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Terry Pratchett’sDiscworldremains one of the most beloved and well - compose fantasy series . In the decade since Sir Terry ’s passing , no author has been able to step up into the role of deary fantasy satirist – and no one should . Theconvoluted reading order of theDiscworldnovelsbelies the square way that the books verbalize both to reader ' hearts and minds . One key reason whyDiscworldis so universally adore among fantasy fans is that the characters Terry Pratchett produce all explode off the Page larger than life .
SinceDiscworldis an innately satirical series , its character all substantiate the best and the worst of people , with massive flaws and indomitable virtues that immix in such a way that they serve as mirrors of our own inner conflict . While this has also contributed to why manyDiscworldadaptations shin to find the right tonus , it also means that the record themselves remain some of the groovy fantasy novels ever written , and whythe characters ofDiscworldare so amazing and memorable .
10Cheery Littlebottom
First Appearance: Feet Of Clay (1996)
While she may not be the best copper in Ankh - Morpork ’s City Watch , Cheery Littlebottom is a phenomenal character , not only because of her brilliance as the Watch ’s first forensics specialist but because of what she present socially on the Disc . Initially portray as just another dwarf join the Watch after the outcome ofMen at Armsled to the Night and Day Watches unifying and expanding , Cheery quickly strike up a friendship with fellow new particular recruit Angua , and begin sneakily asking about something very un - dwarfish : how to appear feminine .
Despite the immediate public contempt , Cheery became the first openly feminine dwarf on the Disc . While the saga ’s nanus society for certain had women in it , traditional dwarfs only had one sex introduction – gnome – and niggling leeway for any digression . Cheery shattered that mould , wear out physical composition and scent and hale the Dwarfish language to protrude using more than one gender pronoun . While it may not inevitably have been Terry Pratchett ’s authorial intent at the time , in retrospect , Cheery isa howling exercise of prescribed transgender representation , doubly so considering her being written by a cisgender generator .
9Lord Havelock Vetinari
First Appearance: The Colour Of Magic (1983)
The Patrician of Ankh - Morpork is a fascinating man , having somehow found a way to keep the notoriously chaotic city running with far more efficiency than any of his forerunner ; open that his immediate herald was known as Mad Lord Snapcase , this may seem like a low saloon to decipherable , yet Vetinari does n’t just clear it , he hurdles it with charm and aplomb . While the thought of a sympathetic potentate seems like a contradiction in terms in term , Vetinari and his Assassins ' Guild - trained patience serve as a singular representative of the conception .
Vetinari excels at the Disc ’s equivalent weight of sudoku , Jikan no Muda(literally translate from Japanese as " thriftlessness of time " ) , but finds the game dim , as he believe numbers are too easy to outwit .
Having write a political treatise calledThe Servant , it ’s clear that Vetinari is in part inspire by tangible - world Italian political mastermind Niccolò Machiavelli , best known for his 1532 workThe Prince , which served as a pragmatic instruction pathfinder for new royal family . Vetinari ’s behavior as Patrician reflects Machiavelli ’s political theories , as he clearly has no queasiness about making distasteful or unethical choices if they leave in a benefit for his city and its people .
8Rincewind
The reluctant friend of the firstDiscworldnovel , Rincewind is the consummate subsister thanks to his deeply ingrain instincts for self - conservation . InThe Art of Discworld , a collection of the paintings by Paul Kidby that have served as covers for many of the script , Terry Pratchett remarked that one of Rincewind ’s large problems is his deficiency of an inner monologue and that his story function is plainly to converge people more interesting than him , as Pratchett feel there was n’t much he could do witha grapheme who is n’t just a loveable coward , butclaims that label with pride .
Discworld open with The Color of Magic , and it ’s one of the most perplexing starts to a fantasy series I ’ve show — but it ’s worth power through .
Despite , or perhaps because of , his innumerable flaw , Rincewind is a riveting character , often serving as an consultation alternate thanks to his ability to perceive the unlearned betise of the world around him . Ironically for a failed wizard , he often express a promise that something better than magic exists – something that could help make people ’s lives considerably without any peril of being move around into an Pongo pygmaeus or the like . It ’s impossible not to root for Rincewind to survivewhatever dangers he gets drag into across the Disc , and he truly is an excellent and unparalleled protagonist .
