It should also be acknowledged that, as ever, reading books later in the series before earlier ones may spoil some elements of earlier novels.

Enthusiastic fans trying to get their friends to read the books rarely recommend these as a starting-point.Īll of this, obviously, presents a complication in the reading order for a fan keen to get to grips with one particular group of stories. The Discworldseries evolved over the course of thirty-two years and forty-one books and the first two or three novels don’t really reflect the complexity of the later books – the first two especially are rather broad spoofs of a certain type of swords ‘n’ sorcery fantasy that was popular in the 1980s. However, if you ask a Discworld fan where to start reading, the differing responses you get will not often involve the very first novel, The Colour Of Magic. If you haven’t read the Discworld series, you might be thinking this is sure to be a pretty short article, if the whole series follows a simple chronological order. Overall, however, the books more or less follow the chronological order in which they were written and published. There’s also a substantial time skip in Wyrd Sisters, and Thief Of Time, unsurprisingly, does peculiar things with the timeline, noting that it seemed to be fractured. For the most part, each novel takes place chronologically following the one before, with the possible exception of Small Gods (exactly when Small Gods takes place is debatable, but there are a few indications that it may take place substantially earlier than the other novels). Wyrd Sisters is the second book in the Witches series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.Of course, most people’s first instinct is to read a series of books in the order in which they were released – we won’t list all forty-one books in publication order here, but you can easily find such lists on multiple websites. 'Pratchett's Discworld books have made millions of people happy' Guardian Particularly when the blood on your hands just won't wash off.

But even she finds that meddling in royal politics is a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe.

Granny Weatherwax is the most highly regarded of the leaders they don't have. Witches don't have these kinds of leadership problems themselves - in fact, they don't have leaders.

A child heir and the royal crown, both missing. A king cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. Three witches gathered on a lonely heath. 'Destiny is important, see, but people go wrong when they think it controls them. The sixth Discworld novel and second in the Witches series - revamped with a fresh bold look targeting a new generation of fantasy fans.

Terry pratchett three witches