Use of the Prologue
Having mentioned about Terry Pratchett's frequent use of the prologue in Reaper Man, I felt obliged to check my facts and have assembled the following tables (see below) I'm sorry they're wide. I can't find out how to make them narrower. However I am rather chuffed I finally got them in here at all. Maybe not everyone will agree with my choices of what is which, but I think this gives a reasonable impression of the frequency of his use of what that can be loosely defined as either a prologue (narrator's introduction or explanation) and/or a prelude (event), and multiple vignettes to set the scene. Considerations - difficulty defining what constitutes a prelude and what is the start proper, if such a thing exists. However it's clear from the tables that Terry Pratchett favours complex beginnings to his books. He uses patchworks of vignettes, sometimes clearly linked, like the beds sequence in Unseen Academicals, or the invisible, screaming Rincewind run