What to read after Discworld?

[Marissa]

I love Terry Pratchett, and have read every single book the man has written. He is obviously fabulous. I have read many of the Discworld books many many times. But what to read next? What books would you recommend to Discworld lovers? I would probably recommend great authors like Douglas Adams and Neil Gaiman. Who else is out there? Who are your other favorites?

[Christina]

I just transitioned to Christopher Moore. Not quite the same as Pratchett, but entertaining...

[[deleted user]]

Gaiman is an great choice for post Pratchett plus if you love Terry you should love Good Omens

[Dan]

I'd suggest Neil Gaiman, Christopher Moore, and/or John Moore.

[Perkin]

Review on the back of a Robert Rankin book I"m about to read by Terry Pratchett. I'll quote "One of the rare guys who can always make me laugh." Can't go past a recommendation like that. The only Rankin books I've read so far was 'Hollow chocolate bunnies of the apocalypse' which I liked almost as much as I liked the title. New by the way, hi.

[Paul]

I've been a die hard Pratchett fan for many years now but after i read good omens Neil gaimans name stuck in my mind then after watching stardust i decided i wouldnt mind reading the book as i really liked the plot however i was quite disapointed by the book but decided to give neil another go and read Anansi boys then american gods (in hindsight i should have read them the other way around).
I'm hooked i have the graveyard book sat on my shelf awaiting me to finish reading my current book ..other fav authours of mine would have to include Tolkien. C.S Lewis David eddings Stephanie myer J.K Rowling Greogory macguire and David gemmell amongst others lol

[Christina]

American Gods is one of my very favorite books. You should give Neverwhere a try (also Gaiman). It's a great story.

[Mark]

Christina wrote: "American Gods is one of my very favorite books. You should give Neverwhere a try (also Gaiman). It's a great story."

It is a very different author from Pratchett, but Sherman Alexie is a fantastic writer. He is friends with Neil Gaiman and has a similar sense of humor. "Flight," and "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian." The later being specifically for Teens. His short stories go from funny to heartbreaking. He is worth a read.

[Christina]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look Alexie up!

[Libby]

After reading everything of Terry's, I read everything of Neil's and was at a loss. They simply cannot publish fast enough. I've now added Jasper Fford to my list of favorites. He is certainly different then Terry or Neil but equally entertaining. His Thursday Next series takes place in an alternate version of our world where people can step into books. There is an entire "bookverse" where all the characters are alive and living their own distinct lives. If you are a fan of classic literature, these books are especially fun because of all the literary references. There are currently two series - Thursday Next and Nursery Crime. Both are worth checking out. I'd recommend starting with The Erye Affair because it introduces you to his universe and puts the rest of the books in context.

Also, I must second any recommendation of American Gods. It's an amazing novel.

Finally, when last at Half Price books I checked out the "if you like this author, you might like . . . " list and saw that Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin were in the same group - has anyone ever read any of Robert Asprin?

The Eyre Affair
Hit or Myth

[Marissa]

I love Jasper Fforde! He is quite hilarious. I love both series too. Half Price books is one of my favorite book stores ever, as well. I've read Robert Asprin - he writes what I call "popcorn" books. Fun to read, but not much depth. Not a lot of thinking required. I think I read 5 of his when I was home sick one week. Kind of like Piers Anthony's Xanth books, if you've read those. Same sort of story construct every time, but still kind of fun to read. If you're bored and don't feel like thinking, get them from the library.

I also have started reading anything that has a quote from Neil Gaiman recommending it on the cover. I found Martin Millar this way - I really like
Lonely Werewolf Girl. Check it out!

[Libby]

Marissa - Thanks for reminder about Miller - I read The Good Fairies of New York because of Neil's forward. I'll have to check out his other work.

[Mary]

Even though I have not read any of the Discworld books yet however soon I will start. If you are looking for some entertaining fantasy you might want to check out Piers Anthony's Xanth. It's all about puns and is pretty good reading.

[Valerie]

As a die-hard parody fan, I have to say there are some good stand-alones like Bored of the Rings and the Sillimarillion.