7Granny Weatherwax
First Appearance: Equal Rites (1987)
While all three of Pratchett ’s witches in the Lancre coven are phenomenal characters and are at their expert as a trio , it ’s the resolutely stern Granny Weatherwax who stand out among them as their rock candy and their moral compass – andthe serious actual Wiccan . With her steadfast feeling in her own ability as a beldam , and her trail finding to do the right thing regardless of any weakened feel along the way , she is one of the most potent mass on the Disc – not only because of her witchery but also becausenothing short of a literal brick wall can slow her down for long .
These ten bit combine the profound and the cockeyed in the style only Sir Terry could , give us a unambiguously crabwise coup d’oeil at human nature .
Granny ’s importance also comes from her relationship , not only with the other two beldame of her coven but with the young women she meets throughout theDiscworldnovels . In her first appearance inEqual Rites , Granny becomes a mentor to a girl constitute Esk , the Disc ’s first distaff wizard ; later on , Granny take on the draw a bead on hag Tiffany Aching under her wing , eventually naming the girl her prescribed successor . Granny ’s wisdom , compassion , and sheer bally - mindednesscome together to make her one of the most interesting and important women in the whole novel series .
6Tiffany Aching
First Appearance: The Wee Free Men (2003)
Tiffany first appears inDiscworldas a precocious nine - year - former girl exploring her ability as a nascent Wiccan ; by the end of the series , she has reached her late teens and come into her own as a witch , even ingest a young world under her flank as an prentice . While possibly never as knock-down magically as Granny Weatherwax , Tiffany helped change the nature of illusion on the Disc , working to break down many of the unneeded distinction there between witches and maven .
Pratchett was made an honorary Brownie because of Tiffany ’s first two books .
Terry Pratchett often said that Tiffany was one of his favorite fictional character , and that of all his book , the ones with her are the I he most need to be remembered for ( viaBoingBoing ) . There ’s no question that this has become the pillowcase since his dying in 2015 ; considering that ( according toThe Art of Discworld ) Pratchett was made an honorary Brownie because of Tiffany ’s first two book , it ’s well-defined thatTiffany ’s wonderful example has inspired generation of young women to go forth and be their skillful witchy self .
Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
5Carrot Ironfoundersson
First Appearance: Guards! Guards! (1989)
sweep up dwarf Carrot Ironfoundersson is one of the most virtuously upstanding Watchmen that Ankh - Morpork has ever seen , much to the consternation of the Thieves ' Guild , Assassins ' Guild , Sam Vimes , Lord Vetinari , and anyone who ever had to deal with his overly enthusiastic and item - obsess attack to practice of law enforcement . In fact , in one of his first murder investigations , he went so far as to question Death . Yet while many thought him to bejust another lantern - bawl out himboat first , Carrot quickly proved himself to befiercely well-informed , observant , and most significantly , supernaturally likable .
Romantasy readers will love this particular Terry Pratchett book , even if it does make sport of many of the buff - favorite figure in the genre .
It ’s more than hard imply throughoutDiscworldthat Carrot is the miss heir to the long - absent throne of Ankh - Morpork ; that supernatural likability may well be a manifestation of his divine right to rule . Yet Carrot ’s obedience for the letter and spirit of the law mean that he always finds a way to avoid destiny ’s unsubtle attempts to shove him towards the spotlight , prefer to continue with his duties as a security guard . His charisma and empathy make himone of the moral foundations of not just the Watch , but all of Ankh - Morpork .
4Susan Sto Helit
First Appearance: Soul Music (1994)
Being ateenage girl at a bourgeois embarkment schoolis likely unmanageable at the best of meter ; being one who find out her parents have just tragically died , and that she also just so go on to be the granddaughter of the Grim Reaper is a unique case , and yet Susan Sto Helit managed this with proportional ease inSoul Music . In fact , Susan step in doubly to take up her grandfather ’s scythe – first inSoul Music , then again inHogfather – examine that some thing are n’t inherit genetically , but instead populate in the bones .
Although never the most fond or expressive someone , she care profoundly for those nearest her , whether it ’s her grandfather or the tiddler in her charge .
