. I’d like to dedicate today’s post to Terry Pratchett – now, Sir Terry Pratchett.
If you’re not British, you may not know that Terry Pratchett has been made a knight. (It was reported in an interesting way – ‘Lots of sports stars get honours! Sports stars get honoured!Oh, by the way, Terry Pratchett and Robert Plant got something too. but look at the sports stars!!!)
Ten years ago, there was very little fantasy on the shelves – and what there was tended to be rather turgid and humourless. And then there was Terry Pratchett.
His books were funny. His characters flawed and complex – and funny. His world was very real, very believable – and funny. His insights were … insightful. And funny. He single-handedly pushed fantasy into the best seller chart, and made it popular and cool. Terry – sorry Sir Terry – paved the way for JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, Cornelia Funke, Garth Nix, Jonathan Stroud, Stephanie Meyer, and all those other cool, readable exciting fantasy authors I and millions others eagerly devour (I meant the books – not the authors themselves).
As time has gone on, his writing has matured and changed – for the better. His novels are a touch darker now, more mystical, and utterly fascinating.
If you fancy trying a work by the new Knight, I would suggest Mort, the story of Death’s apprentice (Death may be one of the coolest characters ever written – but then again, that’s kind of in the job description) or Guards Guards. If it was still Christmas, I’d suggest Hogfather. In my opinion, his very best book is Nightwatch – but you need to have read the other books to learn to care about those characters to really get the breathtaking impact of that scene in the alley with the lilac – when Sir Terry is at his best, he’s up there with Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens for memorable scenes that stay with you forever. (OOOh – that’s an idea, a Terry Pratchett musical!)
So congratulations Sir Terry Pratchett – I, and all of the rest of us who’s lives are made a lot more…interesting… by the Discworld, salute you.
