As I'm sure those of you that read this blog are aware, last week one of the worlds most beloved fantasy authors, Sir Terry Pratchett, passed away after a long struggle with early onset Alzheimers disease. To me this was particularly upsetting, not due to any personal link to Sir Terry, but due to the impact that his writing has had on my life.
The Discworld books were some of the first fantasy / science fiction novels I read in my youth, after branching out from J.R.R Tolkein, David Eddings, Frank Herbert and the like. I started with Feet of Clay, which I remember being bought for me whilst on a family holiday in some god forsaken corner of Wales, and I was immediately hooked. The affectionately cynical mockery and deconstruction of common fantasy tropes, the wry study of human nature, the surprising depth and wit of his writing, as well as the sheer damned quality it, all combined to instil in me a life long love for the man's work.
I can honestly attribute to my reading of Terry's work my love of exploring fantasy, not just of reading it but of examining it, taking it apart, deconstructing and reconstructing it to see what makes it tick. Likewise my love of building worlds, of creating stories, of taking ideas, throwing them at a literary wall and seeing what does and what does not stick were fanned to life by his books. It's also helped to make me more of a student of human nature, though admittedly in a somewhat cynical fashion. I'm sure he would have approved.
It is one of my deepest regrets that I never met him, if I had the chance I would simply have liked to shake his hand and say "Thank you, for everything."
To quote his official Twitter account regarding his death...
"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.
Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End."
For a generation of fans, it very much is. Though as he wrote himself in Going Postal "A man is not dead while his name is still spoken."
Until Next Time
Michael
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