I love both of their series; as far as comic writers go I reckon they're up there with the best of them. Pratchett has cited Adams as an influence and, although the settings are opposites of one another, I can see parallels in style and humour. But who takes the crown?
Hmm.. difficult. I actually thought that Good Omens really reminded me of Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently books, loads! Which is a good thing, imho. I love them both, but i don't think they can be compared really, Adams was much more satirical than Pratchett has ever been, and i generally regard him as being slightly more sophisticated a writer too, although possibly that's unfair to Tegs. Tegs seems to be more of a general classic storyteller with great influences, to me.
I think you have posted a timeless question here. The two writers are alike in style and humour, although Adams has a lot more science based jokes in his books. Prachett's humour is more sarcastic and plays with your imagination. I cant decide between the two, i dont think its worth choosing either. They are both timeless writers. Prachett is still around though so he has mor to offer, the only thing for Adams is the timeless humour of his books. I choose just enjoy both of them to the full.
I am going ahead and voting for Douglas Adams. I love his stories and always get sucked into any of his stories in just a few pages. However, I haven't read any Pratchett yet. But I did TRY to read one of his books, read the first chapter and well, just wasn't interested.
Any of Pratchett's books with a lot of DEATH in them work well for me. He's by far and away the best character....
i dunno. maybe i'll give him another try sometime. i like fantasy and all but i think the one i was trying to read was called "Nightwatch" and the first chapter just spend time describing Orc police men and these Trolls and various other fantasy creatures and my poor little brain just got a bit overloaded and I just didn't see myself getting into a story as much as I thought I was being prepared to play a game of D&D. *shrugs*
You'd probably get into it more easily if you started at the beginning with The Colour of Magic. They all pretty much stand alone, but I think the later books are written with certain expectations of the fan base in mind. Mort's the best one I've read, and it kicks off the whole Death story arc which continues into The Hog Father, which was shown on Sky over Christmas....
Well I'll be going to boot sales soon (haven't been to one yet this year). So I'm going to have my list with me of things to look for. That's the best place to find books to read for super cheap. It's easy to spend 20-50p on something you aren't sure you are going to like and not feel bad for wasting money. Lots better than buying it off of Amazon or something. *ugh* I'll have to take a look out for The Colour of Magic then and see what I think. I was also recently recommended Ian Rankin as he is supposed to be on par with Douglas Adams as well. Have you ever read anything of his?
