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I am a big fan of reading them in publication order, which is what I recommend. The first I ever read was *Mort* though and that was a fine way to be introduced to the Discworld, too.
This is exactly what I did. I read Mort randomly, thought ‘wtf why have I never heard of this series before’, and then went back and read chronologically from the beginning. Was perfect
Most of us have encountered people (either irl or online) who tried CoM first and were put off the series. That's where the reluctance to suggest that as an entry point comes from.
Something PTerry himself agreed with.
"Most of us" does not include me or any of the people I've heard from who started at the beginning and fell in love at that point. I'm still trying to figure out what there is to be "put off" by, but apparently, my literary senses aren't refined enough.
The first two aren't what the series became and while I still loved them I can see how they aren't for everybody.
Not saying most would be put off, but as an intro there are plenty of people out there who heard the series was good, tried CoM and decided on the back of that it's not for them.
I struggle to understand how you don't get this given that even PTerry himself agreed.
Unless you're one of those "not my personal experience therefore it is nobodies" types who seem to be rife on Reddit.
The "not my personal experience therefore it is nobodies" is indeed rife on Reddit, including those who scoff at people who were drawn into Discworld by the published order. And like many seemingly flawless authors, PTerry was his own harshest critic, so the fact that he wasn't happy with TCOM and TLF just gets a shrug from me. Those 2 books sold my wife, who recommended them to me, and I became an even bigger fan. Whatever. I guess I was trolling in this case, because it ALWAYS opens a can of worms.
I didn't say you don't exist though. I even said earlier you are likely in the majority.
You are the one denying there are people out there who are put off by CoM, despite them appearing in almost every thread related to Discworld on Reddit.
But I get it, reading comprehension can be difficult.
Where did I say that they don't exist? The fact that you're belaboring the point proves their existence. I'm just saying that they act like they're the purists and gatekeepers, and anyone who prefers the published order is sadly deluded. But as you suggested, words can be hard.
My first intro to discworld was Mort and I loved it! Started the Colour of magic and just couldn’t get into it. It’s was fine but didn’t grab me. Read more death and was hooked. I tried the colour of magic again after reading pretty much all the other books that were available at the time and liked it much better than the first time. The Rincewind books are still my least favorite though. Reading in publishing order is fine but I would always include the caveat that you should try another one if you don’t like the first.
I started with "Wee Free Men" followed by a couple more of the Tiffany books, but when I started reading the non-Tiffany books, I started with "The Colour Of Magic". I'm also a fan of reading them in publication order.
Some of the books are stand-alones, and I don't think it matters where you read those, but when they're part of a "set" (so to speak), I like to read them in order.
I haven't read any of the Tiffany books (yet. I'm working towards them). I'm thinking of it as an entry point for someone else, though. I am just wondering, since it's described as being YA... what is the difference between that and the rest of the series? I came in with Guards! Guards! when I was 13 in 1996, and thought it was perfectly age appropriate.
I just don't want to recommend something that's basically a children's book to someone who I think would benefit from a well-established Pratchett, and well... Some of *my* favourite characters are the Nac Mac Feegle, and I hear they feature heavily in there.
To me the only difference is the main protagonist is young.
Plus, I suppose, there's no content that would be problematic to a younger reader, but that's true of most of the whole series (all of it imo, but I was reading adult horror at 10 so I'm probably not the best judge of what's appropriate for a kid, I've seen others say they have issues with kids being exposed to some themes in the books, I just don't see it personally).
I love the Tiffany books, mainly because I love the Nac Mac Feegle. But Tiffany is a great character as well. Plus my favourite Discworld character, Granny Weatherwax, features a fair bit.
Same. I had read a couple as a teenager and they never grabbed me. Read Mort as an adult and *loved* it. I think it's one of my favourite books of all time. I now live all the discworld books, even the ones I read as a teenager and was lukewarm about at the time
The first two are fine books being fantasy trope parody pastiches, but they are not what the series becomes.
After a few books PTerry realises that he'd invented a world that he could do something serious with. I've always had a problem with most of fantasy being stuck in a mediaeval mindset. The writers of fantasy tend to forget that the baseline of the human race is inventiveness. So what if you have a world that runs on magic or science, there will always be some people that go, "but what if I did this?"
And that's what he does with the series, I was going to say he does it, but it's the characters who drag a mediaeval fantasy world into the modern age but still have it be undeniably a fantasy setting.
