Merged Pterry's death announced / Terry Pratchett dead at 66

rdaneel said:
Just saw the news, the article I read posted his last tweets.

"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.
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Very important fix.

ETA: while it may not look like it, those quotation marks are supposed to have a strike through them, not be underlined. Death does not use quotation marks.
 
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I just woke up about twenty minutes ago. I was not ready to hear this.

Terry Pratchett has been hands-down my favorite author for years. My father got me a copy of Guards! Guards! when I was younger, along with things like Adams' Hitchhiker books, because he had read it and thought I might like it as well. Neither of us had any idea exactly how huge this would be.

I devoured Discworld. When I ran out of those to read, I would sit and wait desperately for the next one to be released. I sought out his other, earlier science fiction works. I couldn't get enough.

I still can't, really. The Discworld collection on my shelf consists of some of the most loved and frequently reread books any reader could hope for. Reaper Man, Night Watch, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Lords and Ladies... to this day the greatest Christmas present I ever got is the autographed copy of Monstrous Regiment.

I would honestly say, not just as a fan but as a critic and student of literature, that I consider him the greatest satirist to ever live, and quite possibly the greatest author period.

The world is sincerely lessened by his passing.

Rest in peace, Sir Terry. You will be missed. But I take great comfort in the fact that, if you were right about Death, you probably haven't gone too far. I imagine you're probably sitting in that big house on the dead hill, playing one last hand of Cripple Mister Onion with the Four Horsemen before moving on.

And despite that, if it weren't so damn early, I would still need a drink.
 
Nonpareil said:
I just woke up about twenty minutes ago. I was not ready to hear this.

Terry Pratchett has been hands-down my favorite author for years. My father got me a copy of Guards! Guards! when I was younger, along with things like Adams' Hitchhiker books, because he had read it and thought I might like it as well. Neither of us had any idea exactly how huge this would be.

I devoured Discworld. When I ran out of those to read, I would sit and wait desperately for the next one to be released. I sought out his other, earlier science fiction works. I couldn't get enough.

I still can't, really. The Discworld collection on my shelf consists of some of the most loved and frequently reread books any reader could hope for. Reaper Man, Night Watch, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Lords and Ladies... to this day the greatest Christmas present I ever got is the autographed copy of Monstrous Regiment.

I would honestly say, not just as a fan but as a critic and student of literature, that I consider him the greatest satirist to ever live, and quite possibly the greatest author period.

The world is sincerely lessened by his passing.

Rest in peace, Sir Terry. You will be missed. But I take great comfort in the fact that, if you were right about Death, you probably haven't gone too far. I imagine you're probably sitting in that big house on the dead hill, playing one last hand of Cripple Mister Onion with the Four Horsemen before moving on.

And despite that, if it weren't so damn early, I would still need a drink.
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Well said.

He's going to be sadly missed.
 
As much as I want to deal with this with the wit and humor that Prachett deserves, this is all I can do at the moment:

 
Nonpareil said:
I just woke up about twenty minutes ago. I was not ready to hear this.

Terry Pratchett has been hands-down my favorite author for years. My father got me a copy of Guards! Guards! when I was younger, along with things like Adams' Hitchhiker books, because he had read it and thought I might like it as well. Neither of us had any idea exactly how huge this would be.

I devoured Discworld. When I ran out of those to read, I would sit and wait desperately for the next one to be released. I sought out his other, earlier science fiction works. I couldn't get enough.

I still can't, really. The Discworld collection on my shelf consists of some of the most loved and frequently reread books any reader could hope for. Reaper Man, Night Watch, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Lords and Ladies... to this day the greatest Christmas present I ever got is the autographed copy of Monstrous Regiment.

I would honestly say, not just as a fan but as a critic and student of literature, that I consider him the greatest satirist to ever live, and quite possibly the greatest author period.

The world is sincerely lessened by his passing.

Rest in peace, Sir Terry. You will be missed. But I take great comfort in the fact that, if you were right about Death, you probably haven't gone too far. I imagine you're probably sitting in that big house on the dead hill, playing one last hand of Cripple Mister Onion with the Four Horsemen before moving on.

