Terry Pratchett’sDiscworldremains one of the most beloved and well-written fantasy series. In the decade since Sir Terry’s passing, no author has been able to step up into the role of darling fantasy satirist – and no one should. Theconvoluted reading order of theDiscworldnovelsbelies the straightforward way that the books speak both to readers' hearts and minds. One key reason whyDiscworldis so universally adored among fantasy fans is that the characters Terry Pratchett created all explode off the pages larger than life.
SinceDiscworldis an innately satirical series, its characters all embody the best and the worst of people, with massive flaws and indomitable virtues that combine in such a way that they serve as mirrors of our own inner conflict. While this has also contributed to why manyDiscworldadaptations struggle to find the right tone, it also means that the books themselves remain some of the greatest 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 represents socially on the Disc. Initially portrayed as just another dwarf joining the Watch after the events ofMen at Armsled to the Night and Day Watches unifying and expanding, Cheery quickly struck up a friendship with fellow new special recruit Angua, and began surreptitiously asking about something very un-dwarfish:how to appear feminine.
Despite the immediate public scorn, Cheery became the first openly feminine dwarf on the Disc. While the saga’s dwarf society certainly had women in it, traditional dwarfs only had one gender presentation – dwarf – and little tolerance for any deviation. Cheery shattered that mold,wearing makeup and perfume and forcing the Dwarfish language to start using more than one gender pronoun. While it may not necessarily have been Terry Pratchett’s authorial intent at the time, in retrospect, Cheery isa wonderful example of positive transgender representation, doubly so considering her being written by a cisgender author.
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 predecessors; given that his immediate predecessor was known as Mad Lord Snapcase, this may seem like a low bar to clear, yet Vetinari doesn’t just clear it,he hurdles it with charm and aplomb. While the idea of a benevolent dictator seems like a contradiction in terms, Vetinari and his Assassins' Guild-trained patience serve as a unique example of the concept.
Vetinari excels at the Disc’s equivalent of sudoku,Jikan no Muda(literally translated from Japanese as “waste of time”), but finds the game dull, as he believes numbers are too easy to outwit.
Having written a political treatise calledThe Servant, it’s clear that Vetinari is in part inspired by real-world Italian political mastermind Niccolò Machiavelli, best known for his 1532 workThe Prince, which served as a pragmatic instruction guide for new royalty.Vetinari’s behavior as Patrician reflects Machiavelli’s political theories, as he clearly has no qualms about making distasteful or unethical choices if they result in a benefit for his city and its people.
8Rincewind
The reluctant protagonist of the firstDiscworldnovel, Rincewind is the consummate survivor thanks to his deeply ingrained instincts for self-preservation. InThe Art of Discworld, a collection of the paintings by Paul Kidby that have served as covers for many of the books, Terry Pratchett remarked that one of Rincewind’s biggest problems is his lack of an inner monologue and that his narrative function is simply to meet people more interesting than him, as Pratchett felt there wasn’t much he could do witha character who isn’t just a lovable coward, butclaims that label with pride.
Discworld’s Opening Is 1 Of The Most Baffling Things I’ve Ever Read (But It’s Worth It)
Discworld opens with The Color of Magic, and it’s one of the most perplexing starts to a fantasy series I’ve read — but it’s worth powering through.
Despite, or perhaps because of, his innumerable flaws, Rincewind is a fascinating character, often serving as an audience surrogate thanks to his ability to perceive the innate stupidity of the world around him. Ironically for a failed wizard, he often expresses a hope that something better than magic exists – something that could help make people’s lives better without any risk of being turned into an orangutan or the like.It’s impossible not to root for Rincewind to survivewhatever dangers he gets dragged into across the Disc, and he truly is an excellent and unique 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 best as a trio, it’s the resolutely stern Granny Weatherwax who stands out among them as their rock and their moral compass – andthe best actual witch. With her steadfast belief in her own abilities as a witch, and her dogged determination to do the right thing regardless of any hurt feelings along the way, she is one of the most powerful people on the Disc – not only because of her witchcraft but also becausenothing short of a literal brick wall can slow her down for long.
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These ten moments combine the profound and the absurd in the way only Sir Terry could, giving us a uniquely sideways glance at human nature.
Granny’s importance also comes from her relationships, not only with the other two witches 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 named Esk, the Disc’s first female wizard; later on, Granny takes the aspiring witch Tiffany Aching under her wing, eventually naming the girl her official successor.Granny’s wisdom, compassion, and sheer bloody-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-old girl exploring her abilities as a nascent witch; by the end of the series, she has reached her late teens and come into her own as a witch, even taking a young man under her wing as an apprentice. While maybe never as powerful magically as Granny Weatherwax, Tiffany helped change the nature of magic on the Disc,working to break down many of the unnecessary distinctions there between witches and wizards.
Pratchett was made an honorary Brownie because of Tiffany’s first two books.