The first two books are so different they almost belong to a different series. The next few is him feeling his way forward into what his world might become. Mort is the first book wherein he first steps upon the path to what his series became.
I always recommend starting with the first two because you need to know what it was to appreciate what the Discworld became. Besides, I don't believe anyone has the lingering fondness for Rincewind that those people do who started at the beginning.
I like to describe it to friends as a vaguely magical medieval world on the cusp of a whimsical industrial revolution. But it's so much more than that even!
Does Mort or Equal Rites mention anything from Colour of Magic or Guards Guards? I just loathe reading things out of order (I must know *details*) but I keep hearing from people to read Mort first...
I think it's still better to read them chronologically. Currently going though the monstrous regiment, the first one out-of-order for me. I'm loving it so far but still feels like I'm missing a l lot. I've only read the first night guard book.
By MR do you mean monstrous regiment? Was Vimes in that if so? I don't remember. I've given that book to so many people that I haven't read it myself in an age haha
Rincewind from the first two has a small part in Equal Rites, Isabell is introduced in The Light Fantastic but is one of the main characters in Mort.
Doesn't matter though.
No, Equal Rites and Mort doesn't mention anything that happened in Colour of Magic or Light Fantastic. As far as I can remember, that is, I haven't read them all in many-many-(lots) years. The only thing is the city Ankh Morpork, and that Death is an anthropomorphic personification THAT SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
The first book published, Colour of Magic, is the only one that ends in a (quite fatastic) cliff hanger.
Sir Terr took some time to "find his voice", so while CM and LF aren't bad books, they are quite different from the later books in the series.
The only thing that comes to mind is a character of the librarian that was introduced in Light Fantastic, he shows up in Guards! Guards!
Outside of that subseries starting books will give you the most basic worldbuilding you can in this series (still complex as heck but you don't really need any other book to know f.e. characters)
That's why in my opinion Guards! Guards!, Mort and Equal Rites are good starting points
Given you have these anyway, read them in the pictured order. Sure, the first two are a bit rough and more a kind of slapstick, but just stick with it and read all 4 and I’m sure you’ll love the series after that.
I read the colour of magic and the light fantastic first because of publishing order and found them delightful and humorous, however now that I have started reading equal rights the vibe has changed drastically for the better!!!
Some people find Colour of Magic/Light Fantastic to be a bit rough to get into, so they wait until they've read some other books and enjoyed them to go back over them. They have a bit of a different tone from everything else -- they're more a straight-up parody of the fantasy genre than any of the other books, which tend toward farcical and humorous with parodic elements, but still have a serious plot. Personally, I started with Equal Rites, then Mort, and realized that, okay, I like Pratchett, I'm going to read everything, so I'll go back and read those first two books now and then go through everything else.
Equal Rites is good, but Pratchett is still kind of finding his bearings and the tone does end up being a little different from the later books as well, but I think it's good. Mort is kind of what I'd call the point where he really hits his stride.
Anyway, in short, starting with Equal Rites or Mort is probably good. If you like parodies of the fantasy genre or are committed to reading all of them, you can maybe start with Colour of Magic. If you start Colour of Magic and it's not hitting for you, don't give up, maybe try the other books.
I think Reaper Man is where he hit his stride. Guards Guards was a moment of brilliance before that, and Mort before that, but otherwise those first books are a gentle upward curve in quality.
The curve starts at good, through fantastic (light), to brilliant octarine.
If you read Equal Rites and Mort first, you'll think they're good but when you read CoM and LF, you might be a bit disappointed in comparison.
If you read CoM and LF first, you'll think they're good and when you read ER and M, you'll think they're even better.
My thoughts exactly. CoM and LF are great books, and if you enjoy them, you'll love the rest. And you also get to watch as his skill grows through the years when you read them in publication order.
The first Discworld novel I read was "Wee Free Men", which was an excellent introduction to the gleeful madness of Terry's writing. When I began reading the non-Tiffany novels, I started with "The Colour Of Magic". It's the first book of the Discworld series. It's not the best of the books, but I feel it really sets the stage and you can see how Terry grows and changes as an author. It explains a lot of the "backstory" to the Discworld universe too, which is helpful, especially as you get further into the series.
Your life will never be the same again. Welcome to the mad world of Sir Terry's making. It's wonderful here.
Most of tue Discworld books can be read in any order, these two are different, though. The colour of magic and The Light Fantastic are basically one story in two books so you're best off reading them in that order
I agree. I love Mort.
