The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

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Tac Dibar: Apr 7, 2009

Well. I've misread the thread title as "Terry Pratchett's dead" for months already, so I guess I was subconsciously expecting it. But still, drat. First Douglas Adams, now him, two of the formative authors of my teenage years (and on). I remember having read Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then discovering Pratchett, and thinking "wow, this is like Douglas Adams, only much better!".

I guess Rhianna Pratchett almost slipped up a couple of weeks ago when she tweeted something like "he may be gone but his books will live forever", and suddenly had to explain to everyone that, no, he aitnt dead. Well now he is. Bummer.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:04

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# ? May 12, 2024 20:26

Kurtofan: Feb 16, 2011; hon hon hon

Is Rhianna Pratchett a writer?

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:06

Kesper North: Nov 3, 2011; EMERGENCY POWER TO PARTY

Kurtofan posted:

Is Rhianna Pratchett a writer?

Yes, she wrote the most recent Tomb Raider game, a bunch of comics, and other stuff.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:07

Paul.Power: Feb 7, 2009; The three roles of APCs:
Transports.
Supply trucks.
Distractions.

RIP Terry

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:07

Kurtofan: Feb 16, 2011; hon hon hon

Kesper North posted:

Yes, she wrote the most recent Tomb Raider game, a bunch of comics, and other stuff.

I wouldn't mind if she wrote a few Discworld novels, it won't be the same but it would made me feel :unsmith:

a bit.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:10

p0stal b0b: May 7, 2003; May contain traces of nuts...

DON�T THINK OF IT AS DYING, JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH.

And I just started a reread of the whole Discworld series, too...

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:17

Total Meatlove: Jan 28, 2007; Rangers died, shoujo Hitler cried ;_;

They'd discussed it and I think the consensus was that they would collaborate on things like 'The Watch' TV series but she wouldn't want to write Discworld solo

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:19

Eric the Mauve: May 8, 2012; Making you happy for a buck since 199X

Oh precious katana posted:

Well. I've misread the thread title as "Terry Pratchett's dead" for months already, so I guess I was subconsciously expecting it. But still, drat. First Douglas Adams, now him, two of the formative authors of my teenage years (and on). I remember having read Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then discovering Pratchett, and thinking "wow, this is like Douglas Adams, only much better!".

I guess Rhianna Pratchett almost slipped up a couple of weeks ago when she tweeted something like "he may be gone but his books will live forever", and suddenly had to explain to everyone that, no, he aitnt dead. Well now he is. Bummer.

Good point. Can we have someone make really, really SURE that he's not holding a sign that says "I ATEN'T DEAD"? :smith:

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:25

Mokinokaro: Sep 11, 2001; At the end of everything, hold onto anything; Fun Shoe

Total Meatlove posted:

They'd discussed it and I think the consensus was that they would collaborate on things like 'The Watch' TV series but she wouldn't want to write Discworld solo

Yeah. She's said she doesn't consider her writing good enough to do it justice.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:35

Stroth: Mar 31, 2007; All Problems Solved

"Admittedly we do err... but given where we started from, which was crawling up some beach somewhere... we actually haven't done that badly. And I would much rather be a rising ape than a falling angel."

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:47

Total Meatlove: Jan 28, 2007; Rangers died, shoujo Hitler cried ;_;

'When he announced the inaugural Terry Pratchett research fellowship in 2010, he insisted on a single word to be engraved on the trophy: 'strive'.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 20:52

thatbastardken: Apr 23, 2010; A contract signed by a minor is not binding!

Really sad. Cannot deal.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:08

SSJ_naruto_2003: Oct 12, 2012

I just got the first book of the discworld series yesterday

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:16

BurgerQuest: Mar 17, 2009; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Damnit.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:17

Chronic Reagan: Oct 13, 2000; pictures of plastic men; Fun Shoe

thatbastardken posted:

Cannot deal.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:19

Kurtofan: Feb 16, 2011; hon hon hon

GreyPowerVan posted:

I just got the first book of the discworld series yesterday

Enjoy the ride.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:19

Megazver: Jan 13, 2006

Mokinokaro posted:

Yeah. She's said she doesn't consider her writing good enough to do it justice.

Frankly she's right.

Then again, there aren't many writers who could do it justice. Gaiman, perhaps.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:20

Shaman Tank Spec: Dec 26, 2003; *blep*

Terry Pratchett was my absolute favourite author ever. It's not even close. Him and P.G. Wodehouse were the only authors whose books -- for lack of a better term -- made my brain tingle. I'd feel some kind of primal joy from their wordplay and turn of phrases that no other author has been able to achieve.

Thanks for the thousands of laughs, Sir Terry, and rest in peace.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:21

Eighties ZomCom: Sep 10, 2008

Just heard. I guess this means no cameo in CSI: Ankh-Morpork. :smith:

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:28

Gambrinus: Mar 1, 2005

Jedit posted:

A Little Advice For Life

I have been blessed with good fortune in my life. I've turned a passion into a profession, and those who know me know that I know that they know that I still enjoy it immensely. Through what some might call my 'craft' I've brought interesting characters and worlds to life and through the power of words I have, I hope, shone a little light into some of the darker corners of the human condition. I've always maintained that it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness. But my prime purpose has always been to tell good stories. The fact that people seem to like them is simply a bonus.

