Series · fantasy
Discworld
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett has 41 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Colour of Magic (1983).
- Books
- 41 books
- First published
- 1983
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: The Colour of Magic (1983) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Colour of Magic
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Colour of Magic - Book 2:
The Light Fantastic
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Light Fantastic - Book 3:
Equal Rites
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Equal Rites - Book 4:
Mort
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mort - Book 5:
Sourcery
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sourcery - Book 6:
Wyrd Sisters
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wyrd Sisters - Book 7:
Pyramids
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pyramids - Book 8:
Guards! Guards!
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Guards! Guards! - Book 9:
Eric
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Eric - Book 10:
Moving Pictures
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Moving Pictures - Book 11:
Reaper Man
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Reaper Man - Book 12:
Witches Abroad
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Witches Abroad - Book 13:
Small Gods
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Small Gods - Book 14:
Lords and Ladies
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lords and Ladies - Book 15:
Men at Arms
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Men at Arms - Book 16:
Soul Music
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Soul Music - Book 17:
Interesting Times
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Interesting Times - Book 18:
Maskerade
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Maskerade - Book 19:
Feet of Clay
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Feet of Clay - Book 20:
Hogfather
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hogfather - Book 21:
Jingo
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Jingo - Book 22:
The Last Continent
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Continent - Book 23:
Carpe Jugulum
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Carpe Jugulum - Book 24:
The Fifth Elephant
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fifth Elephant - Book 25:
The Truth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Truth - Book 26:
Thief of Time
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thief of Time - Book 27:
The Last Hero
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Hero - Book 28:
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Book 29:
Night Watch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night Watch - Book 30:
The Wee Free Men
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wee Free Men - Book 31:
Monstrous Regiment
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Monstrous Regiment - Book 32:
A Hat Full of Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Hat Full of Sky - Book 33:
Going Postal
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Going Postal - Book 34:
Thud!
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thud! - Book 35:
Wintersmith
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wintersmith - Book 36:
Making Money
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Making Money - Book 37:
Unseen Academicals
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Unseen Academicals - Book 38:
I Shall Wear Midnight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of I Shall Wear Midnight - Book 39:
Snuff
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Snuff - Book 40:
Raising Steam
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Raising Steam - Book 41:
The Shepherd's Crown
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Shepherd's Crown
Our shelf-tested path for first-time readers.
- Book 1:
Guards! Guards!
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Guards! Guards! - Book 2:
Men at Arms
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Men at Arms - Book 3:
Feet of Clay
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Feet of Clay - Book 4:
Jingo
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Jingo - Book 5:
The Fifth Elephant
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fifth Elephant - Book 6:
Night Watch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night Watch - Book 7:
Thud!
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thud! - Book 8:
Snuff
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Snuff - Book 9:
Mort
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mort - Book 10:
Reaper Man
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Reaper Man - Book 11:
Soul Music
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Soul Music - Book 12:
Hogfather
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hogfather - Book 13:
Thief of Time
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thief of Time - Book 14:
Equal Rites
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Equal Rites - Book 15:
Wyrd Sisters
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wyrd Sisters - Book 16:
Witches Abroad
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Witches Abroad - Book 17:
Lords and Ladies
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lords and Ladies - Book 18:
Maskerade
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Maskerade - Book 19:
Carpe Jugulum
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Carpe Jugulum - Book 20:
The Wee Free Men
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wee Free Men - Book 21:
A Hat Full of Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Hat Full of Sky - Book 22:
Wintersmith
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wintersmith - Book 23:
I Shall Wear Midnight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of I Shall Wear Midnight - Book 24:
The Shepherd's Crown
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Shepherd's Crown - Book 25:
Going Postal
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Going Postal - Book 26:
Making Money
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Making Money - Book 27:
Raising Steam
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Raising Steam - Book 28:
The Colour of Magic
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Colour of Magic - Book 29:
The Light Fantastic
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Light Fantastic - Book 30:
Sourcery
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sourcery - Book 31:
Eric
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Eric - Book 32:
Interesting Times
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Interesting Times - Book 33:
The Last Continent
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Continent - Book 34:
The Last Hero
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Hero - Book 35:
Pyramids
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pyramids - Book 36:
Moving Pictures
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Moving Pictures - Book 37:
Small Gods
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Small Gods - Book 38:
The Truth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Truth - Book 39:
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Book 40:
Monstrous Regiment
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Monstrous Regiment - Book 41:
Unseen Academicals
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Unseen Academicals
About the Discworld series
Discworld is Terry Pratchett's forty-one-novel comic masterpiece, set on a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle. What begins in The Colour of Magic (1983) as straight fantasy parody — an inept wizard escorting the Disc's first tourist — evolves into something far richer: a mirror held up to our own world, where Pratchett uses dragons, golems and the anthropomorphic personification of Death (WHO SPEAKS LIKE THIS and is fond of cats) to write about policing, religion, war, journalism, banking, gender and belief with more clarity than most literary fiction manages.
