The Discworld

Pratchett began writing the Discworld series in 1983 to “have fun with some of the cliches” and it is a humorous and often satirical sequence of stories set in the colourful fantasy Discworld universe. The series contains various story arcs (or sub-series), and a number of free-standing stories. All are set in an abundance of locations in the same detailed and unified world, such as the Unseen University and ‘The Drum/Broken Drum/Mended Drum’ public house in the twin city Ankh-Morpork, or places in the various continents, regions and countries on the Disc. Characters and locations reappear throughout the series, variously taking major and minor roles.

The Discworld is a large disc resting on the backs of four giant elephants, all supported by the giant turtle Great A’Tuin as it swims its way through space. The books are essentially in chronological order, and advancements can be seen in the development of the Discworld civilisations, such as the creation of paper money in Ankh-Morpork.

Many of the novels in Pratchett’s Discworld series parody real-world subjects such as film making, newspaper publishing, rock and roll music, religion, philosophy, Ancient Greece, Egyptian history, the Gulf War, Australia, university politics, trade unions, and the financial world. Pratchett also included further parody as a feature within the stories, including such subjects as Ingmar Bergman films, numerous fiction, science fiction, and fantasy characters, and various bureaucratic and ruling systems.

Footnotes
Bravd the Hublander*

The shape and cosmology of the disc system are perhaps worthy of note at this point.
There are, of course, two major directions on the disc; Hubward and Rimward. But since the disc itself revolves at the rate of once every eight hundred days (in order to distribute the weight fairly upon its supportive pachyderms, according to Reforgule of Krull) there are also two lesser directions, which are Turnwise and Widdershins.The Colour of Magic, p. 20
which has not only the turtle but also the four giant elephants on which the wide, slowly turning wheel of the world revolves.*

People wonder how this works, since a terrestrial elephant would be unlikely to bear a revolving load for any length of time without some serious frictions burns. But you may as well ask why the axle of a planet doesn't squeak, or where love goes, or what sound yellow makes.Interesting Times, p. 14
They say that the elephants, being such huge beasts, have bones of rock and iron, and nerves of gold for better conductivity over long distances.*

Not rock and iron in their dead form, as they are now, but living rock and iron. The dwarfs have quite an inventive mythology about minerals.The Fifth Elephant, p. 11