While I may have ten doctorates (who's counting?), I confess that I never had the educational opportunities people have today. I never attended or completed university; my learning came from doing and from reading and from experiencing life as a husband, father and journalist. I have occasionally been accused of literature. Some say I have a pack-rat mind, and I've learned over time to put this to good use - sharing my knowledge in the way that I know best, through my stories. In university parlance, this is known as knowledge transfer and I, right here and now, would like to transfer some of my knowledge over to you.

I know first hand that Fate can be cruel and unusual at times, but she is hardly ever deliberately malicious: she just suffers from bad timing in the main, so use your gifts and your talents to greatest possible effect while you can. Spread joy whenever possible. Laugh at jokes. Tell jokes. Make puns and bugger the embuggerances. Read books. Read my books. You might like them. You might find something else you like even more than them. Look for these things in life.

Question authority. Champion good causes. Speak out against injustice. Do not tolerate bullies or bigots or racists or anti-intellectuals or the narrow minded. Use your education to challenge them. Broaden their perspectives. Make the world you interface with a happier place.

These are your choices. Choices you have been fortunate enough to have been given, so don't waste them while you have them. Don't look back in years to come and wish you had grasped a fleeting opportunity. Grasp it now with both hands. Live. Strive. Love.

I don't smoke, but Sam Vimes enjoys a cigar or two and there's possibly more of me in Sir Samuel than in any other player on my pages. He would probably tsk at so blatant a plug for good. He's been known to harness darkness, but he puts it to good use. Love changed his life and life is now something that he loves. I believe that the sum of our experiences, good and bad, is what makes us who we are. That has the making of real magic. Please. Go out into this world and experience its wonders.

We live in interesting times and so it is best to enjoy the journey while you can. I find the occasional brandy helps. Good luck!

The End [1]

- TP

[1] Or perhaps I should say, 'To be continued...'

This is brilliant. When's it from?

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:30

Megazver: Jan 13, 2006

He should have lived into his loving nineties.

A terrible loss.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:34

Gambrinus: Mar 1, 2005

This is very sad. My parents got me the first few Discworld book, and Truckers, for Christmas 1991. I was eleven years old. Since then, I've bought every one as soon as they came out. I used to wait until they were in paperback, then when I had a bit more cash, I bought them in hardback. He signed Soul Music for me, in Waterstones in Cardiff in 1995, I think it was.

Rest in Peace, Pterry, and thanks for everything.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:36

VagueRant: May 24, 2012

Jedit posted:

A Little Advice For Life

I have been blessed with good fortune in my life. I've turned a passion into a profession, and those who know me know that I know that they know that I still enjoy it immensely. Through what some might call my 'craft' I've brought interesting characters and worlds to life and through the power of words I have, I hope, shone a little light into some of the darker corners of the human condition. I've always maintained that it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness. But my prime purpose has always been to tell good stories. The fact that people seem to like them is simply a bonus.

While I may have ten doctorates (who's counting?), I confess that I never had the educational opportunities people have today. I never attended or completed university; my learning came from doing and from reading and from experiencing life as a husband, father and journalist. I have occasionally been accused of literature. Some say I have a pack-rat mind, and I've learned over time to put this to good use - sharing my knowledge in the way that I know best, through my stories. In university parlance, this is known as knowledge transfer and I, right here and now, would like to transfer some of my knowledge over to you.

I know first hand that Fate can be cruel and unusual at times, but she is hardly ever deliberately malicious: she just suffers from bad timing in the main, so use your gifts and your talents to greatest possible effect while you can. Spread joy whenever possible. Laugh at jokes. Tell jokes. Make puns and bugger the embuggerances. Read books. Read my books. You might like them. You might find something else you like even more than them. Look for these things in life.

Question authority. Champion good causes. Speak out against injustice. Do not tolerate bullies or bigots or racists or anti-intellectuals or the narrow minded. Use your education to challenge them. Broaden their perspectives. Make the world you interface with a happier place.

These are your choices. Choices you have been fortunate enough to have been given, so don't waste them while you have them. Don't look back in years to come and wish you had grasped a fleeting opportunity. Grasp it now with both hands. Live. Strive. Love.

I don't smoke, but Sam Vimes enjoys a cigar or two and there's possibly more of me in Sir Samuel than in any other player on my pages. He would probably tsk at so blatant a plug for good. He's been known to harness darkness, but he puts it to good use. Love changed his life and life is now something that he loves. I believe that the sum of our experiences, good and bad, is what makes us who we are. That has the making of real magic. Please. Go out into this world and experience its wonders.

We live in interesting times and so it is best to enjoy the journey while you can. I find the occasional brandy helps. Good luck!