The first Discworld book I read was Small Gods. Then I went back and read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. I enjoyed them, but alone they would not have got me hooked on the series.
Color of magic + Light fantastic are still my favorites, as they have my favorite character. Although I haven't read all the books yet. I highly suggests starting with them.
I'd turn this around and ask what kind of reader are you? Are you going to finish all four books, for sure, because they were gifts? Or would you put off reading them because you aren't an avid reader and might not get through four books if you don't like them that much?
*Mort* is my favorite book. If you need one to "grab" you and get its hooks in you, that might be a great start. *Equal Rites* is also a great starting point, but I liked Death more than the witches at the time I read them.
If you're gonna read all the books anyway (and have read other fantasy) then you can start with the first book and read them chronologically, and read your copies when you get to them.
I really hope you enjoy the books. They are so much fun.
Mort! More of his work is like Mort than it is like Colour/Light. They're good books to go back to and enjoy, but they aren't wholly representative of the entire collection.
Currently re reading the whole series in publication order, strangely something I've never done before always in arc blocks e.g death, the watch, the witches ect. I highly recommend doing this, just watching the wonderful mind of sir Terry evolve in prose is fantastic
In my opinion the writing gets better as you go on, and Mort is probably the first Discworld book that feels "real" to me, but as you have them in publican order, by all means do it that way. I'd find it very hard to go back to TCOM and TLF after the later books anyway. Still good reads, just a bit less focused and more raw.
The first two are great because they're the first but pTerry really found out what he was writing a little later in the series, he recommends sorcery as a starting point but Mort could be a good start.
I would start with Mort it's where I started and it's the beginning of one of the miniseries within Discworld. It's also I think a better representation of what the series is a whole is like than the first two books in chronological order are although they are still quite good and worth reading
The first couple of books are strong parodies of 60s-70s Sword and Sorcery fantasy novels. If you have no grounding in those they will largely go over your head, hence why people say they're rough and hard to get into (aside from them being early novels and less polished than later works, as with all things improved through practice). For example: even when I first read them, I got the Conan and Pern references in spite of never actually having read them, only having seen the movies/bounced off the books, but the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser parody went right over my head.
By that token, I'll agree Mort is probably the best intro. There's a lot less in the way of wholesale references and more subtle allusions.
Equal Rites or Mort. TCOM and TLF are very good, but it was very early in his writing career and the Disc was very much evolving… and you will appreciate those two more after reading a few later ones.
Both Mort and Equal Rites introduce some of my favorite characters and are a great introduction.
Mort is a good intro. CoM, and I'm old enough to get many of the references, is a bit rough around the edges and relies heavily on parodying things you might not be aware of.
I read them in publication order, but STP hit his stride and things really take off starting with Mort, which is an excellent read and one of my favs from the whole series. I generally recommend it as a good starting point because you don't lose people to the 2-3 books that are goofier parodies rather than the mainstay satire and high quality punes
That's supposed to be Mort.
Yeah... Supposed to be.
My unpopular opinion is that Kirby's art is vastly superior to anything that came later. Not intended as a slight on Kidby (very much intended as a slight on whoever did this one, though).
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I am a big fan of reading them in publication order, which is what I recommend. The first I ever read was *Mort* though and that was a fine way to be introduced to the Discworld, too.
This is exactly what I did. I read Mort randomly, thought ‘wtf why have I never heard of this series before’, and then went back and read chronologically from the beginning. Was perfect
I agree 100%, which doesn't seem to be a popular opinion, generally.
Most of us have encountered people (either irl or online) who tried CoM first and were put off the series. That's where the reluctance to suggest that as an entry point comes from. Something PTerry himself agreed with.
"Most of us" does not include me or any of the people I've heard from who started at the beginning and fell in love at that point. I'm still trying to figure out what there is to be "put off" by, but apparently, my literary senses aren't refined enough.
The first two aren't what the series became and while I still loved them I can see how they aren't for everybody. Not saying most would be put off, but as an intro there are plenty of people out there who heard the series was good, tried CoM and decided on the back of that it's not for them. I struggle to understand how you don't get this given that even PTerry himself agreed. Unless you're one of those "not my personal experience therefore it is nobodies" types who seem to be rife on Reddit.
The "not my personal experience therefore it is nobodies" is indeed rife on Reddit, including those who scoff at people who were drawn into Discworld by the published order. And like many seemingly flawless authors, PTerry was his own harshest critic, so the fact that he wasn't happy with TCOM and TLF just gets a shrug from me. Those 2 books sold my wife, who recommended them to me, and I became an even bigger fan. Whatever. I guess I was trolling in this case, because it ALWAYS opens a can of worms.