(And I love most of the previously-mentioned series)

Valerie Estelle Frankel
Author of Henry Potty and the Pet Rock:
An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody
www.HarryPotterParody.com

[Libby]

I just started To Say Nothing of the Dog for a GR bookclub and love it! I'm only 75 pgs in but so far it seems to be a great book for a Pratchett fan. It's like Ponder Stibbons moved into a Jasper Fforde novel. It is laugh out loud funny! I'm hoping the rest of the book is as rewarding. My suggestion is to give Connie Willis a try.

[Mary]

Libby wrote: "I just started To Say Nothing of the Dog for a GR bookclub and love it! I'm only 75 pgs in but so far it seems to be a great book for a Pratchett fan. It's like Ponder Stibbons moved i..."

I've read a few of Connie's books and all are really good. She has a great sense of humor.

The Doomsday book, Bellwether, passage and Impossible Things (Short Stories), and to say nothing of the Dog.

The short story collection I'm reading now and so far there are a couple stories that was just really great so far.
Ado which takes political correctness to it's ultimate, and Even the Queen which address "the women's issue".

[Barbm1020]

I'm reading To Say Nothing of the Dog right now myself. It's great.

[MB (What she read)]

Hmmm....no one is like Terry Pratchett.

But I did enjoy The Android's Dream by John Scalzi.

[MB (What she read)]

I'm reading Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard. So far, the style and the humor is reminding me a lot of Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.

If anyone else has read it already, I'd be interested to know what you thought.

[The Flooze]

You guys have mentioned many of my favorites already, like Jasper Fforde and Christopher Moore. Moore's Dirty Job and Lamb are especially good.

Robert Rankin is amusing, as is Robert Asprin's MYTH series. From MYTH, I love Ahz, the demon from Perv (call him a Pervect, not a Pervert!).

John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars was great. He wrote it as a starter book.

Recently, I've been reading A. Lee Martinez. Gil's All Fright Diner was very good--how can you go wrong with zombie cows?!

Douglas Adams is a given. PG Wodehouse's Jeeves stories are fabulous.

Right now, I'm on a Simon R Green kick. Nightside and Secret Histories are both great so far (with lots of nods to Doctor Who).

Has anyone read Tom Holt? I bought two of his books to try out.

[MB (What she read)]

Ooh, Michelle, I think we like the same stuff! I've tried all of those except Robert Rankin and Robert Aspirin. I'll take a look at Simon R. Green.

I've read about half of Tom Holt's. They are good and the humor is similar to Pratchett's but they are MUCH drier. The characterization is flatter so they are harder to get through. Some of the later books seem to me to be recycling standard characters in different plots.

I'd recommend reading Who's Afraid of Beowulf?, Flying Dutch or Expecting Someone Taller for his humorous novels and Goatsong A Novel of Ancient Athens for his historicals.

* * * * *

If anyone is up for some classic novels with a lot of humor included (like Wodehouse), may I recommend
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, the Lucia Novels by E.F. Benson, and The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is great too

[The Flooze]

Thanks for the suggestions, MB!

Oh, the to-read list just keeps expanding. If only I were independently wealthy and could fritter away my days reading on a verandah...

[MB (What she read)]

"...If only I were independently wealthy and could fritter away my days reading on a verandah..."

Oh, I dream of that. Or even one of those nice month-long vacations the Europeans seem to have. Sigh...

[The Flooze]

Bank holidays would be nice too.
I second that sigh.

[Marissa]

Awesome sounding suggestions! Thanks! Now if only my library has them all...

[Arthur]

I remember reading somewhere that Sir Terry enjoys Carl Hiassen, so I tried him. I recommend Skin Tight and Skinny Dip.

And if you like Hiassen and Christopher Moore you'll love Tim Dorsey. Very twisted stuff. But in a good way.

[Kim]

Hiassen's good--I've ready everything--but his books are very site-intensive. Florida itself becomes a character in every book. But he's not bust-out-laughing funny like Pratchett or Gaiman.