The End [1]

- TP

[1] Or perhaps I should say, 'To be continued...'

Legit teared up. :unsmith:

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:37

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

RIP you brilliant genius

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:38

Lake Effect: May 8, 2008

p0stal b0b posted:

DON�T THINK OF IT AS DYING, JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH.

And I just started a reread of the whole Discworld series, too...

That's from Good Omens. Don't forget to re-read that too.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:48

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Megazver posted:

Frankly she's right.

Then again, there aren't many writers who could do it justice. Gaiman, perhaps.

I really don't like this, even for crap authors, finish an unfinished work, fine. New books, no, stop, gently caress off, do your own thing.

Rhianna seems like she gets it though, and I hope the watch series is good and does well.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:55

Dirty Frank: Jul 8, 2004

Lake Effect posted:

That's from Good Omens. Don't forget to re-read that too.

The recent bbc radio play is pitch perfect, easily the best non-book pratchett

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:57

Nihilarian: Oct 2, 2013

RIP Terry, you'll be missed.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:58

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

RIP

He will be missed, but live on through his work. I will see to it that children do not forget him.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 21:58

LordAba: Oct 22, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

Discworld is great, and he was the better half of Good Omens. Sad day.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 22:38

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Gambrinus posted:

This is brilliant. When's it from?

When Pterry realised he would not be able to attend the 2014 Discworld Convention due to his failing health, he compiled a small book as a gift for the attendees. The book contains a dedication, a poem, two small fragments, an essay about Pterry by his PA Rob Wilkins, and the essay I typed here.

You will not find one of these books for sale anywhere, or you should not, because all Pterry asked for in return for the gift was that we not sell them. Each book is individually numbered and there is a master list of who each one belongs to, so if one of them turns up on eBay we will know whose it is. However, I feel that what Pterry wrote deserves to be shared with more than the few hundred of us who were there.

Jedit fucked around with this message at 10:14 on Mar 13, 2015

# ? Mar 12, 2015 22:40

Convicted Bibliophile: Dec 2, 2004; I am the night.

"Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, re-created anew. Therefore, he understood, there is, in truth, no Past, only a memory of the Past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it."

- Thief of Time

# ? Mar 12, 2015 22:41

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

I'm going to start another Pterry book today.

I'm thinking A Blink of the Screen.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 22:42

Not A Bear: Nov 4, 2009

Rest in peace Terry

Thanks for all the beautiful words and sentiments

# ? Mar 12, 2015 22:59

Superuser008: Feb 7, 2011

Tonight I will light a candle, in the sure and certain knowledge that it will go out and the darkness return. But while it burns, I will remember.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 22:59

Scribbleykins: Apr 29, 2010; Any scientist with the right background can brew his own booze.

...

What do you mean electrolytes aren't used for brewing booze? That's silly!

...

Well when all you have are chunks of TNE and an overly large water ration, all the world looks like a still!; Grimey Drawer

I'll read his books again. Maybe give them away for someone else to discover. Then buy them over again fresh. Or leave the shelf space open for one of the many, many capable writers he has inspired.

And I'll certainly strive. Thanks, Terry. It's been an honour.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 23:03

Iceclaw: Nov 4, 2009; Fa la lanky down dilly, motherfuckers.

And I was thinking of reading one of his books again this morning. :smith:

I burst in tears like I hadn't in year.
RIP Terry Pratchett.

Iceclaw fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Mar 12, 2015

# ? Mar 12, 2015 23:17

tribbledirigible: Jul 27, 2004; I finally beat the internet. The end boss was hard.

Jedit posted:

When Pterry realised he would not be able to attend the 2014 Discworld Convention due to his failing health, he compiled a small book as a gift for the attendees. The book contains a dedication, a poem, two small fragments, an essay about Pterry by his PA Rob Milkins, and the essay I typed here.

You will not find one of these books for sale anywhere, or you should not, because all Pterry asked for in return for the gift was that we not sell them. Each book is individually numbered and there is a master list of who each one belongs to, so if one of them turns up on eBay we will know whose it is. However, I feel that what Pterry wrote deserves to be shared with more than the few hundred of us who were there.

Would you mind sharing more?

# ? Mar 12, 2015 23:20

blackmagemaster: Feb 3, 2012; Let's have Batsex. To the Batcave!

drat. Terry's books were a huge part of my life growing up. They still are, but at the time they were so different than anything else I had ever read. His books are funny, witty, and clever. They reveal so much about people. And they make you think! So here are two of my favorite quotes from Men at Arms.

"Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage."

"It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.�

# ? Mar 12, 2015 23:42

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# ? May 12, 2024 20:26

woke kaczynski: Jan 23, 2015; How do you do, fellow antifa?; Fun Shoe

I saw the news, and I've been trying to think of something clever to say, the perfect quote, but I have nothing. All I can do is thank him for his writing. He's helped me through hard times, and made me a little bit better as a person besides. RIP Terry.

# ? Mar 12, 2015 23:49

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

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