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Discworld Reading Order (Complete List)

Co-founder & Creative Director, Surprise Castle

🕑 7 min

The Discworld reading order runs through all 41 Terry Pratchett novels from 1983 to 2015, and it also shows which books make the easiest place to start. No rule says you must begin with book one, because publication order is the only official sequence and the books split into loose character runs.

Start with Guards! Guards!, the eighth novel, which opens the City Watch books and needs nothing earlier to make sense. If you would rather follow the series exactly as it was published, begin with The Color of Magic, knowing the first two books are looser parodies than what comes later.

The Color of Magic (1983)
The Light Fantastic (1986)
Equal Rites (1987)
Mort (1987)
Sourcery (1988)
Wyrd Sisters (1988)
Pyramids (1989)
Guards! Guards! (1989)
Eric (1990)
Moving Pictures (1990)
Reaper Man (1991)
Witches Abroad (1991)
Small Gods (1992)
Lords and Ladies (1992)
Men at Arms (1993)
Soul Music (1994)
Interesting Times (1994)
Maskerade (1995)
Feet of Clay (1996)
Hogfather (1996)
Jingo (1997)
The Last Continent (1998)
Carpe Jugulum (1998)
The Fifth Elephant (1999)
The Truth (2000)
Thief of Time (2001)
The Last Hero (2001)
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (2001)
Night Watch (2002)
The Wee Free Men (2003)
Monstrous Regiment (2003)
A Hat Full of Sky (2004)
Going Postal (2004)
Thud! (2005)
Wintersmith (2006)
Making Money (2007)
Unseen Academicals (2009)
I Shall Wear Midnight (2010)
Snuff (2011)
Raising Steam (2013)
The Shepherd's Crown (2015)

Almost every Discworld novel stands on its own (the first two, which tell one story, are the exception), and most belong to a character thread: the wizard Rincewind, the Lancre witches, Death, the City Watch, Tiffany Aching or the con man Moist von Lipwig. Knowing which thread a book sits in tells you whether it is a good door into the series or a payoff that lands harder after its predecessors.

1.The Color of Magic: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Rincewind, a failed wizard, ends up guiding Twoflower, the Disc's first tourist, out of Ankh-Morpork in The Color of Magic, published in Britain as The Colour of Magic. It reads as a chain of linked episodes poking fun at sword-and-sorcery fiction rather than one tight plot. Start here for the publication-order route, and keep the next book close, because the story stops mid-adventure.

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2.The Light Fantastic: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Picking up moments after that cliffhanger, The Light Fantastic sends Rincewind and Twoflower across the Disc while an ominous red star grows in the sky. Cohen the Barbarian, a hero in his late eighties who still swings a sword, makes his first appearance. Treat the first two novels as one story split in half, since together they finish the opening Rincewind arc.

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3.Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

A dying wizard hands his staff to a newborn he assumes is an eighth son, and in Equal Rites the baby turns out to be a girl named Eskarina. Granny Weatherwax, later one of the series' central figures, debuts as the witch who raises her. It is the earliest Witches book, though the famous coven only forms two books later.

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4.Mort: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Death takes on an apprentice in Mort, a gangly farm boy who soon bends the rules of the job and puts reality itself at risk. As the first Death book, it is far more tightly plotted than the Rincewind novels before it. That self-contained story is why it gets suggested so often as an alternative first Discworld novel.

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5.Sourcery: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

An eighth son of an eighth son of a wizard is born a sourcerer in Sourcery, a source of raw magic strong enough to upend Unseen University and the whole Disc. Rincewind gets dragged back into the chaos. It closes the early Rincewind phase, so his fans can go on to Eric, while everyone else can skip ahead to Wyrd Sisters without missing anything essential.

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6.Wyrd Sisters: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and young Magrat Garlick form the coven of Lancre in Wyrd Sisters, which borrows freely from Macbeth and Hamlet as a murdered king's heir goes missing. This is where the Witches books really take off, and it makes a smoother door into that thread than Equal Rites does. Readers who enjoy it can follow the three witches straight into the next coven novel.

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7.Guards! Guards!: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

A secret society summons a dragon into Ankh-Morpork in Guards! Guards!, and the only people in its way are the drunk, demoralized Night Watch under Captain Sam Vimes. Carrot, a very tall young man raised by dwarfs, joins the Watch and shakes it up. As the first City Watch book, it needs no earlier reading, which is why it is the usual first Discworld recommendation.

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8.Eric: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Faust gets the Discworld treatment in Eric, where a teenage demonologist hopes to summon a demon and gets Rincewind instead. It is one of the shortest novels in the series, a quick detour rather than a major turn. Rincewind fans can slot it in any time after the first two books without losing the thread.

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9.Reaper Man: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Death is forced into retirement in Reaper Man and takes work as a farmhand, while the recently deceased wizard Windle Poons refuses to stay down in the city. It is the second Death novel, though it shares very little plot with the first. Read it when you want the quieter, more reflective side of Pratchett.

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10.Witches Abroad: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Granny, Nanny and Magrat travel to the distant city of Genua in Witches Abroad, where a fairy godmother is forcing everyone into fairy-tale endings. It continues the coven's story from Wyrd Sisters and sets up Magrat's arc for the next witches book. The road-trip structure keeps it lighter in tone than Lords and Ladies.

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11.Small Gods: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Om, a great god who has somehow ended up as a one-eyed tortoise, discovers he has just one true believer left in Small Gods: the slow, honest novice Brutha. Nothing in the book depends on earlier Discworld novels, so it works as a standalone start. Anyone curious about how the series handles religion and power can open it first.

