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Terry Pratchett
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R.I.P. Sir Terry Pratchett
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This breaks my heart. He was one of those authors that I grew up with and never stopped re-reading. Just one of the coolest guys out there. RIP
"Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night."
"Goodbye," Mort said, and was surprised to find a lump in his throat. "It's such an unpleasant word isn't it?" QUITE SO. Death grinned because, as has so often been remarked, he didn't have much option. But possibly he meant it, this time.I PREFER AU REVOIR, he said.
A genuinely beautiful soul.
This is sad news indeed. He was one of my favorite authors as a child but I had forgotten about him until a few years ago when I rediscovered the magic of his books. RIP.
"No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away..." – Reaper Man, Terry PratchettHe made this world a better place, and he made us better, wiser, kinder people.
When I finished my book I wanted to send Terry P a copy - not for review or any acknowledgement - just as a gift. Because I'm a publisher's sales rep and the first fantasy book I ever sold was The Colour of Magic. Great start to a career. Promised myself if ever I finished anything I'd give him a copy as thank you. I sent it via Colin Smythe his agent. Colin wrote back to tell me that Terry had gone blind and was in a very bad way. It made me feel gauche, and sad, and angry all at the same time. A curse on our frailties, and on our egos. Terry Pratchett was as fine a man as could be. I will join the millions in missing him though we never actually met.
Jim wrote: "That whole 'good' book thing drives me wild. Get a kid to enjoy reading & they'll keep reading...."
The recent occasion of the release of Pratchett's final novel, The Shepherd's Crown, seems to have provoked some discussion among the Literati (be sure to pronounce that capital ‘L’) who have never actually read a DiscWorld novel (as they proudly tell us in their reviews.)
Get real. Terry Pratchett is not a literary genius (Guardian)
On the Pleasures of Not Reading (Paris Review)
The recent occasion of the release of Pratchett's final novel, The Shepherd's Crown, seems to have provoked some discussion among the Literati (be sure to pronounce that capital ‘L’) who have never actually read a DiscWorld novel (as they proudly tell us in their reviews.)
Get real. Terry Pratchett is not a literary genius (Guardian)
On the Pleasures of Not Reading (Paris Review)
Wow. The second one is better & correctly describes the first as a troll, but both miss the point of reading for pleasure. It's just that - pleasure. Sometimes it's pleasurable to stretch my mind, other times just to curl up & comfortably drift along. There's nothing inherently wrong with either one.
Ok, there are a lot of people on the internet who love to pontificate about stuff they don't know anything about, but few of them admit their ignorance. I have to say that writing a column about Pratchett's books without having read any of them would be pretty ballsy, if it wasn't on the guardian.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08...Pratchett wanted his hard drives and unfinished works flattened by a steamroller. So....
I think it's wonderful that they followed his wishes.
I think it's wonderful that THAT was what he requested they do... There was only one Pratchett.
Rhianna Pratchett, Terry's daughter, also worked in journalism and now in computer games. This is why some people thought she would take on his unfinished works.
I would have preferred the release of the unfinished work with proceeds going to research for a cure for Alzheimers.
I am sure many fans would agree with you.
Not me. I love that this was his final wish and detest posthumous publishing, so I'm doubly happy.
There are some cases where I'm ok with a ghost writer finishing something up, particularly if it was a series that needed a conclusion. I think that's the case for Wheel of Time? Even if it wasn't of the same quality or style I'd just want to know how the story *ends*.I am also ok with Christopher Tolkien cleaning up his father's works and putting them out...but maybe that's because I'd read anything about Middle Earth. And that I feel Tolkien's son put a lot of care into the stories to meet his father's standards. I heard that wasn't go so well with Herbert's son's continuation of Dune though, or with McCaffrey's son's continuation of Pern. If it goes downhill best leave it be.
Other times I just find it weird, like Michael Crichton's standalone works...because even if you had his outline or unfinished work, it still wouldn't necessarily have been his ultimate vision, he could have changed it as he went along, and it doesn't give anything to the readers like completing a series would.
Maybe Pratchett didn't want someone messing up his work, not getting the style of humour or overall writing style right, putting out something terrible that then got attached to his name. Wouldn't blame him.
The sad thing is that such publication might have merely shown exactly how deep the Alzheimer's had gotten in the last stages.
I would think that is more the case, Mary, especially as we are told Terry's wife did a lot of work with him helping him prep his final few books for publication.
I.....tend to side with Brendan here. Works published should be with the author's fully aware of it being published in the state he or she completely has control.I have a love and hate relationship with the posthumous Tolkien's works - it is I think meant only for super die hard fans and academics. There are too many versions of one character/plot/history, too many inconsistencies, different names, so confusing and jumbled (commentaries don't help, thank you) it is just not a satisfying reading for me. I want a finished story.
I agree, Silvana. It's the author's baby. I do think they have some responsibility to loyal readers & Jordan did well in that regard.I was a real fan of the Hobbit & LOTR. I read the Tolkien Reader, too. After that, I wasn't interested. Dune is a standalone novel IMO, too. Even Frank didn't follow it up well.
Jim wrote: "I was a real fan of the Hobbit & LOTR."Yeah. I didn't like the Silmarillion. So boring, like reading an appendix. None of the emotion of a proper novel.
"Dune is a standalone novel IMO, too. Even Frank didn't follow it up well. "
Those are fighting words! (I liked the fourth Dune book best)
Brendan wrote: "Yeah. I didn't like the Silmarillion. So boring, like reading an appendix. None of the emotion of a proper novel."It...well, it isn't a novel, it is kind of an appendix. In fact one could view it as a collection of historical documents, some of which are incomplete or contradictory. I felt like as if I sat down with the elves and they told me their tales and cultural history. For example a storyteller could recite one of those entries over an evening fire. LotR (i.e. any novel) has the feel that the events are happening as you read it, and as such it's not really a historical record but a "magic" where a reader can experience the events of something. Instead of a storyteller narrating something that happened in the past.
That said, it's not for everyone, mainly only die-hard fans that want to know everything, even if it's a bit boring the read.
Basically the difference between a historical text book and historical fiction :)
The Silmarilion and Children of Hurin are okay but Unfinished Tales, The Book of Lost Tales, HoME....
Terry Pratchett: His World opens at Salisbury Museum on Saturday 16 September and runs until January 2018.http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wi...
This looks amazing. I'm so disappointed I won't get a chance to see it unless it goes on a roadshow down under.
Terry Pratchett was the author of a multitude of books, including the humorous DiscWorld fantasy series, and was winner of numerous awards, not to mention a knighthood.