And despite that, if it weren't so damn early, I would still need a drink.
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Very well said. Terry Pratchett was and continues to be widely appreciated, but few people realize the true extent and uniqueness of his literary genius.
 
There are now three threads on this. Hopefully they can be merged.

I'm probably the only nerd in the world who has never read Pratchett. Guess I'd better give him a try.
 
TubbaBlubba said:
Very well said. Terry Pratchett was and continues to be widely appreciated, but few people realize the true extent and uniqueness of his literary genius.
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I remember finding the Colour of Magic on a shelf in W.H.Smith circa 1986 and moving on to The Light Fantastic almost by return, greatly enjoying the more obvious litterary references and backhanders at fantasy memes from the very outset. Mort and Good Omens were absolutely excellent, and I have all his later works even if I did think some of them got a little less focussed/funny.

I'll miss his work greatly.
 
****, ****, ****, ****.
A wonderful author and a lovely man, The world is a worse place.

And damnit but that's the third death of someone I liked today. :(
 
Nonpareil said:
I just woke up about twenty minutes ago. I was not ready to hear this.

Terry Pratchett has been hands-down my favorite author for years. My father got me a copy of Guards! Guards! when I was younger, along with things like Adams' Hitchhiker books, because he had read it and thought I might like it as well. Neither of us had any idea exactly how huge this would be.

I devoured Discworld. When I ran out of those to read, I would sit and wait desperately for the next one to be released. I sought out his other, earlier science fiction works. I couldn't get enough.

I still can't, really. The Discworld collection on my shelf consists of some of the most loved and frequently reread books any reader could hope for. Reaper Man, Night Watch, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Lords and Ladies... to this day the greatest Christmas present I ever got is the autographed copy of Monstrous Regiment.

I would honestly say, not just as a fan but as a critic and student of literature, that I consider him the greatest satirist to ever live, and quite possibly the greatest author period.

The world is sincerely lessened by his passing.

Rest in peace, Sir Terry. You will be missed. But I take great comfort in the fact that, if you were right about Death, you probably haven't gone too far. I imagine you're probably sitting in that big house on the dead hill, playing one last hand of Cripple Mister Onion with the Four Horsemen before moving on.

And despite that, if it weren't so damn early, I would still need a drink.
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I can't improve on this, but I wanted to join.

I suspect there will be many a glass lifted to Sir Terry soon and forever.
 
Well, at least he can face Death and show he likes cats.

While I do not believe in life after death, if I had to choose an afterlife I hope it's like the Discworld's.
Time to pull out the whole series in his honor
 
Something else worth saying, from the man himself:

"I never thought we'd be doing this," said Magrat, after a while. "I never thought we'd be reading her will. I thought she'd keep on going for ever."

"Well, there it is," said Nanny. "Tempus fuggit."

"Nanny?"

"Yes, love?"

"I don't understand. She was your friend but you don't seem... well... upset?"

"Well, I've buried a few husbands and one or two kiddies. You get the hang of it. Anyway, if she hasn't gone to a better place she'll damn well be setting out to improve it."
- Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies
 
Nonpareil said:
Something else worth saying, from the man himself:

"I never thought we'd be doing this," said Magrat, after a while. "I never thought we'd be reading her will. I thought she'd keep on going for ever."

"Well, there it is," said Nanny. "Tempus fuggit."

"Nanny?"

"Yes, love?"

"I don't understand. She was your friend but you don't seem... well... upset?"

"Well, I've buried a few husbands and one or two kiddies. You get the hang of it. Anyway, if she hasn't gone to a better place she'll damn well be setting out to improve it."
- Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies
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Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.
 
It feels very strange to have followed an author through pretty much his entire publishing life. I started with the first Discworld novel Strata*, that was a fantastic parody of Ringworld but already showed his greater gift of satire. Then the next novel I read was The Darkside of the Sun, and the greatest compliment I can give that book is that he is the only author I have read that surpassed the great Robert Sheckley (at his peak).




* :)
 
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