ParchDiscworld Reading Order
Terry Pratchett · 41 books
Discworld is forty-one novels that almost nobody reads front to back, and that's by design — Pratchett wrote it as a set of overlapping sub-series rather than one long story. Pick a thread that sounds like you, follow it, and branch out. The one piece of advice nearly every reader agrees on is about where not to start.
Don't start with The Colour of Magic. It's first, but it's an early parody of fantasy that reads nothing like the books Discworld became. Start a sub-series instead: Guards! Guards! for the City Watch, Mort for Death, Wyrd Sisters for the Witches, or Small Gods as a perfect standalone.
All forty-one, as they were written. Completist-friendly, but it means opening with the two least typical books.
How long the 100 most popular books take to read
Several of the best Discworld novels sit outside every sub-series — Small Gods, Pyramids, Monstrous Regiment, The Truth, Moving Pictures, and The Amazing Maurice all stand alone. Unseen Academicals is the one genuinely contested book: Pratchett's publisher files it with the Wizards, while Goodreads and others count it as the eighth Rincewind novel. He appears only briefly, so we've left it out of the Rincewind path — read it whenever the wizards appeal.
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Frequently asked questions
What order should I read Discworld in?
You don't need a single order. Pick a sub-series — City Watch, Death, Witches, or Tiffany Aching — and read that thread in sequence, then branch out. Publication order works too, but it starts with the two books least like the rest of the series.
Should I start with The Colour of Magic?
Most Discworld readers say no. It's an early parody of 1980s fantasy, written before Pratchett found the voice and the moral seriousness the series became known for. Guards! Guards!, Mort, Wyrd Sisters, and Small Gods are the four most commonly recommended starting points.
How many Discworld books are there?
Forty-one novels, published between 1983 and 2015. There are also companion books, short stories, and maps, but the forty-one novels are the series proper.
Do the Discworld books need to be read in order?
Only within a sub-series. Each novel is broadly self-contained, but characters develop across their own thread — reading Night Watch before the earlier Watch books, for example, costs you most of its emotional weight.
Does my progress save?
Yes — ticking a book saves it in your browser, no account needed. Clearing your browser data resets it, so for a permanent record with dates, ratings, and notes, track the series in the Parch app.
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