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Sir Terry Pratchett, renowned fantasy author, dies aged 66

Tom

Istar
What?

I...I thought Discworld would go on forever....

Rest in peace, master of humorous fantasy. May the laughter and love of your readers follow you into the next life.
 
Having only read two of his books I can't claim to have been as familiar with him as I would like, but I can tell he was a complete original. His stories were written with a gentle, sly humour which helped make some pretty deep themes accessible and enjoyable, and in a profession with no job security or ladder to the top he was a real household name. Don't know what to say, one of the giants has gone.
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
I'm the same as Aidan. I've only read some of his work, but I've always loved what he did with the fantasy genre. I feel like he inspired me several years ago to ramp up my "Don't Give a ****" meter to 11. Just to really go all out with my imagination and where I can take my own fantasy worlds. To be as funny or as weird as I can muster. He's definitely one of a kind though.

I remember mentioning the other day that I wanted to one day be known a sort of an "Evil Terry Pratchett" meaning I wanted to write dark comedy fantasy the same way he wrote comic fantasy. He's a legend and he'll be sorely missed.

RIP.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
From the BBC Obituary

His death was announced on his Twitter account, on Thursday afternoon.

The first tweet was composed in capital letters - which was how the author portrayed the character of Death in his novels.
"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER," it stated.
"Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night."
"The End".
 

Tom

Istar
Thank you. *sniffles*

I...I just can't believe he's dead. He was one of the immortals of fantasy, one of those authors everyone grew up hearing about, a pillar of the genre. To me as a thirteen-year-old discovering fantasy, he seemed beyond death. Just...always there. Constant. Like he'd never go away.

Feels like the foundations have been shaken under me.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
BBC News - Sir Terry Pratchett, renowned fantasy author, dies aged 66

This makes me very sad. I have read and loved almost every single Discworld book. (I wasn't going to get the latest one, because of the less than stellar reviews, but I think now I will.) It is one of those series that has had a profound effect on my sense of story. I always highly recommend it to all fantasy lovers. I can't quite say that Terry's death is a blow to the fantasy genre, because we have so many of his wonderful books to enjoy. Unlike most fantasy authors, all his books were standalones (though written in the same setting and with recurring characters) so he left nothing undone. A truly great legacy.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
The obituary and those closing tweets inspired me to poetry. Short but sweet (I hope).

"We Must Walk Together"

The Discworld’s great Creator passed away,
Surrounded by his friends and family;
His brilliant mind was now at last set free
From that embuggerance* which had held sway.

His spirit stood, more weightless than a feather.
And as he gazed down at that empty shell,
Death turned to him with bony hand outheld:
AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.

Sir Terry took Death’s arm and walked beside
That gentle Reaper, through the doors at hand,
Across a plain of onyx-colored sand
That mimed the sky above in endless night.

*Not sure if the term "embuggerance" suits the overall somber tone of the poem, but as that's what Sir Terry always called his battle with Alzheimer's, I felt it appropriate to include.
 

Tom

Istar
Are you bound and determined to make me weep? I had a sense of closure, dammit, and now I just want to find a Discworld book and cry my eyes out!

Farewell, fare-thee-well/'Tis time to say farewell...

(Not sure if that's a real song, but my great-grandma used to sing it.)
 

Tom

Istar
My local library only has a few of them, and I'm such a cheapskate that I don't really own that many books. I need to find them somewhere...
 

Velka

Sage
She heard him mutter, "Can you take away this grief?"
"I'm sorry," she replied. "Everyone asks me. And I would not do so even if I knew how. It belongs to you. Only time and tears take away grief; that is what they are for.”
― Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight
 

ArenRax

Sage
I think I own one of his books and I had always planned on buying some his books, especially after I read up the plot in wikipedia. RIP O merry of jesters and O noble a writer.
 
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Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
BBC News - Sir Terry Pratchett, renowned fantasy author, dies aged 66

This makes me very sad. I have read and loved almost every single Discworld book. (I wasn't going to get the latest one, because of the less than stellar reviews, but I think now I will.) It is one of those series that has had a profound effect on my sense of story. I always highly recommend it to all fantasy lovers. I can't quite say that Terry's death is a blow to the fantasy genre, because we have so many of his wonderful books to enjoy. Unlike most fantasy authors, all his books were standalones (though written in the same setting and with recurring characters) so he left nothing undone. A truly great legacy.

Thanks for recommending them as I've been told to read them for years now. I think they're definitely unique in the fantasy genre for sure.

(By the way, I merged your thread with this one, since it was the older one).
 
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