Terry Pratchett

So What's So Special About Terry Pratchett?

Terry Pratchett is probably best known for his Discworld novels, which he's been writing consistently since 1983. They started as a parody of high fantasy novels – the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, features a wizard on the run with an assortment of odd companions across a strange fantasy land (a situation that rings any bells, sword-and-sorcery readers?), written in a satirical style – but soon branched out from purely fantastical subjects to handle such diverse issues as women's rights, football, death, politics, religion, the press, and even the postal service. The world of Discworld has grown from a satirical fantasy world (flat, standing on the back of four elephants, who stand on the back of a giant turtle swimming through space) to a complicated, structured universe with countries, international politics, legal systems and social structures – a lot more like the real world than it was. Discworld is still basically a fantastical place, though – magic is still part of everyday life, Death (a kindly figure (if a bit on the bony side) who likes cats, has a manservant named Albert, and can't understand why he can't grow potted plants) and other anthropomorphic characters still make regular appearances, university libraries are run by orangutans, and the whole world of course still functions nicely balanced on top of the elephants and the turtle.

Apart from his numerous Discworld books, which include several children's novels, and various books on the science, folklore and even the cooking of Discworld, Terry Pratchett has written several other books, including a collaboration with Neil Gaiman (a typically satirical take on the Apocalypse and other cheerful matters), and several non-Discworld children's books.

Several of Terry Pratchett's novels have been adapted for television (including Hogfather, The Colour of Magic, and Going Postal, as well as quite a few of his children's books). Then there's a roleplaying game (GURPS, for those to whom that means anything), computer games, not to mention dozens of audio books, radio adaptations, graphic novels and plays. Basically, there's something for everyone.

If you still need convincing that Terry Pratchett is awesome and that you need to read his stuff NOW, you can check out some quotes from his books here http://www.lspace.org/books/pqf/ , or look at some interviews with him in the video section. Then just get reading!

Great, So What Should I Read?

Well, some people would obviously want to start at the beginning of the Discworld series, which is The Colour of Magic (which you can get here at lovely Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Magic-Discworld-Novel/dp/0552124753/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279805190&sr=8-1 ). For reading the books in the order they were published, you can check out Terry Pratchett's bibliography at http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/terry-pratchett/ .

However, I originally tried starting with the Colour of Magic, and it didn't really work for me. And Discworld isn't something that you absolutely HAVE to read in a particular order (although I maybe wouldn't start with the very latest books – there are so many now that you do kind of have to know what's gone on earlier to fully understand the very newest stuff). But if you don't fancy starting with the oldest stuff, but want to jump in somewhere in the series where it's really getting going, I personally recommend starting with something a little further into the series – Reaper Man is really good, for example (Death gets sick of his job and takes a holiday. Hilarity can only ensue), or Wyrd Sisters (country witches, royal politics, Shakespeare references, hurrah!). Men At Arms (setting up a legal force in a corrupt city isn't all the fun and games it's cracked up to be) isn't one of my favourites, but I know a lot of people like it. Just take a look, find something you like the sound of.

Oh! Also, definitely check out Good Omens. A collaboration with Neil Gaiman, it's a little darker than Pratchett's other stuff – it's fantastic!

Finally, I recommend the Johnny Maxwell series. It's written for children, but there's actually some really deep stuff there, not to mention it's as witty as everything else Pratchett writes, of course.

About Terry Pratchett

*** from http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com ***

Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987 he turned to writing full time, and has not looked back since. To date there are a total of 36 books in the Discworld series, of which four (so far) are written for children. The first of these, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. A non-Discworld book, Good Omens, his 1990 collaboration with Neil Gaiman, has been a longtime bestseller, and was reissued in hardcover by William Morrow in early 2006 (it is also available as a mass market paperback (Harper Torch, 2006) and trade paperback (Harper Paperbacks, 2006).

Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English-language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire “for services to literature” in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath, and Bristol. His acclaimed novels have sold more than 45 million copies (give or take a few) and have been translated into 33 languages.

Terry Pratchett lives in England with his family, and spends too much time at his word processor.

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