It’s Sir Terry Pratchett’s birthday today and he is much missed by those who like their fantasy with a side order of humour and silliness.
But when you’ve read all the Discworld books and the Long Earth books and all the others where do you turn?
Never fear, we are here to help with a list of authors of varying degrees of similarity of humour or tone who you might like to try.
Douglas Adams – author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series and the Dirk Gently series, both of which are very funny in that slightly offbeat Adams way. The audio versions of Hitchhiker’s Guide are especially good as they were originally written for radio.
Jasper Fforde – Try his Thursday Next series, starting with The Eyre Affair, for 1980s alternative reality Britain with time travel and literary references.
Ben Aaronovitch – not exactly Pratchettesque in style, but dryly humorous and littered with Pratchett (and other pop-culture) references. Start with the first book Rivers of London which introduces rookie police constable Peter Grant to the world of magic that runs just under the surface of present day London.
Jodi Taylor – comic fantasy (with time-travel historical research in contemporary time) that has a slapstick quality and occasional pathos reminiscent of Pratchett. Start of the beginning of The Chronicles of St Marys with Just One Damned Thing After Another – but be warned these are highly addictive.
Tom Holt – He’s written a huge amount of stand alone comic fantasy novels and a few short series. His humour is a bit different to Pratchett’s so maybe try a standalone and see if he’s your cup of tea.
Neil Gaiman – well, pretty much anything he’s written is worth a read. They tend to be darker than Good Omens which he co-wrote with Sir Terry. Try Neverwhere if you’re new to Gaiman. Edited since recent revelations about Gaiman – If you can separate the artist from the body of work by all means read his work, however I would proceed with caution. We will no longer be recommending his books or sending them out in boxes.
Stephen Baxter – he co-wrote the Long Earth series with Pratchett so if you liked that you might want to try one he wrote all by himself – he’s great at world-building and alternative histories.
Christopher Moore – he’s often cited as the nearest to Pratchett’s style but very American as opposed to Pratchett’s very British style. But he’s certainly funny and won Best Fantasy novel at the British Fantasy Society for Bloodsucking Fiends.
C K McDonnell – The Stranger Times is an alternative newspaper in Manchester which reports on all the weird stuff that other newspapers don’t bother with. But dark forces are at work in Manchester so they have to do some real investigative journalism. They’re dark and funny.
If fantasy, funny or otherwise, is your bag, you should subscribe to one of our Fantasy boxes. Individually chosen pre-loved books, lovingly wrapped and delivered to your door every month. Whatever kind of fantasy you love, from urban fantasy to grimdark, whether you like vampire romance or dragons and elves, we can deliver. Check out our fantasy subscriptions here
