Guards! Guards!

I never read any Pratchett when I was younger, and tried out The Colour of Magic some years ago, never advancing beyond the early pages. Only this year I somehow found myself in the proper mood for it — I had read enough of Pratchett to kind of trust that he would probably be up my alley, only if I just had the patience.

I decided to give the series a go, and since I wanted to read all the books anyway, considered reading them chronologically to be the best approach. It would be interesting to see the development of the world and of Pratchett as a storyteller. And it would be nice to collect those beautiful hardcover editions in the Discworld Collector's Library.

I didn't think the first two were as bad as some have made them out to be, and Mort is an early classic I'll very likely revisit often. Sourcery was the one with which I lost my gusto and had to abandon the project for a while, and perhaps because I was reinvigorated doing other things, I was thoroughly impressed with Wyrd Sisters and what follow, namely Pyramids and Guards! Guards!. I'm only starting Eric next. With these books I felt I was somehow entering the world of Pratchett's fans in the sense where they so highly credit not only his wit and narrative abilities, but also the deep humanity and life he gives his characters. I think this last bit was obvious very early on, I'd say that now that I've advanced a bit further on along the journey through all the novels, The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic and Sourcery exhibit a certain streamlined simplicity in how the story unravels that doesn't hold up well in comparison to these later books I've read.

I'd say I fell in love with his wit and how much he seems to care for his silly characters from the onset, but now his writing has reacher a level on which it's no longer so much work. The returns are imminent, and they are plentiful.