Discworld Novels

NAMED AS ONE OF THE BBC'S 100 MOST INSPIRING NOVELS

'It was octarine, the colour of magic. It was alive and glowing and vibrant and it was the undisputed pigment of the imagination . . .'

Somewhere between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a magical world not totally unlike our own. Except for the fact that it travels through space on the shoulders of four giant elephants who in turn stand on the shell of an astronomically huge star turtle, of course.

Rincewind is the world's worst wizard who has just been handed a very important job: to look after the world's first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land. Unfortunately, their journey across the Disc includes facing robbers, monsters, mercenaries, and Death himself.

And the whole thing's just a game of the gods that might send them over the edge . . .

'If you've never read a Discworld novel, what's the matter with you?' Guardian

'Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own' The Times

The Colour of Magic is the first book in the Wizards series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'Darkness isn't the opposite of light, it is simply its absence . . . what was radiating from the book was the light that lies on the far side of darkness, the light fantastic.'

The Discworld is in danger, heading towards a seemingly inevitable collision with a malevolent red star, its magic fading. It needs a hero, and fast.

What it doesn't need is Rincewind, an inept and cowardly wizard who is still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world. Or Twoflower, the well-meaning tourist whose luggage has a mind (and legs) of its own.

Which is a shame, because that's all there is . . .

'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction' Mail on Sunday

'Incredibly funny, compulsively readable' The Times

The Light Fantastic is the second book in the Wizards series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.'

Everybody knows there's no such thing as a female wizard. So when the wizard Drum Billet accidentally passes on his staff of power to an eighth daughter of an eighth son, a girl called Eskarina (Esk, for short), the misogynistic world of wizardry wants nothing to do with her.

Thankfully Granny Weatherwax, the Discworld's most famous witch, has plenty of experience ignoring the status quo. With Granny's help, Esk sneaks her way into the magical Unseen University and befriends apprentice wizard Simon.

But power is unpredictable, and these bright young students soon find themselves in a whole new dimension of trouble. Let the battle of the sexes begin . . .

'If you've never read a Discworld novel, what's the matter with you?' Guardian

'Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own' The Times

Equal Rites is the first book in the Witches series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'YOU CANNOT INTERFERE WITH FATE. WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE WHO SHOULD LIVE AND WHO SHOULD DIE?'

Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.

Death is the Grim Reaper of the Discworld, a black-robed skeleton with a scythe who ushers souls into the next world. He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death is yearning to experience what humanity really has to offer, but to do that, he'll need to hire some help.

It's an offer Mort can't refuse. As Death's apprentice he'll have free board, use of the company horse - and being dead isn't compulsory. It's a dream job - until Mort falls in love with Death's daughter, Ysabell, and discovers that your boss can be a killer on your love life . . .

'Incredibly funny, compulsively readable' The Times

'Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy' Sunday Times

Mort is the first book in the Death series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'It's vital to remember who you really are . . . it isn't a good idea to rely on other people or things to do it for you, you see. They always get it wrong.'

An eighth son of an eighth son is born, a wizard squared, a source of magic. A sourcerer.

Unseen University, the Discworld's most magical establishment, has finally got its wish: the emergence of a wizard more powerful than ever before. You'd think they would have been a little more careful what they wished for . . .

As the sourcerer takes over the University and sets his sights on the rest of the world, only one wizard manages to escape his influence. Unfortunately for everyone, it's Rincewind.

Once again the cowardly wizard must embark on a quest: to deliver a precious artefact - the very embodiment of magic itself - halfway across the Disc to safety. If he doesn't make it, the death of all wizardry is at hand.

And the end of the world, depending on who you listen to.

'One of our greatest fantasists, and beyond a doubt the funniest' George R.R. Martin

'May well be considered his masterpiece . . . Humour such as his is an endangered species' The Times

Sourcery is the third book in the Wizards series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'Destiny is important, see, but people go wrong when they think it controls them. It's the other way around.'

Three witches gathered on a lonely heath. A king cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. A child heir and the royal crown, both missing.

