Almost everything by Terry Pratchett. Just beware the last few books, where he was clearly suffering from Alzheimers. "Good Omens" (with Neil Gaiman) is a fantastic starting point. In the laster books, Pratchett was using his fantasy setting to dissect current social problems, usually very effectively; the 'boot theory' comes directly from Pratchett.
Everything by Douglas Adams.
Charles Stross' "The Laundry Files" series; how bureaucrats deal with Lovecraftian horrors.
Glen Cook's "Garrett P.I." series. Not really comedy, but has a strong element of the ridiculous, and plays off of the tropes established by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler in a high fantasy setting.
Fifthing (can't second) Douglas Adams.
Especially love the Dirk Gently books. Seconding Bill Bryson.
In no particular order: Donald E Westlake, Dortmunder series Dave Barry, Big Trouble
*Janet Evanovich, One for the Money and etc. Donna Andrews, Murder with Peacocks and etc.
Early Carl Hiassen
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Like the whole thing. Can’t pick a favourite.
I would disagree with that. The last 3-4 books were... Not good. He was already showing signs of Alzheimers by then, and it was reflected in his writing. He died shortly after the final book, and, while it had flashes of his brilliance, it was clear that he was having a very hard time writing anything coherent by that time. Up to that point, he was fantastic. "Small Gods" is one of my favorite books about religion and belief, and he disguised it as comedic fantasy.
I don’t know whether Finnegans Wake is funny (and I don’t know whether I’ll be able to know that after finishing it), but I certainly extract quite a bit of fun from reading it.
Have you read anything by Terry Pratchett? I just finished The Colour of Magic, the first book in the Discworld series. It reminded me quite a bit of Hitchhikers in its tone and style of comedy.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Imagine a world in which EVERY SINGLE conspiracy theory was true and where “The history of the world is the history of the warfare between secret societies”.
Add comment