Book · 1992
Small Gods
by Terry Pratchett
A god losing his believers gets reincarnated as a one-eyed tortoise, and the one true believer left can barely hear him over everyone praying past him to the priesthood.
What does Reddit think of Small Gods?
r/Fantasy does almost all the talking here, and it argues with itself before it agrees on anything. One reply floats it as a possible Discworld starting point, then immediately hedges: 'Terry is very angry about the evils of organised religion,' maybe not the gentlest on-ramp. Another insists there's no required order at all, the books stand alone. What nobody disputes is the god-of-your-house passage, quoted directly and at length, or Vorbis, who gets named in the same breath as Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, and Euron Greyjoy in a thread ranking fiction's most human villains. One commenter just types the title and author, twice, in separate top comments, which suggests the book barely needs a pitch on this sub.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Whether Small Gods works as a Discworld entry point, argued both ways
- · Household gods and organized religion getting the satire treatment
- · Vorbis discussed as genre fiction's most human kind of villain
- · Quoted at length rather than just cited by title
Common praise
- + One thread quotes the god-of-your-house passage in full rather than just recommending the book around it (↑446).
- + Vorbis gets named alongside Ramsay Bolton and Euron Greyjoy in a most-human-villains discussion, serious company (↑352).
- + A commenter drops the line about psychopaths and 'a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day' as their favorite quote in the series (↑321).
Common criticism
- − One recommender walks back their own pick almost immediately: 'Terry is very angry about the evils of organised religion,' maybe a rough starting point (↑584).
- − The scored sentiment lands just under a clean positive read, not the runaway favorite the quote density might suggest.
- − Some replies just restate the title and author with no case made either way (↑440, ↑364).
Who it's for
Start elsewhere in Discworld if pointed organized-religion satire isn't what you're after yet, one recommender flags exactly that risk about this book. Prefer character studies of villains to plot? Vorbis gets discussed in the same terms as Ramsay Bolton and Euron Greyjoy. Standalone reading is fine here, no thread in this sample insists on publication order. And if you want one quote to decide with, the line about kindly family men and psychopaths is the one people keep pulling out.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Small Gods?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Discworld with some careful selection? Small Gods might be pushing it (Terry is very angry about the evils of organised religion) but Guards! Guards! has some strong classic fantasy riffing, the main characters aren't especially progressive people with the way they think about other people/groups, a…
“Roose Bolton from ASOIAF is definitely scary at points. And if you read the released chapters of Winds of Winter, I'd say Euron Greyjoy is shaping up to be the stuff of nightmares. Vorbis from *Small Gods* is also a good choice. He's one of the few villains in the series who is taken completely se…
“My absolute favorite, from Small Gods. “ that there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.”
“Had nobody mentioned Pratchett's Small Gods yet? Hoo boy! Also, although on a very different vein, Catherine Valente's Orphan's Tales. It takes a while to build but yes the 'gods' exist and indeed their mortal worshippers really don't get it right.
“Terry Pratchett's *Discworld Series*, without a doubt. If you want a taste, try reading *Small Gods*.
“Terry Pratchett. Doesn't matter what book. If Pratchett wrote it, it fits the bill. I recommend Small Gods if you insist on further recommendation. Cheers!
“Hard to go wrong with Pratchett. Hogfather is the funniest for me, but I also laughed a lot at Small Gods (it was the first book I read by Pratchett).
“Small Gods is a good place to start too.
“*Small Gods* There was so much happening in that book. It was like a perfect storm of the ideal Fantasy novel for me.
“Start with your choice of: Guards! Guards! Going Postal Small Gods Look up the descriptions and see what appeals. Discworld is really easy to jump into and out of, I haven't read it in order. My wife doesn't do fantasy and still liked Small Gods.
“Small Gods, but there is a lot of humour.
“Terry Pratchett’s Diskworld Series is what I read when I need to be immersed in something but not brought down. My favorites out of all the wonderful books are: Monstrous Regiment, Small Gods, Wyerd Sisters, Reaper Man, Hogfather...
“I find this a nearly impossible question to answer, but *The Shadow Rising* is a good choice. *The Heroes* is another, which surprised me, as usually long battle sequences make my eyes glaze over. My answer should be *Small Gods* I suppose, but Pratchett is so good and so unique that it feels like…
“Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. Could sub in a few of his here and I wouldn't be mad.
“It's probably not quite what you're looking for but "Small Gods" by Terry Pratchett has a very interesting take on this.
Convinced? Pick up Small Gods
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with Small Gods — counted from the comments, not curated.
Small Gods — frequently asked
Is Small Gods a good first Discworld book?+
Opinions split even within a single reply. One r/Fantasy comment (↑584) floats it as a possible starting point, then hedges that 'Terry is very angry about the evils of organised religion' in it, which may not suit every new reader. Another (↑486) argues there's no required reading order for the series at all.
Who is Vorbis in Small Gods?+
A villain discussed in the same breath as Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, and Euron Greyjoy in an r/Fantasy thread on fiction's most human villains (↑352). The excerpt calls him 'one of the few villains in the series who is taken completely seriously,' rather than played for the usual Discworld comic relief.
What is the most quoted line from Small Gods?+
One r/Fantasy commenter's pick (↑321): the line about how 'there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.' It's offered as a favorite without further comment.
Do you need to read the rest of Discworld before Small Gods?+
No, per the displayed r/Fantasy view (↑486): the books fall in a timeline but stand alone individually, and that thread explicitly argues against reading them in publishing order.