#AtoZChallenge 2024 letter P

Terry Pratchett

There was no one else that P could even be. I’ve reread his Discworld novels over and over. But if you are just encountering him where do you start?

Don’t start at the beginning. He’s an author who got better as he went. I think if you start with The Color of Magic, you may see some of the charm but not fully understand why people love him so much.

To truly get into Terry Pratchett, you have to choose your preferred starting point. Would you rather read about witches or police?

If you’d like to read about witches, start with Wyrd Sisters. Technically, Equal Rites is the first appearance of Granny Weatherwax but she is not the character who she will become. Just ignore that book for a while. Start with Wyrd Sisters. I fell in love with the opening paragraph of this book and never looked back from the story of the witches of Lancre. From here you can read their continuing adventures through Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum, and then seque into the Tiffany Aching series as long as you are ready to sob uncontrollably in the last Tiffany Aching book.

If you chose police then you start reading about the City Watch with Guards! Guards!

The Night Watch under Sam Vimes is trying to make a police force made up of many species working together in a very corrupt city. Follow it with Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Thud, and Snuff.

There are plenty of other books that you should explore from here but these are good starting points that will pull you into his amazing world.