Kids mostly like them...
Well I am a kid. The mortal engine series and it's sequels. Set far into the future*, we inevitably cock up and ruin the earth with nuclear weapons, and in the future they have airships and towns that run on wheels. Sounds crazy, but the writer spent ages thinking up this future, and with a gripping storyline, it's a pretty good read. My dad liked it and he's 51. Nuff said :)

EDIT: Terry pratchett, you are a god. Anyone who hasn't read at least one of his books should be shot. End of.


* a good 40'000 years from now, maybe more.
(D.I.pshit solved another case on, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 1:04, 8 replies)

TP
I really enjoyed "Feet of Clay". Others not so much. Any in particular you recommend?
(Spokes, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 9:38, closed)

At the risk of taking things too seriously
I have a history with Pratchett. He's not the genius that some people would have you believe, but he does have moments of greatness.

I read the first 10-15 or so when I was in my teens/early 20's, and loved them. Then started to get bored of reading the same thing over and over so missed a few years. Since then he has been hit & miss. The vampires stuff is shit, his things about Tax and the postal system are pretty good. The recent one about football is shockingly bad. Although he probably doesn't remember writing it.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 11:46, closed)

I don't get Terry Pratchett at all. Why do people say his books are funny?
I read one and the humour consisted of things like "Ur Footwear" (presumably a skit at Nike Air) and a country called Ecks Ecks Ecks Ecks (presumably a skit at Australians "not giving a four x" for anything else). It seemed very laboured and it just bored me.

It this typical of him or did I just pick an uncharacteristically crap book to start with?
(IHateSprouts is baking a huge pie shaped like an enormous pie, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 10:36, closed)

That sounds like The Last Continent, and it really is shit.
But not everything he writes is shit. You get a 50/50 chance.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 11:48, closed)

You've started with one of the Rincewind books, which are basically all shit.
They represent all the very worst things about Pratchett: the "whacky" names, stuff just happening for no reason at all because hey, that's funny, right? Try the Watch books, as they're your basic cop books, but with fantasy setting. You'll still get some of the irritating jokes, but its toned back, or at least, less forced. He's actually a pretty good story-teller when he tries.
(Spleep Shit, or get off the internet., Wed 11 Jan 2012, 12:17, closed)

Yes, it was a Ricewind book. I'll give him another try before forming a firm opinion, then

(IHateSprouts is baking a huge pie shaped like an enormous pie, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 12:26, closed)

I think its worth it.
I kept trying the first couple of books because friends whose opinion I usually trust kept mentioning them, I finally just skipped to one that sounded interesting, and went from there. He's not a genius, as has been said, but when he allows funny things to happen, rather than tries to make bad jokes, he's genuinely very good. It's also worth trying the audiobooks, as I've found them to be pretty entertaining.
(Spleep Shit, or get off the internet., Wed 11 Jan 2012, 12:34, closed)

A couple of years ago
Theu made a discworld book into a movie. It's not the most recent one, going postal (which is great) but all I can remember is a guy with a creepy eye and that Santa's dying. I'll admit, not the best description I've ever done :/
(D.I.pshit solved another case on, Thu 12 Jan 2012, 0:06, closed)