[asjir]

Why not start with Colour of Magic? For context, I started with it, then Light Fantastic and I'm finishing Sourcery now.

[dcminter]

I did too (a long time ago when I was 13). But I think there was a change in tone with and continuing after Equal Rites, in that the characters and story were a bit more thorough rather than being, essentially, a sketch-show vehicle for parody and quips.

Besides, it introduces Granny Weatherwax, who is IMO one of his two greatest creations (the other being Vimes of course).

Edit: Oh, by the way, if you're just now working your way through them then (a) I envy you and (b) I recommend reading the Annotated Pratchett File for each book - after you finish each of course: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/

[rsynnott]

> I recommend reading the Annotated Pratchett File for each book - after you finish each of course: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/

Sadly, it’s pretty sparse or non-existent for the later books, but the TVTropes pages on them are usually very good, and cover a lot of the same ground.

[asjir]

Ahh, I see, thank you (and other commenters)

I was a bit surprised by the change in tone in a way I probably wouldn't've been if I'd read chronologically.

[kemayo]

Main argument against starting with Color of Magic would be that it's different enough from the rest of the series that it's not entirely useful for knowing whether you'll want to read the rest.

It and Light Fantastic are both fantasy-parody travelogues, which are mostly about the protagonists moving through a sequence of largely disconnected pastiches of other fantasy works. After this the series rapidly switches to fantasy as metaphor for real-world situations, with the fantasy elements being more broad tropes rather than specifics references.

[travisgriggs]

They are by far the most Monty Pythonesque of the books. If you enjoy that, look for all of the Rincewind books. If you like less of that, avoid the Rincewind books (IMHO).

[Symbiote]

Many of the cultural references are to other fantasy books and comics from the 1980s, so they're increasingly lost on current readers.

I generally recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters, since many people are familiar with Macbeth.

[rsynnott]

You certainly _can_, but they’re more or less straight-up parody fantasy, and _very_ different to the rest of the series.