Is Discworld the best?

[author3]

I was just wondsering if everyone thinks Discworld is the best series or do you prefer something like Hitch-Hikers.
So basically is Discworld the best series of books you've ever read?
For me it definitely is

[meerkat]

Clearly yes as I have ALL the main books!
My second favourite is the Cadfael Series by Ellis Peters.
Third is the Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles by SJ Parrish.

[author3]

Do you have any of the add-ons like Science of discworld Thundercat?

[raisindot]

Boy, that's a great question.

There may be some series that I initially liked better (like Robert Parker's Spenser series or Tony Hillerman's Chee and Leaphorn mysteries) and some may be more fun to read (like Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster and Blandings Castle series), and some may even be more thought provoking (like Asimov's original Foundation series), but in most of these series the books start off strong and then begin to taper off into formula after awhile, and by the 20th book or so the author almost seems to be phoning it again. Pterry seems to be one of the few authors whose series started off weak and got exponentially better off time and who has mostly maintained his originality and literary mastery nearly forty books later. Maybe it helps that he has a wide variety of characters, locations and themes to work with so no particular 'subseries' is overdone. Whatever it is, I'd say on these terms alone DW could be the best series ever.

[Tonyblack]

I've read all the Chee and Leaphorn books - they're great!

I really enjoyed visiting the Navajo Reservation as it put the stories into context.

[Penfold]

Good question. Discworld is definitely my favourite but I wouldn't like to say whether its necessarily the best in terms of influence or success (I'm afraid Harry bloody Potter might take that title for that).

Other series I have enjoyed are Michael Moorcock's 'Eternal Champion' books, although they became a bit samey (if you know what I mean) and Fritz Leiber's Swords and Sorcery series which Sir Terry lampooned brilliantly in Colour of Magic.

Does H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories count as a series?

[Who's Wee Dug]

That's what got me to buy the book those many years ago, as soon as I seen that passage about the two unsavoury rogues it made me laugh, I then put it back on the shelf because it had a tiny tear in the dust jacket and it was the last one.

[SimsKatie]

It may not always be the best, but Discworld certainly is the richest in terms of character and world development, I think.

[Penfold]

That's what got me to buy the book those many years ago, as soon as I seen that passage about the two unsavoury rogues it made me laugh, I then put it back on the shelf because it had a tiny tear in the dust jacket and it was the last one.

I think it may have been that passage that got me hooked, together with the Lovecraft references. It takes a great deal of skill to take the micky like that without giving offence to fans of those books (LotR fans vs. Bored of the Rings, anyone?).

[Kin Arad]

Sometimes i may find a book (non discworld) that has the 'wow' factor more than a lot of the dw books (for me) but that's mainly because it has a totally different style and i need a break once in a while, and often i forget how good dw books are
I think the DW books are the exact style of books i like to read and so since reading them i haven't found a lot else to suit it.
Another series (actually i'm not quite sure how many there are) i like is Horatio Lyle by Catherine Webb - it's quite young, but a good read

[michelanCello]

For me, reading B.TP. was never about the author - if I liked a book, I'd buy the rest if it was a series because I was interested in the story. But with Discworld, it's Sir Terry's style I love and that's why I read his books... it's not even as if DW is a continuous series.
But as series, I really liked the Thurday Next ones, the Bartimaeus-trilogy (which has 4 parts by now ) and the Stravaganza-trilogy (the 5th book came out this year ). And maybe some of you didn't, but I really liked the Potter series...

[Harry Blue5]

Discworld may not be the best, but with generally good writing and almost 40 books now, it may as well be.

[Quatermass]

The only book series that consistently passes it is the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. Discworld is amongst the best at its best.

[ChristianBecker]

For me it is the best series there is.
I've enjoyed other series as well, but nothing comes close to DW.

[pip]

Definitely my favourite anyway.
Many good series but so few have so much choice and variety. The only author who has come close in fiction is Pg Wodehouse