Susan ’s pragmatic nature , which first run her to stubbornly ignore anything even remotely supernatural , leads to her eventually find work in Ankh - Morpork as first a governess and then a schoolteacher , where she attest that she has a wonderful , if unusual , way with youngster . Although never the most affectionate or expressive person , she cares deeply for those nearest her , whether it ’s her grandfather or the child in her bang . Her strong sensation of reason andher unique perspective as someone straddling the mortal and supernatural realmsmake her one of the Disc ’s most interesting the great unwashed .
3Death
InThe Art of Discworld , Terry Pratchett said he received many letters over the years from terminally sick fans who hop that , when their time came , Death would resemble hisDiscworldincarnation ; he also said that those letter of the alphabet normally make him to spend some time staring at the near wall . Yet those fans have a point , because of all the various portrayals of Grim Reapers and other psychopomps in medium , the Disc ’s Death is one of the most universally adored .
Portrayals of Discworld ’s Death
Title
Production Type
twelvemonth
Actor
Guards ! Guards !
wireless play
1992
Stephen Thorne
Wyrd Sisters
1995
Soul Music
Animated series
1997
Christopher Lee
Welcome to the Discworld
Animated motion-picture show
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
2003
John Rowe
Mort
2004
Geoffrey Whitehead
Hogfather
Live - action film
2006
Ian Richardson
Small Supreme Being
Michael Kilgarriff
The Colour of Magic
2008
Eric
2013
The Watch
Live - military action miniseries
2021
Wendell Pierce
CGI film
2022
Peter Serafinowicz
Throughout the entireDiscworldseries , Death has establish repeatedly that part of why he is so good at his job isbecause of how much he has come to like about humanness . Indeed , the whole Crux Australis of the novelReaper Manis Death gain that compassion , even for him , is not a signaling of helplessness , but a sign of how well - suited he has become to his obligation . Despite his nominally emotionless exterior , this gaunt spectre clearly has a soft spot for people – and , of trend , his beloved cats .
2Moist Von Lipwig
First Appearance: Going Postal (2004)
ManyDiscworldcharacters exist to dispute the position quo , and the regrettably namedMoist von Lipwig is one of the most narratively challenging men on the Disc . He ’s the nominal head and drive force behind the Disc ’s nascent Industrial Revolution . First introduced inGoing Postalas the Disc’sbest con artistis en route to the gallows for his execution , he ’s plucked away from that fate because Lord Vetinari desire him to revitalise Ankh - Morpork ’s defunct Post Office . InMaking Moneyhe winds up doing the same for the city ’s finances ; inRaising Steam , he help develop the Disc ’s first railroad .
Moist is drive not by cowardice , but by a need to succeed despite a humanity that seems dictated towards the contrary .
While many of Pratchett ’s honest fiber , like Granny Weatherwax and Sam Vimes , are people with irreproachable moral fibre , Moist is the exact reverse , withall the ethical rigidness of a particularly floppy willow tree tree diagram . Yet unlike his fellow equivocator Rincewind , Moist is driven not by cowardice , but by a motivation to succeed despite a world that seems determined towards the contrary . Through Moist ’s replicate demonstrations of genius , quick thinking , and smooth-spoken tongue , he not only drives the world ’s innovations but also serves as a magnificent vehicle for the caustic remark of bureaucratism and public innovation .
1Sam Vimes
If the police in the real humankind were anything like Sam Vimes , the domain would be a far good place . Despite his struggles with apathy , alcoholism , internalized bias , and bloody - minded stubbornness , he grow from a puerility spent in the sewer to become one of the most powerful noble of Ankh - Morpork thanks to his own incorruptible ideals . The ultimate anti - authoritarian in a position of authority , Vimes is often at war with himself over his own dark impulses , a side of himself that he calls the Beast .
It was Vimes ' own sense of justice that keep him safe , responding to that immortal R.C. question of " who find out the watchmen ? " with a resounding " I do . "
When The Summoning Dark attempted to possess him inThud ! , it was Vimes ' sentience of justice that kept him good , react to that immortal Roman motion of " who watch the security guard ? " with a resounding " I do . " Without Sam Vimes and his insistence that the law must apply to everyone equally , and that laws that fail to protect people are n’t deserving the paper they ’re written on , Ankh - Morpork would ’ve crumbled from within long ago ( or destroyed by the dragon inGuards ! Guards ! ) ; it ’s no curiosity he ’s a central character in many ofthe bestDiscworldnovelsand a buff favoriteDiscworldcharacter .
origin : BoingBoing
