Terry Pratchett is a funny, funny, man. It is a pity, after reading his first book, to know that he has Alzheimer's and is no longer writing. The Discworld is a marvelous place to go. The first in that series, The Color of Magic was "Enlightened Episodic Entertainment".
The Color of Magic is a little different from the other three Pratchett books I have read (two of which were with Vimes in Ankh-Morpork). Pratchett's first book is very episodic. It is also a little less poignant than the other three which has a central theme he was parodying. In The Color of Magic, he pokes fun at Economics and the concept of insurance early on, but it doesn't quite follow the whole way though. He continues to make fun of tourists, and fantasy on the whole (while continuing to be one of the quintessential installments of the genre), but for the most part, it is just funny.
There are a few parts that are a bit hard, it loses the fluidity of the normal narration, such as a part near the beginning when it's a little unclear why Twoflower follows Rincewind out of the city (I'm not sure it's ever explained), but it's a pretty minor aspect. Considering the book is fundamentally zany. There are also a few paragraphs were Terry gets into the unexplainable parodoxical metaphysics of the Discworld, and it is well-neigh un-followable. But it is really part of the fun. The book doesn't stop being fun and funny. It makes fun of fantasy while being one of the most quintessential installments in the genre.
Terry Pratchett was one of the best comedians in literature. For fantasy what Douglass Adams was for Sci-Fi. Any of his books should make a real treat. The Discworld is always full of hilarity, a wit has a purpose and parodying some of the more insane ideas that keep popping up on our spherical world.
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