The Long Utopia, co written with Stephen Baxter is due to be published in June this year. Baxter will have to do the 5th and final book of that series himself. Though I hope Terry's influence remains apparent in it.
My favourite author… First book of his I ever ready was Sourcery. It is from this book I took my online handle, inital I went by just Coin, later I added Dr. but that's a story for another time. I loved his books and began reading and collecting them all. There was a time when I thought I'd never be able to complete my collection, sadly I will now be able to. Thank you for the laughs, hours of enjoyment and fostering a love of reading.
R.I.P. Terry, I really enjoyed your work, it gave me so many memorable moments. Every time I read one of his books I always come away thinking that was a brilliant quip/quote/slapdown/reply I'll try and remember that for my own use. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. He also introduced me to the unique experience of a joke that would work only when you read it, perhaps this is why some of the TV versions of his work didn't work for me. One of my favourite characters came from Going Postal, who introduced himself as "Hi, I'm Moist".
Don't know if anyone saw this poem on Reddit, but it got me right in the feels The sun goes down upon the Ankh, And slowly, softly fades - Across the Drum; the Royal Bank; The River-Gate; the Shades. A stony circle's closed to elves; And here, where lines are blurred, Between the stacks of books on shelves, A quiet 'Ook' is heard. A copper steps the city-street On paths he's often passed; The final march; the final beat; The time to rest at last. He gives his badge a final shine, And sadly shakes his head - While Granny lies beneath a sign That says: 'I aten't dead.' The Luggage shifts in sleep and dreams; It's now. The time's at hand. For where it's always night, it seems, A timer clears of sand. And so it is that Death arrives, When all the time has gone... But dreams endure, and hope survives, And Discworld carries on.
Though I haven't read any of his books (yet), it's unfortunate to see someone who was so influential in the writing and fantasy genre pass. Not sure what he and his family went through, but my grandmother lived with us before passing, and she also had alzheimers, and it is a very difficult thing to see / live with. On a positive note, he leaves behind his discworld legacy, which will continue to bring joy to many readers.
This hit me hard yesterday, TP was (is) my favorite author and I'm going to miss not having any new Discworld stories from the characters that I grew up with (I still haven't read the long earth series yet, so I have those to look forward to, but it's not Discworld ). SQUEAK I saw this on Terry's Facebook page (re-posted several times by different people, so I don't know who to give credit to):
Ressurecting this thread in case folk didn't catch this. Think I might have the add the WordPress plugin to my business website if someone more knowledgeable can confirm its legit and safe to do so? http://www.theguardian.com/books/sh...-in-the-clacks-with-hidden-web-code?CMP=fb_gu
It's safe enough to change the HTTP header. I don't know about Wordpress (if it's the one linked on the reddit thread I guess I'd be okay with it) but as my site uses PHP I put the following in an HTML file: Code: <?php header("X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett"); ?> Then included it at the top of all our web pages: Code: <?php include("terry_pratchett.html") ?>
The "clacks hack" made the rounds in Southern Africa as well. Quite a few big sites running it now... including mine
I just read them as they were released. I've read them all several times now, but I still work through them in release order. Although, according to that chart, I may be missing a couple of later ones.
I have read through the Discworld series (from end to end) at least 5 times, and have dipped in and read through some of the novel groups (witches, guards, rincewind) numerous times as well. The great thing about the Discworld books is that they are good both standalone and in their allotted sequence. FYI, that picture is out-of-date. Here is the most recent version (according to the Android App)
That is excellent. I personally don't think very much of Rincewind. I'm sorry but he doesn't do much for me, at least not the early novels. So I don't start in order. I've been recommending that my friends start with Guards Guards as I think that its between Vimes and Moist Von Lipwig for the title of favorite character, but also the level of parody is a little bit more modern and easier to understand for people coming from a Harry Potter level of Fantasy. I am really very sad still that Mr Pratchett has passed away, I think that the Alzheimers was a terrible curse on someone who's whole life was given to imagination.
Vimes hands-down for best character. I would second your friend's recommendation The Librarian is my favourite secondary character OOOOOOOOOOooooooookkkkkKKKKKKK!
"Never build a dungeon you wouldn’t be happy to spend the night in yourself. ‘The world would be a happier place if more people remembered that" Favorite secondary character goes to the man that I believe has an almost perfect way of viewing the world...
Guards Guards is one of my favourites, and Vimes is a definite favourite - Spoiler his almost nonchalant workaday approach to foiling assassination attempts sticks in my mind I like Rincewind, and Teppic, Mort, Cohen, Death (obviously), and CMOT Dibbler. The list is endless. "Oook!" Yes, you too. Favourite quote: ...from Jingo iirc.
