Audiobooks that scratch the Pratchett itch?
April 5, 2020 10:24 AM Subscribe
I just finished re-reading all of Discworld! ...right before the pandemic and shelter-in-place. I need new books (preferably with audiobook editions) that scratch the same itch.
Sorry, by "new" books did you mean more recently published than that?
posted by evilmomlady at 10:33 AM on April 5, 2020
posted by evilmomlady at 10:33 AM on April 5, 2020
Are you a fan of Christopher Moore? I think of them as being similar, though Moore is more crass, and some of the narrators for the audiobooks were excellent.
posted by Candleman at 10:38 AM on April 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Candleman at 10:38 AM on April 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Terry Pratchett and Patrick O'Brian have a shared, dedicated bookshelf in my house. Who is the best narrator for Patrick O'Brian is a topic people fight over, but I like Patrick Tull.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:59 AM on April 5, 2020
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:59 AM on April 5, 2020
The closest reading experience to Terry Pratchett that I've ever had (outside of Terry Pratchett) was T. Kingfisher's Nine Goblins. It sadly does not appear to be available as an audiobook.
posted by gideonfrog at 11:05 AM on April 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by gideonfrog at 11:05 AM on April 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Hitchhikers' guide to the galaxy and some Gaiman (Graveyard, stardust) would be my recommendations for similar feeling.
I really liked the Harry Dresden series of books - they're not really the same but I'm going to recommend them because I really enjoy discworld and I really enjoy those too?
posted by euphoria066 at 11:29 AM on April 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I really liked the Harry Dresden series of books - they're not really the same but I'm going to recommend them because I really enjoy discworld and I really enjoy those too?
posted by euphoria066 at 11:29 AM on April 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman is really good, as is the related recent miniseries on Amazon Prime Video, starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen who are unbelievably perfectly cast.
posted by bright flowers at 11:35 AM on April 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by bright flowers at 11:35 AM on April 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: (Just new to me! Didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Since obviously I am the only one who knows what I’ve read, recommend away!)
posted by ocherdraco at 12:30 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ocherdraco at 12:30 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yeah, actually in order to scratch the Pratchett itch I have to re-read Pratchet. Just finished Thief of Time and Equal Rites, actually.
posted by Peach at 1:14 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Peach at 1:14 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
You will love Tom Holt. He's like a cross between Pratchett and Douglas Adams.
I recommend starting with the series that begins with The Portable Door, but really all his books are great.
posted by ananci at 1:50 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I recommend starting with the series that begins with The Portable Door, but really all his books are great.
posted by ananci at 1:50 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch. Great fun and a really good audiobook narrator.
posted by PussKillian at 2:36 PM on April 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by PussKillian at 2:36 PM on April 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Also as ananci's Wikipedia link says, Tom Holt writes fantasy fiction under the name KJ Parker, which might be more in line with the Discworld vibe. I can specifically recommend The Devil You Know, which also dovetails nicely with the Good Omens recommendation I made earlier.
posted by bright flowers at 2:43 PM on April 5, 2020
posted by bright flowers at 2:43 PM on April 5, 2020
I find I'm always professing my affection for The Dancers At the End of Time by Michael Moorcock, originally three books but more recently bound up into one. A neo-Victorian farce set generally at the end of the Universe, 1895 (with guest appearances by H.G. Wells and Frank Harris) and the Devonian era.
There isn't an audiobook, though.
posted by Grangousier at 2:53 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
There isn't an audiobook, though.
posted by Grangousier at 2:53 PM on April 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
When you say all of Discworld - did you also listen to The Carpet People and The Bromeliad Trilogy? They're more aimed at kids than Discworld but I still enjoyed them on audiobook.
posted by stillnocturnal at 4:35 PM on April 5, 2020
posted by stillnocturnal at 4:35 PM on April 5, 2020
Also, the other Pratchett books, such as Nation.
