Books like “Going Postal”

What to read after “Going Postal” by Terry Pratchett: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
The Princess Bride
William Goldman · 1973
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
Buttercup and farm boy Westley are parted when he sails away to make his fortune and is reported killed by pirates, and she is promised to a prince she does not love. A swordsman, a giant and a scheming noble chase the pair across a kingdom of pirates and wonders, in a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale of true love.
2
The Amulet of Samarkand
Jonathan Stroud · 2003
Same genre: “Fantasy”
- Trickster
Nathaniel is a young apprentice magician who summons the djinni Bartimaeus to steal a powerful amulet from a politician. The djinni is clever, sarcastic and far from willing, and the theft sets off a fight that neither of them expected to survive.
3
The Colour of Magic
Terry Pratchett · 1983
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
Rincewind, a wizard who failed out of magic school, is saddled with guiding Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist, on a chaotic tour. Their journey drags a naive optimist, a walking luggage chest and a very unwilling hero through one disaster after another.
4
The Poisoned Chocolates Case
Anthony Berkeley · 1929
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
A box of poisoned chocolates kills a man at his club, and the police can find no culprit. Six members of the Crimes Circle, an armchair detective society, each offer a different solution to the same murder, until amateur sleuth Roger Sheringham tests their theories against the facts.
5
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Scott Lynch · 2006
Same genre: “Fantasy”
- Trickster
In a city of canals and thieves, Locke Lamora leads a small band of con artists who rob the nobility. A hidden power turns the tables, and the crew find themselves caught in a scheme far larger than any of their own.
6
Bridge of Birds
Barry Hughart · 1984
Same genre: “Comic fantasy” and “Fantasy”
- Trickster
In an ancient China that never was, a plague falls on the children of a village. Number Ten Ox seeks the sage Master Li, a scholar with 'a slight flaw in his character', and the two set off through ghosts, gods and bandits to find the one cure that can save the children.
7
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain · 1884
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
A boy fleeing his abusive father and a man escaping slavery travel together down the Mississippi on a raft. Their friendship grows as they meet swindlers and feuds along the way, and Huck must decide what he believes. A comic, humane adventure about freedom and conscience.
8
The Spirit Thief
Rachel Aaron · 2010
Same genre: “Fantasy”
- Trickster
Eli Monpress is a wizard and a thief who would rather have a larger bounty than a heavier purse. To raise it he kidnaps a king, which brings the Spirit Court's envoy Miranda Lyonette after him. Eli's easy charm hides a plan that puts more than his own bounty at stake.
9
Catch-22
Joseph Heller · 1961
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
Bombardier Yossarian wants to survive the war and go home, but every attempt to be grounded runs into a rule that answers itself: to be excused he must ask, and asking proves he is sane. Around him, officers profit and comrades die.
10
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll · 1865
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
Alice follows a hurried white rabbit down a hole and lands in a world where cakes and drinks change her size and nothing follows ordinary rules. She meets the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and a short-tempered Queen.
11
Convenience Store Woman
Sayaka Murata · 2016
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
Keiko has worked at the same Tokyo convenience store for eighteen years and is content there, until the people around her begin pressuring her to want a normal life. Deadpan and sharp, the novel follows her attempt to perform the life others expect, by staging a relationship she does not want.
12
Dead Souls
Nikolai Gogol · 1842
Similar atmosphere: “Satire”
- Satire
- Trickster
Chichikov arrives in a provincial Russian town and charms its officials and landowners. He has come to buy serfs who have died but are still listed on the tax rolls, and his odd scheme draws him into the vanity and corruption of the society around him.