The Truth
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2000)
audiobook read by Matthew Baynton (Transworld, 2023)
A curious instalment. The satire is atypically direct, and while the characters sprout like humorously shaped vegetables from page to page, their various plot roots shrivel in the shadow of the truth/news as entity unleashed—which may well have been Pratchett’s point.
Thud!
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2005)
audiobook read by Stephen Briggs (Isis, 2005)
Loses some edge upon re-reading, and a little too serious-minded to be top-shelf Pratchett, but nevertheless a cutting examination of religion and prejudice, shrouded in pseudo-mystery. Sam Vimes is good value (as always), as is Stephen Briggs (especially narrating Where’s My Cow?).
A Hat Full of Sky
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2004); audiobook ready by Stephen Briggs (2004)
Tiffany Aching again proves a winning protagonist, her precocious powers stemming from nothing more innate than a clear, logical, inquisitive mind. While the threat feels real, Pratchett has fun with the Nac Mac Feegle. Granny Weatherwax’s character benefits from an outside perspective.
Maskerade
by Terry Pratchett (Victor Gollancz, 1995)
audiobook read by Indira Varma (Penguin, 2022)
Pratchett takes aim at opera and in doing so makes some serious points about stereotyping. The mystery is a bit muddled, the humour at times over-egged (though still great fun). Indira Varma’s audiobook reading is perfect for Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg.
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2001); audiobook read by Stephen Briggs (Isis, 2001)
Only nominally a children’s book. Pratchett puts a sardonic spin on the Pied Piper fairy tale, foregrounding the rats so as to take humans down a notch. Narrator Stephen Briggs soups up the audiobook by using his Sam Vimes voice for Darktan.
Sunset at Blandings
by P.G. Wodehouse (Chatto & Windus, 1977; revised Everyman’s Library, 2015)
The final, unfinished Wodehouse novel. Much like Pratchett’s ‘The Shepherd’s Crown’, the un-fleshed-out text stirs memories of what was, while throwing light on the authorial process. In this instance, Plum-worship has led to the adding of copious and mostly inconsequential third-party annotations.
The Fifth Elephant
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 1999); audiobook read by Stephen Briggs (Isis, 2000)
A relatively dour instalment that, uncharacteristically, loses a little upon re-reading. As per many City Watch stories, much rests upon Vimes’s world view (good) and a slow-burning mystery (muddled). The grating Fred Colon subplot serves only to highlight the paucity of humour.
Witches Abroad
by Terry Pratchett (Victor Gollancz, 1991); audiobook read by Nigel Planer (Isis, 1996)
Lots of witchy dialogue ‘get the reference’ humour but overall a little too much icing, not enough cake. Nigel Planer’s Discworld audiobook readings are wonderful, but it’s a shame not to have had Celia Imrie continue her association with these all-female instalments.
Johnny and the Bomb
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 1996); audiobook read by Richard Mitchley (BBC Audiobooks, 1997)
Pratchett gifts middle-grade readers the perfect introduction to time travel, albeit that his mid-1990s ‘now’ is itself receding into history, in rapid pursuit of the Second World War ‘then’. Thought-provoking and wryly funny, with memorable characters and a rich vein of dialogue.
Monstrous Regiment
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2003); audiobook read by Stephen Briggs (Isis, 2003)
Pratchett marries a senseless war with a young female protagonist of insight and independence, thereby taking aim at the way men in particular—and stupid people in general—make a mess of things. A droll standalone (albeit that Vimes makes a cameo).