There is no single protagonist. Instead the Disc hosts interweaving strands: Sam Vimes and the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, fantasy's greatest cop shop; Granny Weatherwax and the witches of Lancre, who practise 'headology' rather than magic; Death and his granddaughter Susan; the luckless wizard Rincewind, who runs from everything; conman-turned-civil-servant Moist von Lipwig; and young witch Tiffany Aching, whose books distil the series' wisdom for younger readers.
Published between 1983 and 2015 — the last, The Shepherd's Crown, appearing shortly after Pratchett's death — Discworld is complete, endlessly re-readable, and famous for the fact that you can begin it in a dozen different places.
How to read this series
Do not feel obliged to start at book one — The Colour of Magic is early Pratchett parodying 1980s fantasy, and many readers bounce off it. Discworld is best read by subseries, each of which works as its own sequence:
- City Watch (start Guards! Guards!): Vimes and Ankh-Morpork's police — the most common recommendation for adult readers.
- Death (start Mort): Death takes an apprentice; wry, humane, philosophical.
- Witches (start Wyrd Sisters; Equal Rites is a prototype): Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg.
- Tiffany Aching (start The Wee Free Men): the young-adult strand, superb at any age.
- Moist von Lipwig (start Going Postal): a late, polished entry point about a reformed conman.
- Rincewind (start The Colour of Magic): the original strand, for completists and parody fans.
Standalones like Small Gods and Monstrous Regiment need no background at all — Small Gods is often named the single best introduction. Once hooked, publication order rewards you with the Disc's gradual evolution.
Frequently asked questions
How many Discworld books are there?
Forty-one novels, from The Colour of Magic (1983) to The Shepherd's Crown (2015). Around them sit optional maps, science-of-Discworld collaborations and companion volumes, but the series proper is the 41 novels.
What order should I read Discworld in?
Almost any. The novels group into subseries — City Watch, Death, Witches, Tiffany Aching, Moist von Lipwig, Rincewind — each readable in its own internal order, plus true standalones. Popular starting points are Guards! Guards!, Mort, Wyrd Sisters, Small Gods or Going Postal. Publication order works too, but few recommend beginning with The Colour of Magic.
Do I have to start with The Colour of Magic?
No — and most Discworld fans advise against it. It's an early, episodic fantasy parody quite unlike the mature series. Try Guards! Guards!, Mort or Small Gods first and circle back later.
Is Discworld finished?
Yes. Terry Pratchett died in March 2015, and the final novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published that August. His unfinished works were destroyed, at his request, by steamroller — there will be no continuations.
Which Discworld books are for younger readers?
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents and the five Tiffany Aching books (The Wee Free Men through The Shepherd's Crown) were published for younger readers, though adults widely rate the Tiffany books among the series' best.
Reading order last verified .