You know what? Enough time has passed, I'm gonna say it.
'Unseen Academicals' was the last Discworld book published that I actually liked and personally consider canon. 'I Shall Wear Midnight' felt like a betrayal after having been following the Wee Free Men since their first appearance in 2003. 'Snuff' squicked me out in way too many ways, and also felt like it was retconning character backstories to make its point in certain cases. 'Raising Steam' felt so heavy-handed with its messaging that I didn't even finish it, as it lacked the finesse I associate with Discworld. I didn't even bother with 'The Shepard's Crown' after being disappointed three times in a row.
If you liked these books, fine, cool, good for you, you win, but I didn't. Sir Terry was an absolute genius, and I still think the majority of his works are fantastic. However, the Discoworld series began very roughly (as he was figuring out how it all worked and was getting his feet under him) and I feel it ended roughly as well (a thing I put down to the various things he was struggling with at the time, especially his mental health).
For me, however, 'Unseen Academicals' felt like, and still feels like, the perfect place to leave all the characters and the Disc itself, and I'm not going to change my mind on this one.
(I'm also not putting this in the actual Discworld tag, because this is literally just me venting, and no one needs to trip over a vent post while looking for things to enjoy in a tag they like.)
