"It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living."
Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent
On March 12th, 2015, the world lost a literary great. Sir Terry Pratchett, a conqueror of the fantasy/Sci-fi industry who not only wrote captivating stories, but threw in wonderfully weird dilemmas full or wit and humour. A truly talented, funny writer, who sported a black fedora hat, silver beard and an imagination most writers would envy.
Pratchett’s health decline has been well publicised; raising awareness for Alzheimer’s as well as funding and campaigning for more research into the debilitating disease. In fact he donated substantial amounts into organisations for this research; organisations that fans have since been donating to as a tribute. However, before he became that campaigner, he was and continued to be a well-established best-selling author, sharing with the world his incredible talent.
Who would have thought something as ludicrous as a giant turtle flying through space, carrying four elephants that held an entire disc-shaped world that fluctuates between the ridiculous and the insane, could become such a great example of world building? Or that a hopeless wizard and his most useful trunk could become such an endearing character? How does it work that an orang-utan can run a magical library, or a witch can teleport herself into nearby creatures whilst looking dead? Pratchett took nonsense and the absurd and made it work to the point everything seemed sensible. His novels aren't laden with the complexity of old fashioned fantasy, but the comfortable familiarity of everyday life in Discworld. Even Death became a symbol of humanity, a character so well-created he became a much loved icon.
Discworld is more than a fantasy universe. It is a satire of this world, poking fun in so many corners whether it’s the glitz of Hollywood (Moving Pictures), the British Media (The Truth) or even Australia (The Last Continent). Beyond the novels, the universe has had countless intellectual influence, Pratchett himself co-writing about the science around Discworld and creating "mapps" detailing regions in the world. There's also been a Discworld encyclopaedia (The Discworld companion), folk tales and "non-fiction" works created by characters in the series. Pratchett also welcomed collaborators, iconically including Neil Gaiman in the best selling Good Omens. His work has been adapted into film, television, stage and comic books as well as several (fantastic) computer games. To list his achievements alone shows a writer anyone willing to work as hard could aspire to achieve.
On a personal level, I have been fortunate to have met the man himself on several occasions as He was local to my home town and yes, on each occasion the hat was worn! Without directly realising it, perhaps my writing and definitely my reading was influenced heavily by Pratchett. I even got the opportunity to play Agnes Nitt in a school production of Carpe Jugulum, one of the first ever school adapted productions of one of his novels in 2001.
“When I'm talking to wannabe writers I always say, 'Read outside your genre, for heaven's sake, especially if it's fantasy and science fiction.' I have to say now I'm a history reader more than anything else. You can find plots and ideas and backgrounds everywhere. At one book fair, I was after a rare copy of the only extant book on the Romany language. My wife asked, 'Is it going to be useful to you?' and I said, 'Yes, but probably not for the reasons that I think.' And it has been, but not for the reasons I thought.” 2004 Interview
As writers, as artists, we can and some have learnt a lot from Pratchett. As already said, world building alone can be a lifetimes work, especially when you divulge further into the science and folklore of it, to the point where it feels so real you wish you could be there. At the very least, as a writer being able to understand that your personality can mould the writer you are and allowing that to transpire into your fiction can strengthen your work. Read his books, even if you are not a fantasy fan- reason some interviews or some shorter pieces if you don't want to delve into the dark alleys of Ankh-Morpork.
Rest in Peace Sir Terry, your life's work will continue by inspiring us writers, readers and fans
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Have you read any of Pratchett's books? If yes what are your favourites? Who are your favourite characters and why?
