Book #220 of 2021: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #40) Author Terry Pratchett is pretty reliably funny, and if you approach his individual books as scaffolding devices for his specific brand of clever humor, outrageous puns, and insightful commentary on our own society by means of its satirical fantasy version, this one is another …
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Book #190 of 2021: Making Money by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #36) I still don’t feel as though reformed con man Moist von Lipwig is a particularly engaging protagonist, and a lot of the plot beats to this attempt to turn around the archaic Ankh-Morpork banking industry seem too similar to his previous efforts at the …
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Book #173 of 2021: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #33) I generally enjoy the Discworld comic fantasy series, but this entry is perhaps a bit shaggy for my tastes. Although the basic premise of a con artist conscripted into running the failing Ankh-Morpork post office has potential, and that protagonist’s arc is a solid …
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Book #162 of 2021: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #31) A tremendously funny and poignant story of a young woman who disguises herself as a lad to enlist in her nation’s army. Author Terry Pratchett strikes a fine balance between showing the camaraderie and bravery of soldiers on the one hand — the reasons …
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Book #103 of 2021: The Truth by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #25) Overall this is a fine comic romp through the fantasy city-state of Ankh-Morpork as it’s introduced to the concept of print journalism, and the novel comes late enough in author Terry Pratchett’s career that it largely avoids the needless sexism and classism that sometimes …
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Book #67 of 2021: Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #10) A weaker effort from author Terry Pratchett, and a little too dependent on referential humor, where the entire joke is something like, “Wouldn’t a Discworld version of Gone with the Wind be hilarious?” I’m also still mostly familiar with this setting through the stories …
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Book #43 of 2021: Snuff by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #39) Another fine comic adventure, but not quite up to author Terry Pratchett’s best work, which makes it all the more regrettable that this is where we leave the stalwart Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The writer finished just one or two further …
Book #264 of 2020: Thud! by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #34) Maybe it’s due to the inevitable comedown from the thoroughly excellent Night Watch, but I haven’t enjoyed this next City Watch novel nearly as much as I expected to. There’s a great worldbuilding revelation at the end, yet this is one of those Discworld books …
Book #242 of 2020: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #29) This wasn’t my first Discworld title, but for a long time, it was the only one I had read in the subseries about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. It’s the volume I’ve reread the most as well, so I can attest that it works just …
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Book #201 of 2020: The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #24) Author Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is reliably hilarious, and I appreciate how his City Watch subseries blends that humor with wry philosophizing and a detective story structure. The question for me as a reader is always whether the writer can stay out of his …
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