elections, right?
Also, it’s been a while since I read MR, but I’m not sure if even Jackrum is trans*. In general, Pratchett is pretty light on LGBT characters or plot points in Discworld. The Last Continent has characters that are either transwomen or female impersonators (it’s basically a riff on Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), and Lofty and Tonker in MR. Also, I think that it’s kind of hinted at in Unseen Academicals WRT Bengo Macarona.
Re-read the earlier Sam Vimes books seeing Angua as a transwoman instead of a werewolf.
This might be an reference to someone I know who went to British SF conventions in the 80s dressed as a wolf and is openly trans (the same person I referred to in my previous comment). She isn’t the only real person who has a Discworld character based on them and I haven’t had any reason to doubt her about this.
No thanks; although I’m usually a sucker for SFF allegory, I’m a little hesitant to make that assumption for a character who occasionally has to restrain herself from tearing someone’s throat out, your transwoman/otherkin acquaintance notwithstanding.
