Tags
color of magic, death, Discworld, good omens, guards guards, light fantastic, mort, reaper man, Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett died yesterday after an eight year battle with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 66. As most of you know, he’s my favorite author. I cried when I read his tweet. It was in all capital letters like his character of Death always speaks.
“AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.”
For those of you who haven’t read one of his books I can’t recommend them enough! My first and still one of my favorites was Good Omens co-written by Neil Gaiman. His Discworld series has many story lines and you can really start with any of them.
The Color of Magic & The Light Fantastic was the first book(s) in the series and introduces the inept wizard Rincewind. (My personal favorite.)
The Guards story line is also popular and terrific! It starts in Guards! Guards! Which was originally just going to be just one book about the guards who are always throw away characters in fantasy novels.
Mort stars Death’s storyline, but you can start with Reaper Man too. I accidentally started with Hogfather, so you can really start most of these books anywhere.
I had gotten out of the habit of reading because I was having issues getting the words to stick in my head. I was home sick and grabbed the closest thing I had to read, a copy of The Color of Magic that I’d bought months ago after enjoying Good Omens so much. I’d tried to read it before but couldn’t get into it with that weird intro. Being stuck on the couch was good for me, because not only did I read the whole book but as soon as I was well enough I bought several more. I was addicted! (The used book store people used to call me Pratchett girl.) I love a book that can make me laugh!! (In this case of Pratchett’s books out loud and repeatedly!)
Who is your favorite author?
“No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.” -Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
Woven Magic Books 
A lovely tribute here, Molly. He will be missed but as that quote you give at the end from Pratchett himself illustrates, we will continue to remember him through his writing for a long time to come. May he rest in peace.
Thank you. He had so many fantastic quotes. I think that’s one of the best parts of being an author, touching people with your words.
😦 I can’t imagine what that must feel like as a fan, Molly. (I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read his work yet…) If there’s any bright spot we can find in this, it’s that he’s left behind an immense legacy of books that readers can enjoy for decades and longer. I did hear that he has one or two books in 2015, though. So you’ll still have another opportunity (or two) to enjoy new work by him.
Thanks. Oh we’ll definitely have to change that! 😉 Exactly! At least he was really prolific. Yeah there’s one book coming out this year still, a collaboration SciFi. (I haven’t started that series yet.)
🙂 Which Pratchett book(s) do you recommend I start with, Molly?
You can really start anywhere, but it’s probably best to start at the beginning of a story line. Equal Rights is cute, it starts the Witches. They’re always fun. Honestly I love them all.
Thank you for sharing your love of Terry with us Molly. I started the Discworld series and also fell in love with the humor and the world he created. It’s so sad we had to lose him so early, but I’m glad we can still enjoy his books. I actually have a lot of Discworld books I haven’t read yet.
I love that shirt he’s wearing in the picture you used, btw. 🙂
Thanks! That’s the shirt he always wore to conventions. I thought it showed his personality well. I’m glad to find another Pratchett fan! I’m so jealous that you haven’t read them all yet!
Even though I have never read him, it is always sad to lose someone who has contributed so much to the literary world. 😦
Thanks. Yes it is. If you ever have the urge to start I think you’d like the guard series best. 😉
I haven’t read any of Terry Pratchett’s books, but of course I have seen him around. My boyfriend is a big fan of him though, and it’s always sad when someone dies… Thank you for this nice tribute, Molly 🙂
I’m glad you’ve heard of him. Now I just have to convince you to read him. 😉 Your boyfriend has good taste! Thank you.
I’ve never read a book written by Terry Pratchett but I was still so sad over his death because of how much it affected the community. So many people mourned him and were upset by his passing. I’ll pick up a book of his someday, simply because so many great authors recommend him. It’s so sad when a great literary mind passes, no matter the age.
My favorite author remains SJ Maas, simply because I adore her books and characters. If you’re asking the English Lit nerd in me it’s Jane Austen because she wrote Pride and Prejudice, which is one of my favorite 19th century novels of all time. I also really love Maggie Stiefvater and Victoria Schwab. Basically, any writer who has left me wowed is a favorite — however, there are only 3 or 4. 😛
Both Stiefvater and Maas are high on my want to read list. I finally read Vicious by Schwab. I loved it!
Pratchett wrote a young adult series called Tiffany Aching if you’re looking for a place to start. 🙂
There’s nothing wrong with having a few favorites.
Aw, that was so beautiful, Molly! I haven’t read his books, but with such lovely praise, I will have to make sure I do. It is so very sad to hear of his passing, especially from such a devastating disease at a pretty young age.
I don’t know that I have a favorite author, mostly because I feel too bad to choose just one! Neal Shusterman is up there for sure. If I HAD to choose, I would choose him, because I feel that he can write basically any genre and make it incredible and unique. Patrick Ness and Lauren Oliver are high on my list too. And there are some newer authors who I have a very distinct feeling will be on my list as soon as I read more of their work.
Thanks! I have a weakness for funny books. Yay! I hope you enjoy it!
Yeah I think Alzheimer’s is one of the worst diseases.
I’ve actually never read Shusterman dispute owning one of his books forever. Unwind is high on my must read list though. Thanks for answering. I know favorite author is one of the hardest questions ever.
I haven’t read any of his books yet, but this tribute made me miss him anyway 😦 I’ve been meaning to read one of his books for a while, and now I especially feel like I should
Thanks. I hope you like it. There are quite a few of Pratchett’s books on sale for kindle right now.
So sad ./ I have read some of the books (not all, there are lots 😉 and loved the series when younger
Yeah there are so many! I’m glad that you like his books too!
This is a lovely post, and describes how much you will miss him really well. It’s always said when someone with so much talent leaves us.
I haven’t read any of his books yet, but when I saw that he had died, I suddenly thought, right, stop messing about, and ordered The Colour of Magic from the library. Hoping to get it next week.
Thank you! It’s always awful to lose such a talented writer.
Yay! I’m glad you’re going to read Color of Magic. You’ll want Light Fantastic too because it’s a two part book. (Both short)
I will have it ordered from the library then, so that it’s there when I want it. Thanks. 🙂
You’re welcome. 🙂 If you have a kindle a bunch of his books are on sale right now.
Cool. I’ll check it out 🙂
A lovely tribute.
Thank you.
I can only imagine how you might be feeling. You are really lucky to have been so attached to his books 🙂
Unfortunately I never read any of his books… but I’m gonna change that ASAP. Thanks for the links to all these books… I’ve added them to my “latest-tbr” shelf and will read them soon. Thanks 🙂
My favourite author is George R.R. Martin and I’m attached emotionally to only his books (ASOIAF.) I can understand the pain of loss and pray everyday for God to give him a long life so that his fans can see the end of his epic series…
I’m so happy that I’ve convinced you to try his books! I hope you like them. There are several on sale right now for Kindle.
Martin is one of my favorites too! No one does characters quite like him. At least he’s told people how he wants everything to end just in case. When I heard that I was sad because he isn’t that old, but I’ve learned recently just how unpredictable life is.
I was so sad to hear about this. A cousin gave me the book Going Postal, and though I haven’t read it yet, it got me interested in who the author was and what other works he’s done. His books are on my TBR list. I wasn’t expecting him to leave this year… He will be missed, and his works will continue to be loved. I send you a cyber *hug*, Molly.