Tribute to Terry Pratchett
Created | Updated Mar 22, 2015
minorvogonpoet’s Tribute to Terry Prachett
With the death of Terry Pratchett, a light has gone out of the world. My son introduced me to Terry's books and, by the time I'd read Mort I was hooked. It was so funny, I laughed out loud, which is very rare for me. I'd also made the acquaintance of one of Terry's most distinctive characters – Death, who speaks in CAPITAL LETTERS, and takes a not unkindly interest in human life. Terry had a knack of taking a stereotype, like the traditional picture of Death, and twisting it into something new and funny.
The great strength of the Discworld novels is that the fantasy is firmly rooted in the real world. His Unseen University might be Oxford or Cambridge under the influence of some magic spell gone wrong. Some of the satire is affectionate but it becomes angrier in Going Postal or Making Money. Sometimes there are conflicts between the Discworld's strange collection of beings, which includes trolls, dwarves, vampires and werewolves. The way in which these are resolved provides lessons about living in a multicultural society. The books are laced with learning – look for both science and philosophy in Small Gods – and full of puns and ridiculous names, like Moist Von Lipwig.
I shall certainly miss the Discworld books. I prescribe myself one when I'm feeling low and it cheers me up. But I want to thank Sir Terry for his contribution to happiness and hope that Death has led him to a bright and peaceful place.