This is a suggestion you may not like, but though I unabashedly love love love Pratchett, I also like things that provide a sharp contrast. In my mind, I contrast Raising Steam with two books by China Mieville - Railsea and The Iron Council. Raising Steam shows the triumph of progress over luddites leading to a bright new future, while Mieville illustrates the plight of indigenous peoples, workers and (in Railsea) society as a whole. As a note, Railsea is young adult and not depressing, that is not true for The Iron Council.
Since some have given suggestions for humorous fantasies above, below I will suggest some series that are further afield from Pratchett, but have a long immersive series.
Someone upthread mentioned The Dresden Files, it will provide you with a long story arc (17+ books) and equal doses of humor and urban grit. Closer to Pratchett would be Butcher's steam punk book, The Aeronaught's Windlass.
You may enjoy the young adult steam punk Matt Cruse trilogy by Kenneth Opel: Airborn, Skybreaker and Starclimber.
If you want a long story arc (12 books plus 6 more in a parallel series), good world building and good audiobooks, I highly recommend The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. It's the series about werewolves and vampires set in the pacific northwest that's ok to like.
The Nightside Series by Simon Green.
The Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson.
posted by 445supermag at 8:33 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is a suggestion you may not like, but though I unabashedly love love love Pratchett, I also like things that provide a sharp contrast. In my mind, I contrast Raising Steam with two books by China Mieville - Railsea and The Iron Council. Raising Steam shows the triumph of progress over luddites leading to a bright new future, while Mieville illustrates the plight of indigenous peoples, workers and (in Railsea) society as a whole. As a note, Railsea is young adult and not depressing, that is not true for The Iron Council.
Since some have given suggestions for humorous fantasies above, below I will suggest some series that are further afield from Pratchett, but have a long immersive series.
Someone upthread mentioned The Dresden Files, it will provide you with a long story arc (17+ books) and equal doses of humor and urban grit. Closer to Pratchett would be Butcher's steam punk book, The Aeronaught's Windlass.
You may enjoy the young adult steam punk Matt Cruse trilogy by Kenneth Opel: Airborn, Skybreaker and Starclimber.
If you want a long story arc (12 books plus 6 more in a parallel series), good world building and good audiobooks, I highly recommend The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. It's the series about werewolves and vampires set in the pacific northwest that's ok to like.
The Nightside Series by Simon Green.
The Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson.
posted by 445supermag at 8:33 AM on April 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ok, this is a long shot, but The Bobiverse trilogy. Setting is very different, but the...weight of it feels similar to me.
posted by anaelith at 12:29 PM on April 7, 2020
posted by anaelith at 12:29 PM on April 7, 2020
Would you be able to define which pratchett-esque characteristics are the itch you want scratched?
If it's a mashup of standard fantasy tropes with modern technological type stuff, Max Gladstone and Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher scratch that itch. Also maybe Diana Wynne Jones.
If it's a sort of warm, optimistic, yet cynical take on human nature, Ann Leckie hits that spot for me. (her online short stories are different in tone from her books - much darker).
If it's the sense of humor, Douglas Adams is the most obvious closest relative. PG Wodehouse isn't really the same but there's some overlap.
You may also want to try urban fantasy - I particularly recommend Ilona Andrews.
posted by Cozybee at 4:55 AM on April 8, 2020
If it's a mashup of standard fantasy tropes with modern technological type stuff, Max Gladstone and Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher scratch that itch. Also maybe Diana Wynne Jones.
If it's a sort of warm, optimistic, yet cynical take on human nature, Ann Leckie hits that spot for me. (her online short stories are different in tone from her books - much darker).
If it's the sense of humor, Douglas Adams is the most obvious closest relative. PG Wodehouse isn't really the same but there's some overlap.
You may also want to try urban fantasy - I particularly recommend Ilona Andrews.
posted by Cozybee at 4:55 AM on April 8, 2020
« Older By what % has the death rate increased due to... | fashionable clothes for the top-heavy tween? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by evilmomlady at 10:32 AM on April 5, 2020 [2 favorites]