A Little Recommendation

For many of you, this post is going to be a "Man Lands on Moon" moment, or if you're from another time and place, a "Golic to the Moon" moment. You might laugh at me for making such an obvious suggestion. You might cry over the fact that such a suggestion needs to be made at all.

 

You see, I'm here to recommend a fellow author. Except, calling this guy a "fellow" author almost feels dirty. I know I'm an author, and I know he was and forever will be an author, but the same word really shouldn't be used for the both of us. His books are on a higher level than I imagine mine will ever be. Don't feel bad for me, though; most authors would be forced to say the same.

 

Yes, I'm here today to recommend you start reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I've recently started doing so, and as with all good things I do, I think you should follow my lead. A few months ago, I read one of his earlier works: Mort. It was great. A few weeks ago, I jumped ahead in the literary timeline and read Going Postal. Also great.

 

Like I said earlier, fans of fantasy are rolling their eyes right now. They know about Terry Pratchett. They know about Discworld. They don't need to be told. But some of you do. Some of you don't know. Therefore, here I am. For this one little blog post, I've found my purpose: to open your eyes to an absolute genius of a writer.

 

The two Discworld books I've read are clever and funny, but they're not just lighthearted comedy. No, there's substance there. Pratchett pokes holes in many of life's commonplace things that become ridiculous once you look at them a bit more closely. He delves into philosophy, and he waxes poetically. But none of that takes away from the best part of his writing: the stories themselves. In both books, the characters are real, and their struggles are the same. Read them as pure fiction. Read them as a means to think a bit more deeply. Read them for fun and for your betterment. Just read them. I promise you won't regret it.

 

By the way, Mort is considered a very good place to start with Discworld. It's not a series you have to read in order, but there are supposed to be a few books that are best for getting your feet wet, and Mort is considered one of those. Here's a link to it.