Discworld Reading Chart

[Crossroads Inc.]

So I made this for a friend of mine who is just getting into the Discworld Books.
It is done largely by my own impressions of the series in terms of when things happened and curious what some of the other Discworld fans think.

[HMS Sophia]

It looks pretty good to me...
Except don't start with the first two books. Unless this person is already into discworld...

[Broomstick]

Did you leave out Small Gods or is it that it's too early for my eyes to focus?

[Crossroads Inc.]

Did you leave out Small Gods or is it that it's too early for my eyes to focus?

I honestly have no idea where to put it. We know it ends 100years "in the future" But no idea where to start it.
It must be early since all other Ominian references have the religion post Vorbis.

And, yeah people shouldn't start with the first two books, but was trying to make a proper "timeline" of the books.

[Crazedwraith]

Thief Of Time and Night Watch should be closer together. The end of Thief of Time is concurrent with the beginning of Night Watch.

[folti78]

Did you leave out Small Gods or is it that it's too early for my eyes to focus?

I honestly have no idea where to put it. We know it ends 100years "in the future" But no idea where to start it.
It must be early since all other Ominian references have the religion post Vorbis.

And, yeah people shouldn't start with the first two books, but was trying to make a proper "timeline" of the books.

Well it's a bit standalone book a bit farther back in the past. Djelibeybi still managed to send a small naval force against the
Omnians, while in Pyramids they are practically bankrupt. The ruling family still owes the cost of the last two (or maybe three?) pyramids to the pyramid builders and it's more insular politically.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Since it ends 100 years "In the future" It has often been said to happen very far in the past, up to 50 years or more before the events of TCOM.

The only problem is that 'Didactylus' the philosopher is in the story, and if I recall he shows up in another book alive and well. In Small Gods he is already quite old, so unless it is someone else it cant be too far in the past.

[Zixinus]

The slight problem with chronically trying to place all the Discworld books is that time travel messes it up.

Seriously, the author somewhat admitted that he likes to play with the timeline book-by-book. Remember Thief of Time?

[Big Orange]

Small Gods, for convenience, could put roughly alongside Pyramids and it feels a fairly long time before the established timeline.

[Minischoles]

Small Gods is very definitely in the past in terms of the Watch books at least, and the later witch books, so you can assume that the Tiffany Aching books are also after Small Gods.

But as said, it's kind of difficult to produce a timeline. Beyond Night Watch happening pretty much directly after Thief of Time (or partly at the same time, as the shattering in Thief of Time is what sends Vimes into the past) and series being in rough chronological order, in terms of relations you're in trouble, because there isn't much crossover beyond out of context cameos

[Minischoles]

Small Gods is very definitely in the past in terms of the Watch books at least, and the later witch books, so you can assume that the Tiffany Aching books are also after Small Gods.

But as said, it's kind of difficult to produce a timeline. Beyond Night Watch happening pretty much directly after Thief of Time (or partly at the same time, as the shattering in Thief of Time is what sends Vimes into the past) and series being in rough chronological order, in terms of relations you're in trouble, because there isn't much crossover beyond out of context cameos

[Vendetta]

The point of Theif of Time is that the past has been broken and put back together several times over, and not always in the right order and therefore a coherent timeline of the Discworld is probably impossible to construct.

[Crossroads Inc.]

The point of Theif of Time is that the past has been broken and put back together several times over, and not always in the right order and therefore a coherent timeline of the Discworld is probably impossible to construct.

True... And that was largely to account for various inconsistencies with Pratchetts earlier books where dates did not seem to make sense. That said you can still do a "resonable" timeline/Reading guide using what dates do make sense and of course when Pratchett wrote the books as well.

I'll do a redo that has "Small Gods" right before "Pyramids" Since the nation at the time of Pyramids could not have possibly fielded the navy it sent after Omnia in "Small Gods"

[Steve]

Hey, aside from reaching the opening chapter of "Guards! Guards!" I started with TCOM....

[Crossroads Inc.]

Ok I just had one of those WTF moments from looking at time on the Discworld.
Suan Sto Helit is 16 as of "Soul Music"
In "Hogfarther" she feels all grown and I always assumed she was 30 or something.
How much time Passes between Soul Music and Hog Father? Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like 10 years or more.

[PainRack]

Ok I just had one of those WTF moments from looking at time on the Discworld.
Suan Sto Helit is 16 as of "Soul Music"
In "Hogfarther" she feels all grown and I always assumed she was 30 or something.
How much time Passes between Soul Music and Hog Father? Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like 10 years or more.

Try Rincewind/Ridicully.They're positively ancient, and so is Vetenari.

To be honest, i think it is possible to squeeze in Susan as being in her 20s. A very young governess but still plausible.


Also, hasn't time moved on far enough that there has been 3 different Centuries? Century of the Fruitbat, Century of the Rat or etc.......

[Steve]

I always saw it as Susan being 16 in Soul Music, somewhere between 20-25 in Hogfather, and approaching 30 in Thief of Time. Though perhaps compressed as much as four year gaps, that is, 16-20-24.

Of course, one wonders what the Duchess of Sto Helit is doing as a governess and schoolteacher, but she might have abdicated, or her parents might have held only a life peerage.

[Simon_Jester]

Did you leave out Small Gods or is it that it's too early for my eyes to focus?

I honestly have no idea where to put it. We know it ends 100years "in the future" But no idea where to start it.
It must be early since all other Ominian references have the religion post Vorbis.

And, yeah people shouldn't start with the first two books, but was trying to make a proper "timeline" of the books.

I read the books in chronological order, and liked them.

Of course, I was passingly familiar with many of the things Pratchett was parodying, including Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser- how's that for obscure?

Also, Small Gods takes place a hundred years or so before the 'main chronology;' the Omnian religion as expounded by Brutha is the one that gets seen elsewhere. Chronologically it's first... and come to think of it, it's not that bad a start for reading the series- it's got some philosophical depth, it's a standalone... hmm.

Small Gods is very definitely in the past in terms of the Watch books at least, and the later witch books, so you can assume that the Tiffany Aching books are also after Small Gods.

But as said, it's kind of difficult to produce a timeline. Beyond Night Watch happening pretty much directly after Thief of Time (or partly at the same time, as the shattering in Thief of Time is what sends Vimes into the past) and series being in rough chronological order, in terms of relations you're in trouble, because there isn't much crossover beyond out of context cameos

...Is that shattering causing the events of Night Watch canon? I'd never heard that.

Ok I just had one of those WTF moments from looking at time on the Discworld.
Suan Sto Helit is 16 as of "Soul Music"
In "Hogfarther" she feels all grown and I always assumed she was 30 or something.
How much time Passes between Soul Music and Hog Father? Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like 10 years or more.

Susan is an extremely mature young lady- she could probably do a convincing 30 at 23, if she wanted to.

[Minischoles]

Is that shattering causing the events of Night Watch canon? I'd never heard that.

Yes, the storm that hits Vimes, is the same storm that causes the Clock to stop time.

[2000AD]

Personally I'd say Unseen Academicals would be a better fit in the grey/unconnected column. It maybe set in the university but the main character's aren't wizards and it doesn't have the same feel as the previous wizard books.

Maybe connect it to both.