Pratchett fans – best Unseen University book?

Given how blatantly the UU is based on Oxbridge, thought I’d get MCJnr one of the books, but wasn’t sure which to go for, been a while since I read one.

What does the forum suggest?

Reading Order

THE UNSEEN UNIVERSITY COLLECTION
1. The Colour of Magic
2. The Light Fantastic
3. Sourcery
4. Eric
5. Moving Pictures
6. Interesting Times
7. The last Continent
8. Unseen Academicals

Given that the first two are pretty crap I’d go with Sourcery. Indeed, that’s Pratchett’s own recommended starting point.

The co written ones with Ian Stewart and Jake Cohen are good. I’m slightly biased thou as I’ve met Ian Stewart and he is a thoroughly good egg and ridiculously clever.

I wasn’t blown away by Colour of Magic, so didn’t fancy starting him there. Sourcery sounds better, thanks.

Off that list I’d say Moving Pictures or The Last Continent are the best.

I struggled with the Last Continent, seemed to jump around too much for me

Off that list Sourcery, but I’d recommend Equal Rites, the characters are far better with the Witches as well.

Sourcery is brilliant.

But the faust i mean eric is ace

what about tom sharpe and porterhouse blue?

Its also on more 4!

In defence of my choice of Moving Pictures, it’s the first one where Ridcully is in charge which is really when I think the UU crowd gets interesting beyond Rincewind and the Luggage.

If we’re allowed to dispense with the education relevance though, I’d suggest the City Watch arc instead.

Sorcery is great.

I do really like unseen academicals though,  it is a great story

Given that the first two are pretty crap I’d go with Sourcery.

Whaaaaaat? Yeah they’re clearly ‘early work’ but there’s some classic humour (the mountain named ‘Your finger you fool’ always cracks me up) and some of the set pieces are excellent (Wyrmberg springs to mind). Would gladly re-read either.

I prefer the City Watch “series”, but this is uni specific

It’s sort of tricky because there’s not that many “unseen university books”, they’re more recurring characters in wider stories. Plus like a lot of Pratchett it took a few goes for it to really work itself out, so while UU is in early novels it’s sort of not really the same UU, it’s just an early version. I think mostly when people talk about UU they mean “Ridcully and gang”

So I’d go Moving Pictures, or maybe Reaper Man. They’re both ones where the university features a lot and really grows into its final form, while not really being about the university. they’re also both really good.

But also I ****ing hate Rincewind.

How can you not read the first two in the series, they introduce the main characters!

But also I ****ing hate Rincewind.

A bit strong but I can see where you are coming from.

Would gladly re-read either.

Maybe I should.

Perhaps I should have said “relatively crap.” They’re very much inferior to PTerry’s later offerings.

Moving Pictures also features an actual student as a main character!

Agree with all of the above.  Particularly the ones about the university are generally early and not the best.

thinking about how the UU plays a major/minor part in other stories, (and i’ve not read some for a long while so memory may be rusty), but doesn’t Ridcully etc play a decent part in Soul Music & Reaper Man ?

also which one was it where Hex starts making an appearance and contribution?

@Killer, also Lords and Ladies. But basically Pratchett had worked out by then that the best way to have fun with the wizards was to take them out of the university.

I wasn’t blown away by Colour of Magic

C’mon, it was his first published book! Previously he worked for the electricity generating industry as a publicity officer trying to say nice, encouraging things about nuclear power!
There are very few writers who hit the ground running with their first published book.

I was very fortunate in meeting Sir Terence of Pratchett on a number of occasions, at book signings, once in WHSmith in Chippenham, where I proceeded to empty a rucksack full of his books, the first three paperbacks, the rest hardcover copies, and his shoulders literally slumped!
Bless him, as I was the last person in the queue, he signed the paperbacks, but the rest he personalised, and put a rubber stamp of Death on the page edges.

Not sure if it was that occasion, but he signed my copy of Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman, and wrote ‘Neil made me do it’ on the title page.

A bit later, Neil Himself was doing a signing in Waterstones in Bristol, so I took the book along, didn’t say anything, but when Neil opened it he just burst out laughing.

As a first edition hardcover, signed by both authors, it might have some value one day.
Very much missed, is Terry, a great writer, but a wonderful human being.

Do you re-read these books ?
Do they pay re-reading?

I read them when they first came out, starting with Wyrd Sisters in 1989. I stopped at about XXXX but did read some of the later ones. First few books were simple brush strokes and the latter ones the language had lost his nuance. Others (Small Gods?) I got the impression that Pratchett was bored of the idea before the end of the book.
But many books were genius, filled with gloriously wonderful ideas and descriptions.

I noticed Wyrd Sisters as it was piled to the ceiling in John Smiths in Glasgow. Bought a copy and was hooked.

Anyway- you have to read Light Fantastic else you don’t understand why the librarian is a monkey 🙂

Anyway- you have to read Light Fantastic else you don’t understand why the librarian is a monkey

I cannot go round a university and hear them talk about “the librarian” without picturing an orangutan.

Which has made the current tour of uni open days more amusing for me at least.

Do you re-read these books ?

Do they pay re-reading?

Yes, time and time again. I fknd new little details or understand extra bits every single time

Anyway- you have to read Light Fantastic else you don’t understand why the librarian is a monkey ?

‘Dont say mon…..ohshitohshitohshit!’

I’m re reading them in series order atm. Starting with the Guards series,  just starting Jingo this afternoon. This is probably the 6th time I’ve read them in different orders and I hope I never get tired of them.

I did own The Shepherds Crown for a year before I started it though, didn’t want to read the last one because then there really wasn’t any more….

Do you re-read these books ?
Do they pay re-reading?

Absolutely yes to both. I’m re-reading them again now, but alternating between Discworld and non-Discworld books as I go.

I used to re-read all the previous books, just before new ones came out.. and as I read them as they were release, I think it sacrilegious to read them another way. Again, though I own Shepard crown I haven’t actually finished reading it.

Audio booked them all again last year, just before they release the new audio book versions, which I haven’t tried yet.

So for me, you start at the beginning “The Colour of magic”

The new audio books are really good tbf.

The Nigel plainer ones are terrible audio quality as I suppose they where c90 tapes

z1ppy
Full Member

I used to re-read all the previous books, just before new ones came out.. and as I read them as they were release, I think it sacrilegious to read them another way. Again, though I own Shepard crown I haven’t actually finished reading it.

I’m on a veeeeerry long re-read, which stalled a bit because a bunch of the books were boxed up after a house move. And I was totally happy with that, because it means it’ll take much longer before I finally get to the end and have to read Shepard’s Crown and then there’ll finally be no more.

(mind you I did much the same with Iain Banks and that mostly had me going “this is shite” when I finally got to the Quarry, so, finger’s crossed…)