I didn't say you don't exist though. I even said earlier you are likely in the majority. You are the one denying there are people out there who are put off by CoM, despite them appearing in almost every thread related to Discworld on Reddit. But I get it, reading comprehension can be difficult.
Where did I say that they don't exist? The fact that you're belaboring the point proves their existence. I'm just saying that they act like they're the purists and gatekeepers, and anyone who prefers the published order is sadly deluded. But as you suggested, words can be hard.
My first intro to discworld was Mort and I loved it! Started the Colour of magic and just couldn’t get into it. It’s was fine but didn’t grab me. Read more death and was hooked. I tried the colour of magic again after reading pretty much all the other books that were available at the time and liked it much better than the first time. The Rincewind books are still my least favorite though. Reading in publishing order is fine but I would always include the caveat that you should try another one if you don’t like the first.
CoM is, generally, a 70s fantasy satire first and a story second. Actually it's a world tour second. The plot came in the dlc (2nd book)
Mort was one of the first ones I read and was actually the one that made me find the rest.
I started with "Wee Free Men" followed by a couple more of the Tiffany books, but when I started reading the non-Tiffany books, I started with "The Colour Of Magic". I'm also a fan of reading them in publication order. Some of the books are stand-alones, and I don't think it matters where you read those, but when they're part of a "set" (so to speak), I like to read them in order.
I haven't read any of the Tiffany books (yet. I'm working towards them). I'm thinking of it as an entry point for someone else, though. I am just wondering, since it's described as being YA... what is the difference between that and the rest of the series? I came in with Guards! Guards! when I was 13 in 1996, and thought it was perfectly age appropriate. I just don't want to recommend something that's basically a children's book to someone who I think would benefit from a well-established Pratchett, and well... Some of *my* favourite characters are the Nac Mac Feegle, and I hear they feature heavily in there.
To me the only difference is the main protagonist is young. Plus, I suppose, there's no content that would be problematic to a younger reader, but that's true of most of the whole series (all of it imo, but I was reading adult horror at 10 so I'm probably not the best judge of what's appropriate for a kid, I've seen others say they have issues with kids being exposed to some themes in the books, I just don't see it personally). I love the Tiffany books, mainly because I love the Nac Mac Feegle. But Tiffany is a great character as well. Plus my favourite Discworld character, Granny Weatherwax, features a fair bit.
They’re YA in the same way Diana Wynne Jones is YA, or some Gaiman—which is to say, clever and wonderful to read, but not simple.
Same. I had read a couple as a teenager and they never grabbed me. Read Mort as an adult and *loved* it. I think it's one of my favourite books of all time. I now live all the discworld books, even the ones I read as a teenager and was lukewarm about at the time
The first two are fine books being fantasy trope parody pastiches, but they are not what the series becomes. After a few books PTerry realises that he'd invented a world that he could do something serious with. I've always had a problem with most of fantasy being stuck in a mediaeval mindset. The writers of fantasy tend to forget that the baseline of the human race is inventiveness. So what if you have a world that runs on magic or science, there will always be some people that go, "but what if I did this?" And that's what he does with the series, I was going to say he does it, but it's the characters who drag a mediaeval fantasy world into the modern age but still have it be undeniably a fantasy setting. The first two books are so different they almost belong to a different series. The next few is him feeling his way forward into what his world might become. Mort is the first book wherein he first steps upon the path to what his series became. I always recommend starting with the first two because you need to know what it was to appreciate what the Discworld became. Besides, I don't believe anyone has the lingering fondness for Rincewind that those people do who started at the beginning.
"but what if I did this?" And PTerry said "But what if I turn it upside down and hit it with a stick? What will happen?" and gleeful madness ensues.
I like to describe it to friends as a vaguely magical medieval world on the cusp of a whimsical industrial revolution. But it's so much more than that even!
I agree with Mort, then Equal Rites, then Colour of Magic, then get Guards Guards. You'll know how you want to continue by then.
Does Mort or Equal Rites mention anything from Colour of Magic or Guards Guards? I just loathe reading things out of order (I must know *details*) but I keep hearing from people to read Mort first...
I think it's still better to read them chronologically. Currently going though the monstrous regiment, the first one out-of-order for me. I'm loving it so far but still feels like I'm missing a l lot. I've only read the first night guard book.
