# Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/small-gods/

4 people recommended Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

2 of the 4 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “The Title Cards in Blade Runner Are Fucking Amazing”.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a standalone fantasy novel that needs no other books and avoids typical elves and dwarves. Critics raised no caveats.

Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Standalone, no other books needed (2 comments in the sample): "It is a standalone book that references but does not rely on any others" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47780545)) "Small Gods is frequently recommended as a standalone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49192769))
- Avoids typical elves and dwarves (1 comment in the sample): "excellent choice, and not a whiff of Elves or Dwarves there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49199944))
- Good random book recommendation (1 comment in the sample): "If you needed a random book recommendation, this is it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45879283))

## Other fantasy novels people recommend

- [The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lord-of-the-rings/): 52 recommend, 13 mixed, 10 criticize
- [Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dungeon-crawler-carl/): 43 recommend, 4 mixed, 6 criticize
- [The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hobbit/): 34 recommend, 6 mixed, 9 criticize
- [Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/): 15 recommend, 4 mixed, 17 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Small Gods by Terry Pratchett", https://hackerapproved.com/p/small-gods/ (4 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.