Pratchett's books (new thread).

[expat]

I'll probably make myself (more) unpopular now, but I think his books are drivel.

Much the same idea as the late Douglas Adams. It's formulaic: Take one idea/joke/conceit and beat it wafer thin over several million words.

I agree about Pratchett: I read one book and thought it quite amusing. Then I started to read another, and stopped because of the strong feeling that I had already been there.

I don't see Adams in such a bad light: I think the number and depth of thoughts/jokes/etc in his books is higher, and the number of books is so much lower (not just because he died); it's not spread out nearly so thin. With Pratchett I just couldn't face the idea that he could seemingly churn it out as fast as I could stand reading it.

[Cliphead]

I actually like his books, of course some are better than others but if I want a light read for a change I delve in.

[cailin maith]

I never "got" either of them TBH... Normally at a push I would read anything... but those two, just never got it. Have friends who have raved about both and tried to enthuse me but.... nope, still nothing there!!

[eliquant]

Yeah theres a geeky stigma attached to Pratchets books but some people have told me that they're hilarious.
Just as a side note - I used to work in a company and the owner also owned the film rights to the making of a movie version of 'DiscWorld', the owner interviewed Tim Burton and he said that the guy 'just couldn't communicate effectively and was too wierd' do the human version of the film never got made, just as well as this was in the 1990s when CGI was a bit crap.

[Bagpuss]

I found his stuff intensely formulaic and utterly boring. Adams I found to be funny, but then I've only read a couple of his books.

[Platypus]

I found his stuff intensely formulaic and utterly boring.

Yes, me too.

[EternalOptimist]

I admit, I sometimes wondered if he 'farmed out' his books, to aspiring writers

i.e. he gave them the synopsis and filled in some bits later. A bit like the grand master painters who ran painting factories.

On the other hand, some of his phrases and metephors are excellent,

like describing someone as being so far out of his depth that the fish were swimming around with funny lights on their heads

[cojak]

His early book are slapstick and packed with puns that can prove irritating if you're not into them.

His writing in later novels is sparer - darker and melancolic; not relying so much on literary fireworks.

Night Watch is the best, but Monstrous Regiment is close.

And his Wee Free men books are a delight.

[NotAllThere]

I've just read Nation. Which isn't a discworld novel, and so stands alone. A good place to start for anyone willing to give Pratchett another go.

Tiffany Aching series is sheer brilliance. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, and the Johnny series, likewise.

The worst of his books, while still a reasonable yarn, is Making Movies. The best are:

Night Watch - "Shoot first and ask questions later?" "There's nothing I want to ask him".
Monstrous Regiment - "Upon my oath, I'm not a violent man."
The Last Hero
Thud.

Of the rest, the following deserve an honourable mention.

Going Postal
Reaper Man
Small Gods
Hogfather
Jingo
Carpe Jugulum
The Fifth Elephant

Of the films, The Hogfather is outstanding, the rest are ok, but I do like the soundtrack for Soul Music.

I can only think the preceding posters haven't read any of the really good books, or are Harry Potter fans.

[NotAllThere]

From the other thread

But the universe we already have is infinitely diverse. Even the world we inhabit has too many stories to tell.

Fantasy writing is ok if that's your thing but surely you realise why it is not considered 'top drawer' literature when real life offers so many stories and challenges to the writer?

Fantasy writing at its best isn't about the fantasy world; it's used as vehicle to say something about ours. I don't care what the genre is - I like a good story. ( Which is why I read Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Pratchett, Niven, Asimov, Dostoyevsky, Victor Hugo... )