{"id":2536,"date":"2015-03-14T12:12:41","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T12:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/blogsplosion\/?p=2536"},"modified":"2016-03-16T15:20:45","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T15:20:45","slug":"ode-to-a-beautiful-wordsmith-rip-sir-terry-pratchett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/blogsplosion\/2015\/03\/14\/ode-to-a-beautiful-wordsmith-rip-sir-terry-pratchett\/","title":{"rendered":"Ode to a Beautiful Wordsmith: RIP Sir Terry Pratchett"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SirThey say that Sir Terry Pratchett is dead, but I find that very hard to believe because, although the body may no longer function, he poured every thought, idea, belief and thesis of his into the hundreds and thousands of words he wrote down. I looked at his bibliography earlier and the man wrote more books in his lifetime than I’ll ever probably read in my lifetime! The Wizards of Unseen University may not be able to bottle immortality or cheat Death (at poker or Chase My Neighbour Up the Passage1<\/a><\/sup>), but I think Sir Terry found a way. RIP, all the same! Your work is done, sir, and you worked so very, very hard!<\/p>\n

I came to the Pratchett party late. I had some dabbling into Discworld lore via the second video game<\/a> and through a very good friend of mine in secondary school. I think the first Discworld book I ever read was Mort<\/em>, but I can’t be sure. My interest waned until I played Discworld Noir at a cousin’s house<\/a> for an entire evening, then I read Men at Arms<\/em> from cover-to-cover and I was hooked. Either way, I feel I was one of the last to turn up and I feel a bit guilty to wave the banner of the mourning fandom when compared to friends who have read all (or at least most) of the books and were “there” years before me.<\/p>\n

I haven’t even read all the Discworld books yet. How could I, there’s bloody loads! I find that quite exciting!<\/p>\n

Once you’re a fan of Pratchett, it’s like being part of an exclusive clique2<\/a><\/sup>. I’ve quickly made friends with at least two people (one of whom is a long-term best friend) just by a casual mention of the Pratchettverse. The ultimate ice breaker is cracking obscure in-jokes plucked from various books he’s written3<\/a><\/sup> as you immediately “get” the other person’s sense of humour. They must be a nice person with half a brain, they read Sir Terry Pratchett.<\/p>\n

I think the best credit I could give to Sir Terry’s craft, his writing (word-smithery?), is that it was never patronising. You felt like you were reading something written by an ordinary bloke like yourself, which is an odd way to put it but with many books the author is the authoritative voice of the story and they can put on a grand act, like the words are there to construct a million pound stage play to pander to your mind. With all Pratchett books, Discworld or otherwise, I always felt like I was invited to the story and it wasn’t all a grand act, it was a charming tale that was down-to-earth and about people being people. For the narration in Discworld books my mind tends to construct an image of Sir Pratchett sat in a community library or a bookshop reading aloud to people of all ages (me included!)4<\/a><\/sup>. His writing has many a time inspired me to take to my keyboard and create my own fantasies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his books, people were human (even the dwarves and trolls). They made mistakes, they tried to redeem themselves. Sometimes they were complete and utter bastards, but these unseemly types always met with an unfortunate end – villains never prosper in a Pratchett story5<\/a><\/sup>. Overall I think Sir Terry had hope in people and humanity and believed that they could do amazing things.<\/p>\n

It has been a privilege to read the man’s works, and will continue to be for a very long time yet. Thank you again, Sir Terry Pratchett.<\/p>\n

\"The
Credit to ABVH<\/a> for the animation.<\/div><\/div>\n

A few Pratchett-related things to mention:<\/p>\n