Terry Pratchett

[bnm]

At age 14 (I will reach treble that age very soon...) I read Terry's second 'Discword' novel, 'The Light Fantastic' after borrowing it from a school friend. I quickly read the first 'Discworld' novel and then ensured that the third was on my birthday wish list in 1987.

Since that time I've either bought, or had bought for me, every book by Terry Pratchett. Most have been read at least three times. Some many more. I can pick up one of his books anytime and disappear to the Discworld. Or, more usually these days, cue up a Pratchett audio book.

'Fantasy' is a much maligned literary style, but when you had an author writing in that genre and selling 3 million books a year, he must have been doing something right. And his writing, in my humble opinion, knocked spots of Tolkien (too damn serious), Pullman (too damn boring), and Rowling (too damn... um, well... just too damn crap).

Away from the writing of fiction I also admired the man for his humanist views, his charitable contributions to research into Alzheimer's disease, and his very public (pro-) stance on assisted suicide.

His 'Richard Dimbleby' lecture (following his own diagnosis with early onset Alzheimer's) is well worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90b1MBwnEHM

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett. Thank-you most deeply for the entertainment your books gave me over the last 28 years. You were, and are, an ever present part of my life. :cry::cry::cry:

 

[Emyr]

I would classify the Discworld novels primarily as satire rather than fantasy.

RIP.

 

[cb a1]

Mort was my first one some time in the late 80's.

As emyr said, a brilliant satirist particularly as the series went on.

The world is a little dimmer today. Thank you Terry for the joy you brought to my life. RIP

 

[Merseysider]

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett. Thank-you most deeply for the entertainment your books gave me over the last 28 years. You were, and are, an ever present part of my life.

This.

I started with Thud! and after that, I was hooked. No other author comes close

 

[EM2]

bnm, I have often pondered whether your username is at least partly inspired by Johnny Maxwell's friend, Bigmac...

 

[bnm]

bnm, I have often pondered whether your username is at least partly inspired by Johnny Maxwell's friend, Bigmac...

Just a coincidence. Different trousers of time.

 

[Nym]

Just a coincidence. Different trousers of time.

I was thinking it could have been this guy that was associated with your name when I saw "Big Mac" in there...

 

[bnm]

It's simply that I have a big nose and a Gaelic 'son of' surname.

 

[D6975]

Mort was my first one some time in the late 80's.

As emyr said, a brilliant satirist particularly as the series went on.

The world is a little dimmer today. Thank you Terry for the joy you brought to my life. RIP

Snap, Mort was my first too. Picked it up at the library never having heard of Pratchett. I then worked my way through them all in order. Reading Snuff at the moment.
RIP Terry.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

I read a couple of his books in the 1980's and enjoyed them, but for varied reasons didn't read any more until my daughter bought me 'Raising Steam' the Christmas before last...that is a great book for anyone interested in railways! (especially people who actually 'like' railways!)

 

[Wyvern]

My introduction to Tery Pratchett was "The Thief of Time" I now have all of his books and some of the spinoffs and have to resist the tempation to buy them as presents for my grandsons. .

“No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.”

Terry Pratchett gave us a million dollars for Alzheimer’s research – here’s what we did with it

In the shock of his diagnosis eight years ago, he could have retreated and kept his illness a secret, but instead he chose to go public and lend his voice to an important campaign. He worked tirelessly to raise the need for increased funding for Alzheimer’s disease research and he highlighted the fact that dementia can strike anyone.