ReDiscover The Discworld

Marcus Falcão / THE GATEPOST

By Kate Norrish Staff Writer Ten years ago, on Aug. 27, 2015, the last Discworld novel, “The Shephard’s Crown,” was released shortly after the series’ author - Terry Pratchett - died from a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. To those who had been following the series since its first book, “The Color of Magic,” was released in 1983, it was devastating. As soon as I started the series, I understood why. I cannot emphasize enough how good this series is, to the point where I’m tempted to declare that Pratchett may be the best author of the 21st century so far. The premise is simple - The Discworld is a flat planet. It sits on top of four elephants, which, in turn, are on top of a giant turtle named A’Tuin swimming through space. Each book is about an incident in the lives of those who live on The Discworld. You will not believe how well Pratchett utilizes that concept. These books are famous for so many reasons. Almost all the characters are impeccable. Whether it be Death himself trying to raise a child; Nobby Nobbs, a messy individual who needed to get government documents to prove he’s human; or Lord Vetinari, an uptight yet compassionate ruler who may be the most complex fictional character I’ve ever seen. Of course, you cannot talk about these books without acknowledging that they are hilarious - I have burst out laughing in public multiple times while reading them. After all, this is a world where tax evasion is legal as long as you don’t mind a professional thief stealing your stuff to make up for what you owe. To give you just a taste, let me show you Death’s reaction to a man asking for cake after he dies: “NO. THERE IS NO MORE TIME, EVEN FOR CAKE. FOR YOU, THE CAKE IS OVER. YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF CAKE.” It does not end there. Remember Nobby Nobbs and Vetinari? They get stuck in a submarine together. Have you arrested a dragon? The characters here have. Oh, and see that little tortoise in the watermelon patch? Yeah, he’s God. Don’t worry about it. I should mention that this series is 41 books long, and most people, myself included, agree that you should not start with the first book of the series. Why is that? “The Color of Magic” is an amazing book by pop-fiction standards, but by Terry Pratchett standards, it’s mediocre. The plot, about a wizard who can’t do magic teaching a tourist, is fun, but its themes are not nearly as well-woven as they are in the rest of the series. I started with “Guards! Guards!” about an incompetent group of policemen fighting a dragon. If that doesn’t sound like your kind of book, “Mort,” featuring Death taking on an apprentice, and “The Truth,” about a vampire, some dwarves, and their friends starting a newspaper firm, are also great starting points. “Guards! Guards!” and “Mort” are also the start of several books featuring the same characters. You can easily Google which books feature which characters. Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series affected me, and many other people, in ways that can only truly be described in an essay as long as several of his books. From a gay celibate trying to find his place in the LGBTQ+ community, to Lord Vetinari learning to live with a disability, to a dwarf discovering her femininity, Pratchett is able to create metaphors for almost any issue with respect and grace. I don’t think I will ever forget a moment in “The Truth” - my favorite book of all time - where a vampire has a panic attack because he cannot adhere to his new city’s culture. Even background characters played a huge role in helping me in my teen years. Characters regularly have speech impediments or vocal tics that are respectfully written into the story. This is never treated as something bad, or even unusual, and on The Disc, almost every non-harmful behavior is shown in a positive light that celebrates humanity. Never in my life have I read a book series so equally funny, complex, and powerful. It is completely worth the commitment. It helped me end a nearly 12-year self-harm addiction, and got me through the navigation of being a semi-verbal autistic teenager. I would like to finish by repeating a rest in peace message used by fans, based on a plot point in his Discworld book, “Going Postal.” GNU Terry Pratchett.