RIP Sir Terry Pratchett

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Sad news for all of us Discworld lovers

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31858156

 

 

Sir Terry Pratchett, renowned fantasy author, dies aged 66

Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series had a huge fan following

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Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died aged 66, having had Alzheimer's disease for eight years.

"The world has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds," said Larry Finlay of his publishing company, Transworld.

Best known for the Discworld series, Sir Terry wrote more than 70 books over his lengthy career.

He was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2007, but continued writing, completing his final book last summer.

The author died at home "with his cat sleeping on his bed, surrounded by his family," Mr Finlay said.

The author wrote most of his novels at his home in Broad Chalke, a village west of Salisbury.

"In over 70 books, Terry enriched the planet like few before him," he added.

"As all who read him know, Discworld was his vehicle to satirize this world: He did so brilliantly, with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention.

"Terry faced his Alzheimer's disease (an 'embuggerance', as he called it) publicly and bravely. Over the last few years, it was his writing that sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come.

"My sympathies go out to Terry's wife Lyn, their daughter Rhianna, to his close friend Rob Wilkins, and to all closest to him."

The Discworld series - which started in 1983 - was based in a flat world "perched on a tortoise's back". By 2013, he had written more than 40 instalments.

At the peak of his writing powers, Sir Terry was publishing more than three books a year. His quirky and satirical view of the world won him a worldwide following.

At the turn of the century, he was Britain's second most-read author, beaten only by JK Rowling.

Known for his striking dress sense and large black fedora, Sir Terry was awarded an OBE for services to literature in 1998.

In August, 2007, it was reported he had suffered a stroke, but the following December he announced that he had been diagnosed with a very rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease which, he said, "lay behind this year's phantom stroke".

Sir Terry was knighted by the Queen in 2009

Knighted in 2009, he said: "It would appear to me that me getting up and saying 'I've got Alzheimer's', it did shake people."

"The thing about Alzheimer's is there are few families that haven't been touched by the disease.

"People come up to me and talk about it and burst into tears; there's far more awareness about it and that was really what I hoped was going to happen."

Sir Terry approached his Alzheimer's diagnosis with a pragmatic sense of humour

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".

Despite campaigning for assisted suicide after his diagnosis, Sir Terry's publishers said he did not take his own life.

 

 

 

[phil bottle 9,761]

A brilliant writer, particularly the early Discworld books, I also miss Rincewind

 

RIP Terry

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

And Death

[Sennex 1,903]

Rincewind was amazing

Pratchetts movie about having the right to die was one of the most profound documentaries I have ever seen. I recommend watching it if you can get passed the taboo of Suicide. It was enlightening in the extreme. Pratchet was such a humble, soft spoken gem of a man. The world is lessened for his passing.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

A quote of his I heard today on the radio: "Don't think of it as dying, rather leaving early to avoid the rush"

 

I really will miss this guy, he was/is my favourite author and his paperbacks were a staple present for me on birthdays and at Christmas.

 

His passing leaves a hole in the literary world the size of four elephants and a giant turtle

[Sennex 1,903]

A quote of his I heard today on the radio: "Don't think of it as dying, rather leaving early to avoid the rush"

 

I really will miss this guy, he was/is my favourite author and his paperbacks were a staple present for me on birthdays and at Christmas.

 

His passing leaves a hole in the literary world the size of four elephants and a giant turtle

Well said

[Docwagon 856]

I heard this on NPR today, and honestly I don't think I've ever heard of him before.  They mentioned disc world, I'm curious if someone could give a brief synopsis of what its all about.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Here you go Doc and The Colour of Magic is the one to start with. For more info see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld

 

 

This article is about the novels. For the Discworld itself, see Discworld (world). For the MUD, see Discworld MUD. For the magazine on the Apple Macintosh, seeDiskworld.

Discworld

Cover of an early edition of The Colour of Magic; art by Josh Kirby

Author Terry Pratchett Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Comic fantasy

Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by the late English writer Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the fictionalDiscworld, a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or take inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft andWilliam Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues. The series is popular, with more than 80 million books sold in 37 languages.^[1][2]

Including the first novel, The Colour of Magic (1983), forty Discworld novels have been published, with the forty-first scheduled for late 2015, although with Pratchett's passing on 12th March 2015, this will mark the end of the series. Pratchett, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, said that he would be happy for his daughter Rhianna to continue the series when he is no longer able to do so.^[3] The original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time(2001), had distinctive cover art by Josh Kirby; the American editions, published by Harper Collins, used their own cover art. Since Kirby's death in October 2001, the covers have been designed by Paul Kidby. Companion publications include eleven short stories (some only loosely related to the Discworld), four popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. In addition, the series has been adapted for graphic novels, for the theatre, as computer and board games, as music inspired by the series, and repeatedly for television.

Newly released Discworld books regularly top The Sunday Times best-sellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s, although he has since been overtaken by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and the Carnegie Medal. In the BBC's Big Read, four Discworld novels were in the top 100, and a total of fourteen in the top 200.

[Baabcat 1,646]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/31867210

Online petition for Death to bring the great man back

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

saw this on Reddit

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.

Terry Pratchett Has Died [MegaThread] by boib in books

[–]Poem_for_your_sprog 3216 points 11 hours agox25