Darwin's Watch
Roundworld is in trouble again, and this time it looks fatal. Having created it in the first place, the wizards of Unseen University feel vaguely responsible for its safety. They know the creatures who lived there escaped the impending Big Freeze by inventing the space elevator – they even intervened to rid the planet of a plague of elves, who attempted to divert humanity onto a different time track.
But now it's all gone wrong – Victorian England has stagnated and the pace of progress would embarrass a limping snail. Unless something drastic is done, there won't be time for anyone to invent spaceflight and the human race will be turned into ice-pops. Why, though, did history come adrift? Was it Sir Arthur Nightingale's dismal book about natural selection? Or was it the devastating response by an obscure country vicar called Charles Darwin, whose bestselling "Theology of Species" made it impossible to refute the divine design of living creatures?
Either way, it's no easy task to change history, as the wizards discover to their cost. Can the God of Evolution come to humanity's aid and ensure Darwin writes a very different book? And who stopped him writing it in the first place?
"The hard science is as gripping as the fiction." – The Times
"Entertaining and illuminating." – New Scientist
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Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett’s work was nothing short of magical, blending satire, wit, and a deep love for the absurd with stories that could make you laugh, think, and occasionally question reality. Born in 1948 in Beaconsfield, England, Pratchett's sharp humor and keen observations of human nature started early. After a series of journalistic jobs and a stint in publishing, he found his true calling as a writer of fantasy—albeit with a twist.
Pratchett’s most famous creation, the Discworld series, is a sprawling, multi-layered universe filled with quirky characters, sharp satire, and an unrelenting exploration of the complexities of society. The series—spanning over 40 novels—introduces readers to a world supported by four giant elephants standing on the back of Great A’Tuin, the giant turtle swimming through space. It’s a place where witches, wizards, and talking cats wander through settings that are both fantastical and familiar, a perfect mirror to our own world, full of politics, absurdity, and endless curiosity.
The Science of Discworld
The Science of Discworld consists of four books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series Discworld