Witches don't have these kinds of leadership problems themselves - in fact, they don't have leaders.

Granny Weatherwax is the most highly regarded of the leaders they don't have. But even she finds that meddling in royal politics is a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe. Particularly when the blood on your hands just won't wash off . . .

'Pratchett's Discworld books have made millions of people happy' Guardian

'I love Terry Pratchett' Caitlin Moran

Wyrd Sisters is the second book in the Witches series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'"LOOK AFTER THE DEAD," SAID THE PRIESTS, "AND THE DEAD WOULD LOOK AFTER YOU."'

Young Prince Teppic is sent far away from his desert homeland to the city of Ankh-Morpork for the best education money can buy. Which just so happens to be at the Assassins' Guild.

But when Teppic's father dies suddenly, fate takes him away from assassination to something far more unsavoury: politics. Teppic returns home to the small, penniless kingdom of Djelibeybi to take his place as ruler.

It isn't easy, being a teenage pharaoh. As tradition dictates, the new king must build a monumental pyramid to honour his dead father. But this one might just bankrupt the kingdom, and warp the very fabric of time and space itself . . .

'Pratchett remains a consistently clever, charming and funny voice' - Independent

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Pyramids is a standalone.

'NOBLE DRAGONS DON'T HAVE FRIENDS. THE NEAREST THEY CAN GET TO THE IDEA IS AN ENEMY WHO IS STILL ALIVE.'

The city of Ankh-Morpork is in turmoil, its citizens revolting. Again.

A shadowy secret brotherhood has summoned a dragon to spread terror throughout the city, intent on overthrowing the Patrician and ruling in his place. Too bad the dragon has ideas of its own ...

It's up to Captain Sam Vimes and the ramshackle Night Watch to stop it. Only problem is, the Watch are more used to dealing with mobs than dragons.

And if they can't bring down this fire-breathing tyrant and reinstate their own, slightly less dangerous one, Ankh-Morpork might be lost. For ever...

'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended' The Time

Guards! Guards! is the first book in the City Watch series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

Terry Pratchett's infamous city of Ankh-Morpork is under threat from a 60-foot fire-breathing dragon, summoned by a secret society of malcontented tradesmen.

Defending Ank-Morpork against this threat is the entire, underpaid, undervalued City Night Watch - a drunken and world-weary Captain, a cowardly and overweight Sergeant, a small opportunistic Corporal of dubious parentage...and their newest recruit, Lance Constable Carrot, who is upright, literal, law-abiding and keen. Aiding them in their fight for truth, justice and the Ankh-Morporkian way are a small swamp dragon and the Librarian of Unseen University (who just happens to be an orang-utan).

Brought to you by Penguin.

The audiobook of Eric is read by Colin Morgan (Merlin; Testament of Youth; Belfast). BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actor Bill Nighy (Love Actually; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) reads the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace; Shaun of the Dead) stars as the voice of Death. Featuring a new theme tune composed by James Hannigan.

Eric is the Discworld's only demonology hacker. Pity he's not very good at it.

All he wants is his three wishes granted. Nothing fancy - to be immortal, rule the world, have the most beautiful woman in the world fall madly in love with him, the usual stuff.

But instead of a tractable demon, he calls up Rincewind, probably the most incompetent wizard in the universe, and the extremely intractable and hostile form of travel accessory known as the Luggage.

With them on his side, Eric's in for a ride through space and time that is bound to make him wish (quite fervently) again - this time that he'd never been born.

Eric is the fourth book in the Wizards series, but you can listen to the Discworld novels in any order.

The first book in the Discworld series - The Colour of Magic - was published in 1983. Some elements of the Discworld universe may reflect this.

© Terry and Lyn Pratchett 1990 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

'HOLY WOOD IS A DIFFERENT SORT OF PLACE . . . HERE, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE IMPORTANT.'

A new phenomenon is taking over the Discworld: moving pictures. Created by the alchemists of Ankh-Morpork, the growing 'clicks' industry moves to the sandy land of Holy Wood, attracted by the light of the sun and some strange calling no one can quite put their finger on...

