Books

[Kathy Li]

Tui: I'm just intrigued at how much trouble the revived postal service is going to get into with the clacks and c-mail.

M, Cress, I've said it a gazillion times, and I'll say it again (sorry), if you feel the need to read something like Wheel of Time, but don't find Jordan to your taste, try George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Amazon has a sample of the first book online.

[Gryphon]

M:
Why is that harsh?? Abarat was good!! And yeah, Eldest comes out Aug.1 2005.

I mean harsh as in the author making people wait so long. I haven't even read it yet.

[Kathy Li]

I mean harsh as in the author making people wait so long. ...

Oh, kind'a like DD starting her Tale of the Five back in the late '70s and not yet finishing it because she's writing all these YW and Star Trek Rihannsu books, instead? What's it been--12 years since the last one?

[Cress]

Her what with the what now? How much stuff has she written that I have never heard of?

[Kathy Li]

Probably tons.

Try the bibliography on youngwizards.com

The Tale of the Five (aka the Door books, aka the Middle Kingdoms) is the first fantasy series that DD wrote, and consists of four books, only three of which have been written and published. The titles are<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>The Door Into Fire<LI>The Door Into Shadow<LI>The Door Into Starlight<LI>The Door Into Sunset[/list]DD says she's going to finish the fourth one soon, but... Anyway, these books are currently being published by Meisha Merlin press in two volumes. The first one, The Dragon and the Sword has the first two door books, the second two will be in The Lion and the Door.

She's also mentioned, on the blog, that the Raetian Tales: A Wind From the South should be available soonish, but she also said she was gonna tell us the ISBN back in July... kind of like that chat we were gonna have "late August/early September" (given that DD's at Worldcon, I'd say the earliest that chat's happening is going to be 9/11).

There's a list of the Rihannsu novels in this thread.

[Birdhead]

Kathy:

Well, actually, there may not be so much conflict; you can't send packages by clacks, and I bet people still want solid letters.. it's not quite the same as e-mail in that respect, it's a bit more like telegrams.

Me, I can't wait until they start being able to send money by clacks. I can just imagine the conversations. It'll be worse than the shrimp.

[meteorite]

I just read Wee Free Men, the first book I have ever read by Terry Pratchett. In brief, oh, my. Hee hee hee!

I am happy because I have so many other of his books to look forward to, now!

[Birdhead]

OMG YOUR FIRST EVER???

I am so, so, unutterably jealous. You lucky thing!

[Cress]

I still haven't read Wee Free Men. I have so many pratchetts left to read. When will I have time to read them all?

[meteorite]

I am going on vacation in a week. I already have one book I can take with me on the airplane (and abandon if I need the space or weight; someone else may need reading material too) Any suggestions on the next Pratchett book I should read, in any particular order, if I find myself in need of raiding a bookstore?

p.s I likeTiffany Aching! She makes sense.

[alla]

which ones have you read? if you haven't read it them: mort, soul music, Wyrd Sisters and sourcery... hehe i love these ones!

who's tiffany aching?

where are you going on vacation?


alla

[Birdhead]

Oh, um, so many choices! All of them, preferably, but then you really wouldn't have any room in your suitcase and we do need things like clothes and underwear and toothbrushes from time to time, so I suppose that's not really viable. (Shame, though...)

Generally, the order is fairly irrelevant- you've started late in the series, so the only thing you really need to wory about is making sure that you read The Colour of Magic before The Light Fantastic, and if you take either one take both, because they're a matched set. I wouldn't reccomend them particularly though; mm, The Truth is one of my favourites, as is the aforementioned Soul Music. Men At Arms is great too. Really, though, you can't go wrong with the Disc.

Tiffany Aching is the main character in The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky, which are the two latest Discworld books in the kid-aimed books.

PS: Isn't The Light Fantastic a neat title? Tripping.

[Peter Murray]

Or look on www.lspace.org which I believe has lists of the sub-series, so that you would then know to read Mort as background to Soul Music (it may not be vital, but there are spoilers for Mort in there if you then read that).

Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music were adapted into TV series which are available on DVD - in Region 2, at least. They're animated by Cosgrove-Hall (cel animation, not the models as in Truckers or Wind in the Willows) and aren't bad.

Personally, I recommend starting with this new Colour of Magic title, and reading each new one as it comes out, but it may be a little late for that strategy...

[alla]

_Wyrd Sisters_ and _Soul Music_ were adapted into TV series which are available on DVD - in Region 2, at least. They're animated by Cosgrove-Hall (cel animation, not the models as in _Truckers_ or _Wind in the Willows_) and aren't bad.

Hehehe... i loved that tv show... stupid ABC (australia) won't show it again. Hmmn... I didn't know _Truckers_ was a TP thing... thats wierd, it never struck me as that funny

Alla

[Kathy Li]

Meteorite, you can go a lot of ways through Discworld, (I just went through the entire series last year) but I generally find that sticking as closely as you can to publication order will probably get you the best results, as Pratchett just gets better with time. If you start with the most recent and go to the early novels, you're more likely to be disappointed than going the other direction. And there are spoilers, if you're sensitive to that kind of thing. Nothing major, but characters and technology on Discworld do progress and develop.

Personally, I'd say get a mix of the series to get an idea of the different flavors. I'd say start with The Colour of Magic, Mort, Wyrd Sisters, and Guards! Guards!. And then pursue from there.

The only book I'd say you want to avoid is Eric (unless you're desperately mad for Faust)--it was team-written as a one-joke kind of lark, and it works well, but it's not exactly meant to be a Discworld novel in the same way the others are.

I'm scared about Dreamworks making a version of Truckers.