Discworld Reading Order Guide
By Terry Pratchett · 41 books
How to read Terry Pratchett's 41 Discworld novels. Covers all sub-series including the City Watch, Witches, Death, and Rincewind storylines.
What is Discworld?
Discworld is a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants who stand on a giant turtle swimming through space. Created by Sir Terry Pratchett, it spans 41 novels published between 1983 and 2015. The series is a satirical fantasy that uses its absurd setting to comment on everything from religion and politics to rock music and the postal service. It's one of the best-selling book series in history with over 85 million copies sold.
The sub-series approach (recommended)
Discworld isn't one continuous story — it's a world with several character-driven storylines that occasionally intersect. Most fans recommend picking a sub-series rather than starting at book 1. Here are the main threads:
City Watch (start here if you like crime/politics)
The most popular sub-series follows Commander Sam Vimes and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. It starts as a parody of police procedurals and evolves into Pratchett's sharpest social commentary.
| # | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guards! Guards! The best entry point for most readers. | 1989 |
| 2 | Men at Arms | 1993 |
| 3 | Feet of Clay | 1996 |
| 4 | Jingo | 1997 |
| 5 | The Fifth Elephant | 1999 |
| 6 | Night Watch Considered Pratchett's masterpiece. | 2002 |
| 7 | Thud! | 2005 |
| 8 | Snuff | 2011 |
Witches (start here if you like character-driven stories)
Granny Weatherwax and the Lancre witches offer some of Pratchett's best character writing. These books riff on Shakespeare, fairy tales, and opera.
| # | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Equal Rites | 1987 |
| 2 | Wyrd Sisters The real start of the Witches series. | 1988 |
| 3 | Witches Abroad | 1991 |
| 4 | Lords and Ladies | 1992 |
| 5 | Maskerade | 1995 |
| 6 | Carpe Jugulum | 1998 |
Death (start here if you like philosophical humor)
Death is a recurring character throughout Discworld — a skeleton in a black robe WHO SPEAKS IN CAPITALS. His personal storylines explore what it means to be human from the perspective of an immortal entity.
| # | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mort Another excellent entry point. | 1987 |
| 2 | Reaper Man | 1991 |
| 3 | Soul Music | 1994 |
| 4 | Hogfather | 1996 |
| 5 | Thief of Time | 2001 |
Where NOT to start
The Colour of Magic (book 1) and The Light Fantastic (book 2) are the weakest entries. Pratchett was still finding his voice, and these books read more like straightforward fantasy parody. Most fans who started here almost gave up on the series. If you want to read everything in order, start at book 1 — but know that the series improves dramatically from book 5 onward.