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12.Lords and Ladies: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Elves return to Lancre in Lords and Ladies just as Magrat prepares to marry the king, and Pratchett's elves are cruel rather than charming. It closes the arc Magrat began in Wyrd Sisters, so it lands best after the two earlier coven books. Where Witches Abroad plays its fairy tales for laughs, this one turns noticeably colder.

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13.Feet of Clay: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

A string of murders tangled up with the city's golems puts the Watch on the case in Feet of Clay, alongside a plot against the Patrician. It follows Men at Arms, which introduces several officers who return here, including the werewolf Angua. Cheery Littlebottom, the Watch's first forensics expert, also joins the force.

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14.Hogfather: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld's version of Santa goes missing on Hogswatch night in Hogfather, so Death puts on the beard and does the rounds while his granddaughter Susan hunts for the reason. It belongs to the Death thread and follows Soul Music, where Susan first appears. Unlike Feet of Clay, it sits entirely outside the Watch books.

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15.Jingo: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

An island rises from the sea between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch in Jingo, and both cities start talking themselves into war over it. Vimes ends up chasing a crime across the water while the politics escalate. It pushes the Watch books toward bigger questions about how a city behaves under pressure.

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16.The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Vimes is sent to Uberwald as an ambassador for a dwarf coronation in The Fifth Elephant, a role that suits him badly. Angua's werewolf family plays a large part, which gives her storyline more room than in earlier Watch books. It is the last Watch novel before the thread's time-travel story, so read it before moving on.

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17.Night Watch: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

A lightning strike throws Sam Vimes back thirty years to the Ankh-Morpork of his youth in Night Watch, where he has to train his younger self during a street revolution. The emotional weight depends on knowing Vimes from the earlier Watch books. Save it until you have read several of them rather than opening the series here.

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18.The Wee Free Men: A Novel of Discworld - by Terry Pratchett

Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching sets out with a frying pan to rescue her little brother in The Wee Free Men, helped by the Nac Mac Feegle, a horde of tiny, brawling blue men. It opens a five-book thread written for younger readers that ends with The Shepherd's Crown, the final Discworld novel. Adults enjoy it just as much, and it can come before any other book in the series.

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19.Monstrous Regiment: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Polly Perks cuts her hair and enlists as a boy in Monstrous Regiment so she can find her brother in the army of Borogravia, a small country permanently at war. The book stands mostly on its own, with only brief visits from Watch characters. It asks far less background of you than Night Watch, which makes it an easy late entry point.

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20.Going Postal: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Con man Moist von Lipwig is offered a choice between the gallows and reviving Ankh-Morpork's derelict Post Office in Going Postal. It starts the Moist von Lipwig thread, which continues in Making Money and Raising Steam. The setup needs no background, so it is a good way in for anyone who wants to begin late in the publication order.

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Keep Reading Terry Pratchett

Pick one thread opener from the order, read it, and then follow that character run forward through the later books. Every Terry Pratchett title in the store, Discworld and beyond, is one search away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guards! Guards! is the usual first recommendation, because the City Watch books build steadily from it and it explains everything it needs. If you prefer a shorter, more personal story, Mort makes an equally clean start and leads into the Death novels.

Mostly no. Apart from the first two books, which tell one story, each novel finishes its own plot, so you can jump between threads freely. Order matters inside a thread, though: Lords and Ladies leans on the two coven books before it, and Night Watch works best once you know Vimes well.

The Wee Free Men was written for a younger audience and suits confident readers from around ten up. If it clicks, the rest of the Tiffany Aching books follow in order, from A Hat Full of Sky to The Shepherd's Crown.

Hogfather is set on Hogswatch night, the Disc's midwinter holiday, with Death standing in for the missing gift-bringer. It reads well on its own, so you do not need the earlier Death books to enjoy it in December.

Yes. Small Gods is a fully standalone story about a god with one believer left, and Monstrous Regiment needs only a passing familiarity with the Disc. Either one is a fair test of whether the series suits you before you commit to a longer thread.

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Discworld Reading Order (Complete List)

1.The Color of Magic: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

2.The Light Fantastic: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

3.Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

4.Mort: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

5.Sourcery: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

6.Wyrd Sisters: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

7.Guards! Guards!: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

8.Eric: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

9.Reaper Man: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

10.Witches Abroad: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

11.Small Gods: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

12.Lords and Ladies: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

13.Feet of Clay: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

14.Hogfather: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

15.Jingo: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

16.The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

17.Night Watch: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

18.The Wee Free Men: A Novel of Discworld - by Terry Pratchett

19.Monstrous Regiment: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

20.Going Postal: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Keep Reading Terry Pratchett

Frequently Asked Questions

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Discworld Reading Order (Complete List)

1.The Color of Magic: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

2.The Light Fantastic: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

3.Equal Rites: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

4.Mort: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

5.Sourcery: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

6.Wyrd Sisters: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

7.Guards! Guards!: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

8.Eric: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

9.Reaper Man: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

10.Witches Abroad: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

11.Small Gods: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

12.Lords and Ladies: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

13.Feet of Clay: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

14.Hogfather: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

15.Jingo: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

16.The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

17.Night Watch: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

18.The Wee Free Men: A Novel of Discworld - by Terry Pratchett

19.Monstrous Regiment: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

20.Going Postal: A Discworld Novel - by Terry Pratchett

Keep Reading Terry Pratchett

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I start with Discworld?

Do you have to read the Discworld books in publication order?

Which Discworld books are good for younger readers?

What Discworld book should I read at Christmas?

Can I read a Discworld book without knowing the others?