kananda...@aol.com wrote:
> One recent read question (blending threads)- finally tried my first
Pratchett book- Night Watch. I found it to be "lighter" and a good
brain break, but I am not sure if there is any particular "order" to
things. Is there another book related to Vetinari?
Many. Pratchett's Discworld series at this point has many threads that
wind their way through the books. Vetinari is a something of a critical
nexus of several of these threads, but most particularly the "Watch"
books (one of the first being *Guards! Guards!* if you want to attempt a
somewhat more chronological study). *Night Watch* in particular is
sometimes frowned upon for the book being a bizarre nexus in and of
itself within the Discworld "time stream". (Mostly time progresses
appropriately forward across the books, albeit rarely does it matter,
but *Night Watch* manages to be both "contemporary" and a possible
prequel, all the while teasing the reader with uncertainty principles.)
Some Pratchett fans that particularly hate *Night Watch* would be amazed
that you find *Night Watch* "lighter" reading, but perhaps you lucked
out by skipping *Thief of Time*, first. You might find *Night Watch* to
be a subtly different beast if you re-read it after *Thief of Time*.
(Personally I'm a fan of *Thief of Time* and *Night Watch*.) However,
you probably want to read a lot more Discworld books before you work
your way back to *Thief of Time*...
If you want particular recommendations from the vasty canon of
Discworld, I heartily recommend the Moist von Lipwig books: *Going
Postal* and *Making Money* (in chronological order). It's a good thread
unto itself with some of his (in my opinion) sharpest satire and deepest
insights.
Also, another great sequence that stands alone well is the Discworld
Young Adult novels: *The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents*, *The
Wee Free Men*, *A Hat Full of Sky*, and *Wintersmith*. (That is if
"Young Adult" doesn't scare you, which it shouldn't, because these books
are equally awesome.)
Then there is every other awesome book in Discworld. :) Ask enough
Pratchett fans and you'll find a glowing recommendation for any and
every book, for one reason or another.
Apologies for the rant, hopefully it helps,
--
--Max Battcher--
http://worldmaker.net
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