It took 14.25 books to fully realize this, but I don’t like the Discworld novels. Sure, the Death books aren’t bad, but as a whole, Discworld bores the hell out of me. Pratchett is really popular and has legions of fans. Legion. Like, the demons from the Bible.
I don’t mind so much the lack of chapters or the rambling nature of how Pratchett presents the story, but as a whole, his storytelling doesn’t work for me. I kept reading, wanting to “get” it, wanting to figure out the humor and really be involved in the whole Discworld thing.
Reading Men at Arms I finally realized it just is not going to happen. 14.25 books in the novels all start to sound like each other with the same basic patterns of dialogue and narration. Sure, most authors will fall into their own patterns of “voice”, and I don’t fault Pratchett for doing so, but when the voice didn’t work for me from the start (those first two Discworld books with Rincewind just aren’t good).
I had to put down Men at Arms. Like most Discworld novels, the book was just barely mildly amusing and I just didn’t care what happened to any of the characters, to the world, or to anyone other than the reappearance of Gaspode the Wonder Dog (from Moving Pictures). See, there are aspects of the series I like, and seeing favorite characters slide in and out of books is fun, sort of, but it isn’t enough.
So, what this post is really about is the fact that I think I’m done with Discworld. I had set myself a goal to read 10 Discworld books this year and then I put off the first of the ten until July. I read 100 pages and I’m done with the series. 14 finished books and 100 pages into Men at Arms should be enough.
5 comments:
I don't know that I've officially given up...but I know what you mean.
I came to the same conclusion years ago after reading three of them.
Just not my thing.
i quite like the idea of being a demon... :D
i love the books (some less than the others, of course - I agree that the rincewind stories aren't that funny) and I have almost read them all (except for the kids' ones and 'making money' which is not yet out in paperback).
the story isn't much of a story usually, but i like the humor and the pokes at the real world so much. it's also cool watching characters evolve - i thought the city watch was boring before i read 'night watch', and then i went back and read the previous books and loved them.
but it only took me 2-3 books to get into it, if after 14 books you still don't like the series i say you made the right choice by quitting.
I came to the same conclusion, albeit a bit earlier in the process :).I've read 5 Discworld novels (first four + Small Gods) and while the first three didn't work for me at all I actually enjoyed MORT, but on the whole I couldn't care less for Pratchett. I'm just not cut out for English humoUr I guess.
T: I liked Mort, too, and there might have been another Death book, too.
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