Terry Pratchett
Nov 3
2004
Terry Pratchett is like God's gift to fantasy fans. Some of his books might blend a bit together, but Pratchett is witty (capable of making puns funny--it's true! Yes, it can be done!) and he can write a believable female character (v. rare among male fantasy writers, who usually only include a few obligatory anime-style love interests). Plus, Pratchett has written enough books to A) satisfy his fans and B) make him a bazillionaire, but without actually churning books out, Nora Roberts-style, which can seem a little tacky.
While Pratchett is best known for his Discworld series (a multi-book series that reads like what would have happened if Douglas Adams has written fairytales), my favorite Pratchett literary contribution is his half of Good Omens, a cheerful little story about the apocalypse that he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. The two authors are a perfect match--Gaiman spices up Pratchett's amusing but rather pedestrian writing style, while Pratchett reins in Gaiman's rampaging ego, allowing the story's charm and humor to take center stage--and the end result is better than something either one of them could have produced on their own.
Aftertaste:
None.
Availability:
Everywhere.
Other Recommendations:
The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Walls, by Neil Gaiman
Anything by Douglas Adams
Website:
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/ -
While Pratchett is best known for his Discworld series (a multi-book series that reads like what would have happened if Douglas Adams has written fairytales), my favorite Pratchett literary contribution is his half of Good Omens, a cheerful little story about the apocalypse that he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. The two authors are a perfect match--Gaiman spices up Pratchett's amusing but rather pedestrian writing style, while Pratchett reins in Gaiman's rampaging ego, allowing the story's charm and humor to take center stage--and the end result is better than something either one of them could have produced on their own.
Aftertaste:
None.
Availability:
Everywhere.
Other Recommendations:
The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Walls, by Neil Gaiman
Anything by Douglas Adams
Website:
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/ -
Posted by: Julia
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Comments
lori
We can't get enough Terry Pratchett in our house. Definitely he is among our favorite authors. The number of Discworld series books is increasing in our bookshelves to the point that they're beginning to overflow and pile up. Some are better than others, but all very readable. From my collection, I have particularly enjoyed Mort, Guards!, Guards!, and the books The Wee Free Men and the Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. If you enjoy fantasy and/or humor, you really need to read Terry Pratchett.
ana
I love Terry Pratchett's books...I find them addictive, especially because I've read some in one sitting and very much regretted having to put the others down to do something else. So far I've read up to Eric, and of the ones I've read my favorites are Mort and Guards!Guards!, which are very clever books that provide plenty of entertainment and a good laugh. A close runner up to those is Wyrd Sisters, but this may just be because I like stories with witches. Discworld is almost a magical Earth, minus several centuries, and inhabited by some very interesting characters. As is mentioned in the review above, Pratchett does write a real female character(my favorite of which was Ysabel, in Mort) which made me really happy, because I love a story with characters of both genders that act like actual people of the respective gender. Terry Pratchett is definately a must read for any fantasy fan, but I wouldn't hesitate to recomend him to anyone else.
lori
Since my first post on Terry Pratchett, I have read many more of his Discworld series. If the book has either Granny Weatherwax or Death in it, you have to ready it. I'm pretty fond of the City Watch, too so far. And the Librarian is always good for a laugh. His characters are individuals, fully developed, often amusing, and, every now and then, touchingly sweet (yes, believe it or not, I've gotten misty-eyes over a story or two). First and foremost, however,his stories are highly entertaining and amazingly accurate depictions of human nature (not always at our best).
\r\nReally, if you haven't read these books, you don't know what you're missing. I can't wait for my next trip to the bookstore!