Also drawn to Holy Wood are aspiring young stars Victor Tugelbend, a wizarding student dropout, and Theda 'Ginger' Withel, a small-town girl with big dreams.

But behind the glitz and glamour of the clicks, a sinister presence lurks. Because belief is powerful in the Discworld, and sometimes downright dangerous...

The magic of movies might just unravel reality itself.

'Funny, delightfully inventive, and refuses to lie down in its genre' - Observer

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Moving Pictures is a standalone.

'Inside every living person is a dead person waiting to get out.'

Death has been fired by the Auditors of Reality for the heinous crime of developing . . . a personality. Sent to live like everyone else, Death takes a new name and begins working as a farmhand. He's got the scythe already, after all.

And for humanity, Death is just . . . gone. Which leads to the kind of chaos you always get when an important public service is withdrawn. If Death doesn't come for you, then what are you supposed to do in the meantime?

You can't have the undead wandering about like lost souls - there's no telling what might happen. Particularly when they discover that life really is only for the living . . .

'One taste, and you'll scour bookstores for more' Daily Mail

Reaper Man is the second book in the Death series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'You can't go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise, it's just a cage.'

There's power in stories. The Fairy Godmother is good. The servant girl marries the Prince. Everyone lives happily ever after . . . don't they?

The witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick are travelling to far-distant Genua to stop a wedding and save a kingdom. But how do you fight a happy-ever-after, especially when it comes with glass slippers and a power-hungry Fairy Godmother who has made Destiny an offer it can't refuse?

It's hard to resist a good story, even when the fate of the kingdom depends on it . . .

'No one mixes the fantastical and mundane to better comic effect' Daily Mail

'One of our greatest fantasists, and beyond a doubt the funniest' George RR Martin

Witches Abroad is the third book in the Witches series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'You should do things because they're right. Not because gods say so. They might say something different another time.'

Religion is a competitive business in the Discworld. Everyone has their own opinion and their own gods, of every shape and size - all fighting for faith, followers, and a place at the top.

So when the great god Om accidentally manifests himself as a lowly tortoise, stripped of all divine power, it's clear he's become less important than he realised.

In such instances, you need an acolyte, and fast. Enter Brutha, the Chosen One - or at least the only One available. He wants peace, justice and love - but that's hard to achieve in a world where religion means power, and corruption reigns supreme . . .

'An intriguing satire on institutionalized religion corrupted by power . . .' Independent

'Deftly weaves themes of forgiveness, belief and spiritual regeneration' The Times

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Small Gods is a standalone.

'People didn't seem to be able to remember what it was like with the elves around. Life was certainly more interesting then, but usually because it was shorter. And it was more colourful, if you liked the colour of blood . . .'

On Midsummer Night, dreams are especially powerful. So powerful, in fact, that they can cause the walls between realities to come crashing down. And some things you really don't want to break through.

The witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick return home to discover that elves have invaded Lancre. And even in a world of wizards, trolls, dwarfs, Morris dancers - and the odd orangutan - they're spectacularly nasty creatures.

The fairies are back - and this time they don't just want your teeth . . .

'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction' Mail on Sunday

'Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy' The Sunday Times

Lords and Ladies is the fourth book in the Witches series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

'PEOPLE OUGHT TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES ... THE PROBLEM IS, PEOPLE ONLY THINK FOR THEMSELVES IF YOU TELL THEM TO.'

Times are a-changing in Ankh-Morpork's Night Watch.

New recruits have been hired to reflect the city's diversity, including Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance-constable Detritus (a troll), and Lance-constable Angua (a woman ... full moons aside).

What's more, Captain Sam Vimes is getting married and retiring from the Watch. For good. Which is a shame, because no one knows the streets of Ankh-Morpork or its criminal underworld better than him.

And someone armed and dangerous has been getting ideas about power and destiny and lost kings, committing a string of seemingly random murders across the city.

The new recruits will need to learn fast ...

'Funny, wise and mock heroic . . . the best-crafted book I have read all year' Sunday Express

Men At Arms is the second book in the City Watch series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.