Terry Pratchett has passed away

[midwayfair]

One of my favorite authors, and one of the best humorists/satirists the world has ever produced (I'd rank him higher than Douglas Adams, Jonathan Swift, and Alexander Pope, and the equal of Mark Twain), passed away this afternoon.

I knew it was coming but I'm still very sad.

[pickdropper]

Indeed it is.  I've been on a bit of Pratchett kick lately.  Will have to dig in further.


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[juansolo]

I've read just about everything he's ever written. Have to admit this is one of the only celebrity deaths that's actually hit me.

That said, given his condition and what it was doing to his mind, also his outspoken views on euthanasia (he was planning on a trip to Switzerland before he lost his marbles completely), I think this is possibly the best way it could have ended. Still coherent with his friends, family and cat with him.

RIP Sir Terry.

[selfdestroyer]

Wow, at 66 that's terrible news. I work in Senior Living / Retirement and there was a great article that was about him and his dementia and how he cope with it and it was very encouraging. I am looking for the article to share but the director of memory support is not at her desk here at work so I will ask her later for it. Our community library here at work has everyone of his books and they travel around here a lot. Great stuff for sure. He will be missed.

Cody

[jubal81]

I've never read any. Suggestions for what to start with?

[selfdestroyer]

I've never read any. Suggestions for what to start with?

I have read Good Omens a few times and enjoyed it.

Cody

[the3secondrule]

I definitely teared up a little reading this:

"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER."
"Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night."
"The End.

Perfect and sad :/. RIP Terry

[pickdropper]

I definitely teared up a little reading this:

"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER."
"Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night."
"The End.

Perfect and sad :/. RIP Terry

Yeah, I think that was the perfect send off.  Very well done.


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[juansolo]

I also agree with the above. Perfect.

I've never read any. Suggestions for what to start with?

I have read Good Omens a few times and enjoyed it.

Cody

Good Omens and Reaper Man. They were the first two I read and they're two of the very best.

[midwayfair]

I've never read any. Suggestions for what to start with?

Regardless of where you start, keep in mind that he not only gets better as the Discworld books went on but actually becomes exponentially better after the 2000s. (The mid 90s stuff is still very fun, but the later books also have some extremely deep emotional content.)

Sam Vimes is possibly his greatest character, so reading basically the entire Guards! Guards! arc is not a bad way to start. Although the very first one isn't particularly great (funny, yes), Night Watch is one of the best books of Discworld. The ending is absolutely heartrending. It's worth reading all the Vimes books just to get the full impact of that one.

The best standalone novel of Discworld is usually given as Small Gods. It holds up even against his later work despite being fairly early on. It's the first thing of his I read. It's a good bellweather to know if someone will like his humor and humanism.

The Granny Weatherwax books are also fun. These are the best of his satire of fantasy; they hit all the high points of fairy tales as well, and Granny Weatherwax is one of the best women ever written by a man, I think. Starting with Equal Rites also puts you very near the beginning, and it's surprisingly solid.

You could simply start at the beginning as well. I don't think the first two books are comparable to his later work by any means, but they are still funny, and they're short, too. Or you could just watch the BBC miniseries. Rincewind is introduced here and he's a perfectly fun place to start. He's the world's most inept wizzard (that's spelled correctly), who can't cast any spells because he memorized the world's most powerful spell. But he's very, very good at running away from things. Rincewind is more of the high fantasy satire.

There are some other standalone things, a lot of which satirize bits of modern technology, which, while they can be hit or miss, everything is worth reading becasuse Pratchett is always a master of characterization.

EDIT: Most of the "Death" books are good too. They had already been mentioned, that's the only reason I left them out.

[juansolo]

Some of the Discworld kids books/crossovers are good too. The Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky and I Shall Wear Midnight (they tie in to the witches books) are all worth a read.

Basically the Commander Vimes/Watch arc, the Witches and Death books are some of the very best.

But then I've read them all and there are only a few that aren't brilliant, and they'll still amuse you.

[micromegas]

I've never read any. Suggestions for what to start with?

Regardless of where you start, keep in mind that he not only gets better as the Discworld books went on but actually becomes exponentially better after the 2000s. (The mid 90s stuff is still very fun, but the later books also have some extremely deep emotional content.)

Sam Vimes is possibly his greatest character, so reading basically the entire Guards! Guards! arc is not a bad way to start. Although the very first one isn't particularly great (funny, yes), Night Watch is one of the best books of Discworld. The ending is absolutely heartrending. It's worth reading all the Vimes books just to get the full impact of that one.

The best standalone novel of Discworld is usually given as Small Gods. It holds up even against his later work despite being fairly early on. It's the first thing of his I read. It's a good bellweather to know if someone will like his humor and humanism.

The Granny Weatherwax books are also fun. These are the best of his satire of fantasy; they hit all the high points of fairy tales as well, and Granny Weatherwax is one of the best women ever written by a man, I think. Starting with Equal Rites also puts you very near the beginning, and it's surprisingly solid.

You could simply start at the beginning as well. I don't think the first two books are comparable to his later work by any means, but they are still funny, and they're short, too. Or you could just watch the BBC miniseries. Rincewind is introduced here and he's a perfectly fun place to start. He's the world's most inept wizzard (that's spelled correctly), who can't cast any spells because he memorized the world's most powerful spell. But he's very, very good at running away from things. Rincewind is more of the high fantasy satire.

There are some other standalone things, a lot of which satirize bits of modern technology, which, while they can be hit or miss, everything is worth reading becasuse Pratchett is always a master of characterization.

That's a great anallysis for starters Jon!. You should do this more often.
I'm not a Practhet's expert at all, but I've spent great times reading Good Omens.

RIP

[pickdropper]

I just read Equal Rites.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.


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[alanp]

My other all time favourite author is now gone (McCaffrey was the other one.)

Spent many an afternoon quietly reading either one of their books. They introduced me to a world of the mind and imagination.

[lincolnic]

I don't really have the words to say what discovering Terry Pratchett meant for me as a kid, but he was so important.

Let's not forget this quote:

"It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living."