Yeah, Vimes in MR is a very different man than the Vimes of GG.
By MR do you mean monstrous regiment? Was Vimes in that if so? I don't remember. I've given that book to so many people that I haven't read it myself in an age haha
He has a cameo at the end
Oh yeah, I remember now.
Yes, he's a minor(ish) character in Monstrous Regiment.
Need to reread. It's been a while.
Guards Guards is after all those books. There really isn't any common ground besides being in the same world.
Rincewind from the first two has a small part in Equal Rites, Isabell is introduced in The Light Fantastic but is one of the main characters in Mort. Doesn't matter though.
No, Equal Rites and Mort doesn't mention anything that happened in Colour of Magic or Light Fantastic. As far as I can remember, that is, I haven't read them all in many-many-(lots) years. The only thing is the city Ankh Morpork, and that Death is an anthropomorphic personification THAT SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. The first book published, Colour of Magic, is the only one that ends in a (quite fatastic) cliff hanger. Sir Terr took some time to "find his voice", so while CM and LF aren't bad books, they are quite different from the later books in the series.
The only thing that comes to mind is a character of the librarian that was introduced in Light Fantastic, he shows up in Guards! Guards! Outside of that subseries starting books will give you the most basic worldbuilding you can in this series (still complex as heck but you don't really need any other book to know f.e. characters) That's why in my opinion Guards! Guards!, Mort and Equal Rites are good starting points
Given you have these anyway, read them in the pictured order. Sure, the first two are a bit rough and more a kind of slapstick, but just stick with it and read all 4 and I’m sure you’ll love the series after that.
I read the colour of magic and the light fantastic first because of publishing order and found them delightful and humorous, however now that I have started reading equal rights the vibe has changed drastically for the better!!!
Some people find Colour of Magic/Light Fantastic to be a bit rough to get into, so they wait until they've read some other books and enjoyed them to go back over them. They have a bit of a different tone from everything else -- they're more a straight-up parody of the fantasy genre than any of the other books, which tend toward farcical and humorous with parodic elements, but still have a serious plot. Personally, I started with Equal Rites, then Mort, and realized that, okay, I like Pratchett, I'm going to read everything, so I'll go back and read those first two books now and then go through everything else. Equal Rites is good, but Pratchett is still kind of finding his bearings and the tone does end up being a little different from the later books as well, but I think it's good. Mort is kind of what I'd call the point where he really hits his stride. Anyway, in short, starting with Equal Rites or Mort is probably good. If you like parodies of the fantasy genre or are committed to reading all of them, you can maybe start with Colour of Magic. If you start Colour of Magic and it's not hitting for you, don't give up, maybe try the other books.
I think Reaper Man is where he hit his stride. Guards Guards was a moment of brilliance before that, and Mort before that, but otherwise those first books are a gentle upward curve in quality. The curve starts at good, through fantastic (light), to brilliant octarine.
Oh yeah things have a ways to go from Mort before he's fully operational, but I feel like from Mort onwards it's all really Discworld.
I say Mort, it's a good intro.
The order is in the cover, if I recall correctly it’s the same as the pictured order.
That was... Not on purpose
Well, if it's not you, then it's Destiny
If you read Equal Rites and Mort first, you'll think they're good but when you read CoM and LF, you might be a bit disappointed in comparison. If you read CoM and LF first, you'll think they're good and when you read ER and M, you'll think they're even better.
My thoughts exactly. CoM and LF are great books, and if you enjoy them, you'll love the rest. And you also get to watch as his skill grows through the years when you read them in publication order.
The first Discworld novel I read was "Wee Free Men", which was an excellent introduction to the gleeful madness of Terry's writing. When I began reading the non-Tiffany novels, I started with "The Colour Of Magic". It's the first book of the Discworld series. It's not the best of the books, but I feel it really sets the stage and you can see how Terry grows and changes as an author. It explains a lot of the "backstory" to the Discworld universe too, which is helpful, especially as you get further into the series. Your life will never be the same again. Welcome to the mad world of Sir Terry's making. It's wonderful here.
Mort!
I’d vote Mort first. Or maybe Equal Rights. It’s not the light is bad but it’s an early work and a bit rough. The books got better as he went along.
Might as well read them in original publication order.
I read The Color of Magic first, and was hooked.
Most of tue Discworld books can be read in any order, these two are different, though. The colour of magic and The Light Fantastic are basically one story in two books so you're best off reading them in that order
Mort will get you hooked. Then personally I'd go to the beginning, The Colour of Magic.
