--"Still, if I want to give him a go, where in his enormous bibliography should I start? "
Several people have recommended "Guards!, Guards!", which is a good choice, especially if you like crime/detective novels. With your mention of liberal arts education, I would suggest either that or "Wyrd Sisters", which has plenty of Hamlet mixed in. Either is a good place to start. As Jon and Zkribbler have mentioned, the first two or three are skippable. They do some world establishment, but it's not hard to pick up on, and the first few are more straight-up fantasy parodies than anything. The two I mentioned above are really where he hits his stride and establishes his own voice.
--"If you are looking for off-beat humor, then Christopher Moore is infinitely better than Pratchett."
Haven't read of his stuff, so I can't compare yet. Have to keep an eye out next time I go to Half-Price Books.
I coincidentally ran across this link today, and thought people in this thread would find it amusing. It's a number of Two Cow jokes based on sci-fi and fantasy authors.
It also reminded me of another author you might be interested in. H. P. Lovecraft. ^_^
Wraith
H.P. Lovecraft - In the Stygian blackness that surrounds men and all of creation you acquire two cows. They whisper unknowable things to you at night. You mind bleeds with images drawn from the darkest wells of the universe even as you sense a mere fragment of the elder gods shadow your every thought. Slowly, you suspect you have become mad as you rave these truths to your fellow human beings even as your plead to your cows to stop their whispering to you.
Several people have recommended "Guards!, Guards!", which is a good choice, especially if you like crime/detective novels. With your mention of liberal arts education, I would suggest either that or "Wyrd Sisters", which has plenty of Hamlet mixed in. Either is a good place to start. As Jon and Zkribbler have mentioned, the first two or three are skippable. They do some world establishment, but it's not hard to pick up on, and the first few are more straight-up fantasy parodies than anything. The two I mentioned above are really where he hits his stride and establishes his own voice.
--"If you are looking for off-beat humor, then Christopher Moore is infinitely better than Pratchett."
Haven't read of his stuff, so I can't compare yet. Have to keep an eye out next time I go to Half-Price Books.
I coincidentally ran across this link today, and thought people in this thread would find it amusing. It's a number of Two Cow jokes based on sci-fi and fantasy authors.
It also reminded me of another author you might be interested in. H. P. Lovecraft. ^_^
Wraith
H.P. Lovecraft - In the Stygian blackness that surrounds men and all of creation you acquire two cows. They whisper unknowable things to you at night. You mind bleeds with images drawn from the darkest wells of the universe even as you sense a mere fragment of the elder gods shadow your every thought. Slowly, you suspect you have become mad as you rave these truths to your fellow human beings even as your plead to your cows to stop their whispering to you.
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