[Colleen]

Major TP fan, also Christopher Moore, Aspirin. Post those, have greatly enjoyed Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, about a modern wizard in Chicago. More violent, gritty, and noir than the others, but still engaging and funny. More balanced presentation of religion than is usual in modern fiction. I was recommended to start with #3, so I did, and have raced on through #9; there currently are 10, I think. Love them!

[Lea]

Hmmm....I don't think anything can really compare to Terry Pratchett for crazy science-fiction. But I just read "The True Meaning of Smekday", and that reminded me of Terry Pratchett a bit. It was another laugh-out-loud read and had some of Pratchett's crazy humor and satirical jibes. Of course, "Smekday" is more of a Juvenile read....

[Dan]

In the eons since this thread was started, I've become enamored with Toby Frost's Space Captain Smith series. I think Terry Pratchett fans will enjoy them.

Space Captain Smith
God Emperor of Didcot
Wrath of the Lemming Men

[Jim]

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is a fun series. The ending was a bit of a disappointment to me but my wife liked it. I hear there is a movie in the works for the first book.

[Lea]

Jim wrote: "The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is a fun series. The ending was a bit of a disappointment to me but my wife liked it. I hear there is a movie in the works for the first book."

A movie of Bartimaeus would be amazing! I love that series. It is a good Pratchett follow-up, too.

[Jim]

I, too, look forward to a Bartimaeus movie but have always been disappointed with movies of scifi/fantasy books I liked. I will give it a watch with low expectation hoping to be surprised.

[Lea]

You have a point, a lot of scifi/fantasy movies are disappointing. Eragon is a great example. The book wasn't my favorite book ever, but it was pretty good. The movie just fell flat in conveying the plot nuances. And I really don't want to see that movie "The Seeker", which is based off of the book "The Dark is Rising". I'm afraid that it might be a bad adaptation of a great book.

[Silvana]

Anyone read Dodger yet? Also by Sir Terry.

[D.L.]

Yep. I liked Dodger. It's not like his other books, but it's still distinctively Pratchett.

[Barbm1020]

For me, nothing else feels like the Discworld. I'm reading Dragons at Crumbling Castle now, and happy to know there's another Tiffany Aching book coming this summer. I do like Neil Gaiman and Jasper Fforde, though, for the British take on fantasy worlds, and in the U.S. there's Jim Butcher, very different but still entertaining. Let's see who else pops up.

[D.L.]

Barbm1020 wrote: "For me, nothing else feels like the Discworld."

Yep. There's Discworld, and then, some fair distance below, there's everything else. I've read Jasper Fforde, Ben Aaronovitch, A. Lee Martinez, Christopher Moore, John Moore, Gordon Dickson... pretty much everyone whose name comes up in 'If you like Pratchett..." posts. Some I've liked, but they're simply not as enjoyable to me. I'd like to say Pratchett's works are more sophisticated, but I don't think that's the right word. "Better" serves, but it's hardly specific.

[Arthur]

I enjoyed A.J. Hartley's Act of Will and Will Power (Hawthorne Saga). They are fantasy/adventure stories with a bit of humor. The main character is bit like a Rincewind/Dibbler combo, and the primary source of the humor. Not really Discworld humor/word play/satire, but I found them worth reading and recommending to family and friends. The author is also quick to respond to Tweets and emails, and very personable, much like Sir Terry was back in the Usenet days.

[MB (What she read)]

While nothing and no one is like Pratchett, I liked T. Kingfisher's (aka Ursula Vernon) Nine Goblins as well as The Seventh Bride.

I also really enjoyed Daniel O'Malley's The Rook and am eagerly looking forward to Stiletto.

Keep the suggestions coming, I love this!

[Michael]

I agree with T Kingfisher. Good stuff. I'd also highly recommend Becky Chambers "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet." Not Pratchett, but keep an eye on this author. I am also enjoying "All The Birds in the Sky" by Charlie Jane Anders. Reminds me in some ways of the Tiffany Aching stories.

[Becci]

MB (What she read) wrote: "Hmmm....no one is like Terry Pratchett.

This is very true. Fforde is similar, and very clever, but literary instead of social...
Rankin is funny, but again in a different way...