Terry Pratchett often said that Tiffany was one of his favorite characters, and that of all his books, the ones with her are the ones he most wanted to be remembered for (viaBoingBoing). There’s no question that this has become the case since his death in 2015; considering that (according toThe Art of Discworld) Pratchett was made an honorary Brownie because of Tiffany’s first two books, it’s clear thatTiffany’s wonderful example has inspired generations of young women to go forth and be their best witchy selves.
5Carrot Ironfoundersson
First Appearance: Guards! Guards! (1989)
Adopted dwarf Carrot Ironfoundersson is one of the most morally 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 detail-obsessed approach to law enforcement. In fact, in one of his first murder investigations, he went so far as to interview Death. Yet while many thought him to bejust another lantern-jawed himboat first, Carrot quickly proved himself to befiercely intelligent, observant, and most importantly, supernaturally likable.
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Romantasy readers will love this particular Terry Pratchett book, even if it does make fun of many of the fan-favorite tropes in the genre.
It’s more than heavily implied throughoutDiscworldthat Carrot is the missing 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 respect for the letter and spirit of the law means that he always finds a way to avoid destiny’s unsubtle attempts to shove him towards the spotlight, preferring to continue with his duties as a Watchman. 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 boarding schoolis likely difficult at the best of times; being one who finds out her parents have just tragically died, and that she also just so happens to be the granddaughter of the Grim Reaper is a unique case, and yet Susan Sto Helit managed this with relative ease inSoul Music. In fact,Susan stepped in twice to take up her grandfather’s scythe– first inSoul Music, then again inHogfather– proving that some things aren’t inherited genetically, but instead live in the bones.
Although never the most affectionate or expressive person, she cares deeply for those nearest her, whether it’s her grandfather or the children in her charge.
Susan’s practical nature, which first inclined her to stubbornly ignore anything even remotely supernatural, leads to her eventually finding work in Ankh-Morpork as first a governess and then a schoolteacher, where she demonstrates that she has a wonderful, if strange, way with children. Although never the most affectionate or expressive person, she cares deeply for those nearest her, whether it’s her grandfather or the children in her charge. Her strong sense of reason andher unique perspective as someone straddling the mortal and supernatural realmsmake her one of the Disc’s most interesting people.
3Death
InThe Art of Discworld, Terry Pratchett said he received many letters over the years from terminally ill fans who hoped that, when their time came, Death would resemble hisDiscworldincarnation; he also said that those letters usually caused him to spend some time staring at the nearest wall. Yet those fans have a point, because of all the various portrayals of Grim Reapers and other psychopomps in media,the Disc’s Death is one of the most universally adored.
Radio play
1992
1995
Animated series
1997
Welcome to the Discworld
Animated film
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
2003
2004
Live-action film
2006
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Live-action miniseries
2021
CGI film
2022
Peter Serafinowicz
Throughout the entireDiscworldseries, Death has demonstrated repeatedly that part of why he is so good at his job isbecause of how much he has come to care about humanity. Indeed, the whole crux of the novelReaper Manis Death realizing that compassion, even for him, is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of how well-suited he has become to his duty. Despite his nominally emotionless exterior, this skeletal specter clearly has a soft spot for people – and, of course, his beloved cats.
2Moist Von Lipwig
First Appearance: Going Postal (2004)
ManyDiscworldcharacters exist to challenge the status quo, and the unfortunately namedMoist von Lipwig is one of the most narratively challenging men on the Disc. He’s the figurehead and driving 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 wants him to revitalize Ankh-Morpork’s defunct Post Office. InMaking Moneyhe winds up doing the same for the city’s finances; inRaising Steam,he helps develop the Disc’s first railway.
Moist is driven not by cowardice, but by a need to succeed despite a world that seems determined towards the contrary.
While many of Pratchett’s best characters, like Granny Weatherwax and Sam Vimes, are people with unimpeachable moral fiber, Moist is the exact opposite, withall the ethical rigidity of a particularly floppy willow tree. Yet unlike his fellow equivocator Rincewind, Moist is driven not by cowardice, but by a need to succeed despite a world that seems determined towards the contrary. Through Moist’s repeated demonstrations of genius, quick thinking, and silver tongue, he not only drives the world’s innovations but also serves as a brilliant vehicle for the satire of bureaucracy and public institutions.
1Sam Vimes
If the police in the real world were anything like Sam Vimes, the world would be a far better place. Despite his struggles with apathy, alcoholism, internalized prejudice, and bloody-minded stubbornness, he rises from a childhood spent in the gutter to become one of the most powerful noblemen 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 darker impulses, a side of himself that he calls the Beast.
It was Vimes' own sense of justice that kept him safe, responding to that immortal Roman question of “who watches the watchmen?” with a resounding “I do.”
When The Summoning Dark attempted to possess him inThud!, it was Vimes' sense of justice that kept him safe, responding to that immortal Roman question of “who watches the watchmen?” 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 aren’t worth 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 wonder he’s a central character in many ofthe bestDiscworldnovelsand a fan favoriteDiscworldcharacter.