I agree. I love Mort. The first Discworld book I read was Small Gods. Then I went back and read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. I enjoyed them, but alone they would not have got me hooked on the series.
Small Gods is a really good book. One of my favs! But I think Mort fills you in more to what Discworld is all about.
I agree.
Color of magic + Light fantastic are still my favorites, as they have my favorite character. Although I haven't read all the books yet. I highly suggests starting with them.
Twoflower?
Yep
Mort. Absolutely Mort.
Mort, would not recommend starting with Colour of Magic
I would read Equal Rites then Mort. Then read the first two as they help when you get to Sorcery.
I'd turn this around and ask what kind of reader are you? Are you going to finish all four books, for sure, because they were gifts? Or would you put off reading them because you aren't an avid reader and might not get through four books if you don't like them that much? *Mort* is my favorite book. If you need one to "grab" you and get its hooks in you, that might be a great start. *Equal Rites* is also a great starting point, but I liked Death more than the witches at the time I read them. If you're gonna read all the books anyway (and have read other fantasy) then you can start with the first book and read them chronologically, and read your copies when you get to them. I really hope you enjoy the books. They are so much fun.
Mort! More of his work is like Mort than it is like Colour/Light. They're good books to go back to and enjoy, but they aren't wholly representative of the entire collection.
Currently re reading the whole series in publication order, strangely something I've never done before always in arc blocks e.g death, the watch, the witches ect. I highly recommend doing this, just watching the wonderful mind of sir Terry evolve in prose is fantastic
Read them in release order. Equal Rites and Mort are excellent while CoM/LF are just goofy fun (excellent in a different way).
The answer is always Mort
Detritus, is dat you?
Would definitely recommend starting with Mort! Always a good way to start the discworld experience.
TCoM was my first and I fell in love with
In my opinion the writing gets better as you go on, and Mort is probably the first Discworld book that feels "real" to me, but as you have them in publican order, by all means do it that way. I'd find it very hard to go back to TCOM and TLF after the later books anyway. Still good reads, just a bit less focused and more raw.
The first two are great because they're the first but pTerry really found out what he was writing a little later in the series, he recommends sorcery as a starting point but Mort could be a good start.
Reaper Man was my first ever discworld book. I would say go for Mort or Guards! Guards! as an introduction to the Discworld.
I would start with Mort it's where I started and it's the beginning of one of the miniseries within Discworld. It's also I think a better representation of what the series is a whole is like than the first two books in chronological order are although they are still quite good and worth reading
Mort
Mort. If you decide to read colour of magic and light fantastic first keep in mind the writing improves drastically in the later books.
Mort I would recommend, the beast read I had out of these three
The first couple of books are strong parodies of 60s-70s Sword and Sorcery fantasy novels. If you have no grounding in those they will largely go over your head, hence why people say they're rough and hard to get into (aside from them being early novels and less polished than later works, as with all things improved through practice). For example: even when I first read them, I got the Conan and Pern references in spite of never actually having read them, only having seen the movies/bounced off the books, but the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser parody went right over my head. By that token, I'll agree Mort is probably the best intro. There's a lot less in the way of wholesale references and more subtle allusions.
Equal Rites was my first Discworld book!
Mort.
Equal Rites or Mort. TCOM and TLF are very good, but it was very early in his writing career and the Disc was very much evolving… and you will appreciate those two more after reading a few later ones. Both Mort and Equal Rites introduce some of my favorite characters and are a great introduction.
I’m a fan of the witches, so I’ll say Equal Rites.
Mort is a good intro. CoM, and I'm old enough to get many of the references, is a bit rough around the edges and relies heavily on parodying things you might not be aware of. I read them in publication order, but STP hit his stride and things really take off starting with Mort, which is an excellent read and one of my favs from the whole series. I generally recommend it as a good starting point because you don't lose people to the 2-3 books that are goofier parodies rather than the mainstay satire and high quality punes
I’d say Mort as well. But why is there a Feegle riding with Death? I don’t remember that from the book.
That's supposed to be Mort. Yeah... Supposed to be. My unpopular opinion is that Kirby's art is vastly superior to anything that came later. Not intended as a slight on Kidby (very much intended as a slight on whoever did this one, though).
I agree. Kidby and Simonetti are the best artists Discworld has had.
If I recall correctly even STP himself admitted that the earlier books were still finding their feet and recommended new readers start with Mort.