RIP Sir Terry Pratchett

PeteMC · Mar 12, 2015

Definitely a loss to SFF - Pratchett and Nimoy in the space of a month

KateH · Mar 12, 2015

So sad to hear the news

Mr Flibble · Mar 12, 2015

I am actually quite teary. Such a brilliant writer and a gentle wit (with some bite to it anyway) His books had a massive influence on me -- not just for writing either

I can remember where I was when I first saw one of his books. A squat in Brighton, and a crusty runs in waving a book (Guards, Guards) shouting "GUYS YOU HAVE GOT TO READ THIS".

He was right.

Bye, Terry

*sniff*

Roxxsmom · Mar 12, 2015

I know the poor guy was struggling with Alzheimer's, so the news isn't a huge surprise, but it's still very, very sad. RIP Mr. Pratchett.

OJCade · Mar 12, 2015

One of the most humane writers I've ever read. When I saw this on the news this morning, my stomach just dropped.

I know what I'll be rereading today.

Friendly Frog · Mar 12, 2015

Sad, sad day.

Didn't think I'd tear up but I am.

God, he will be missed.

Neil Gaiman was right: There was nobody like him.

Kaiser-Kun · Mar 12, 2015

FOR HIM, I USED THE SWORD.

atombaby · Mar 12, 2015

My word, this is indeed a shock. RIP Sir Pratchett. His name will go down in history as one of the greatest writers of his time.

RootlessCosmopolitan · Mar 12, 2015

Sad.

ULTRAGOTHA · Mar 12, 2015

Been tearing up off and on all day. i love his books. Lynn and Rhianna are much in my thoughts.

Helix · Mar 12, 2015

Goodbye, Sir Terry.

RedWombat · Mar 12, 2015

PeteMC said:
Definitely a loss to SFF - Pratchett and Nimoy in the space of a month

My second thought was actually "Somebody go check on Miyazaki and the guy who plays Big Bird, because I really can't handle any more right now."

BabySealWriter · Mar 12, 2015

I owe a lot to Mr. Pratchett and this news saddens me greatly. The Discworld books along with Richard Bach and Vonugut's works are the first exposure I had to SFF and the reason I wanted to become a writer. A sad day indeed.

Filigree · Mar 12, 2015

I've been sniffling all day, even though I knew it was coming. I cry not only for a damn fine writer who inspired me 30 years ago, but one of the most pervasive and persuasive humanists of our time.

I'm horrible at writing humor, so I treasure the great examples I read. His was stratospheres above so many others, all the richer for the deft and not-so-deft subtexts he wove around the jokes.

PTerry has been, for many years, one of the litmus tests I apply to people I meet in real life or online, in any kind of friend or fellow-writer capacity. If they don't understand and don't like Pratchett's work, then they and I don't have much in common.

Lady MacBeth · Mar 12, 2015

This one really hit me. I really respected him as a writer. RIP.

Smiling Ted · Mar 12, 2015

Let us remember Sir Terry's motto, blazoned on his coat of arms in 2010, years after his diagnosis - Noli Timere Messorem:

Don't Fear the Reaper.

Putputt · Mar 12, 2015

Blergh, now I'm just sitting at the office reading everyone's tributes and trying not to bawl. I was lucky enough to attend an event with Sir Terry and his agent in London a few years ago, during the release of SNUFF. It was apparent by then that he was struggling a bit, and he was so thin it surprised me. But I'm still not prepared. I still took it for granted that there would be a few more books, a few more romps with Tiffany Aching and Moist von Lipwig and Granny Weatherwax...

mccardey · Mar 12, 2015

Outsiders, Incompetents, Weirdos And Dreamers; Terry Pratchett Made Heroes Of Us All

Read more at http://junkee.com/outsiders-incompe...de-heroes-of-us-all/52985#xmLpkYdcDwG8JIXl.99

jjdebenedictis · Mar 12, 2015

I am well into my middle age, but I've been reading Terry Pratchett since I was about thirteen years old. In an important way, this man helped shape who I am and what I love. There are so many quotes from his books that I love that I couldn't even list them all. It helps a little that we knew this was coming, but only a little. I'm still pretty sniffly, and I learned of it hours ago.

Thank you so much, Sir Terry. Thank you for making me laugh and think and feel great big feels for so much of my life. You enriched my existence from across an ocean. Thank you for the ink on the page that transmuted into such bright worlds and much-loved people. Thank you.

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape."
--- from The Hogfather

"Rules are there to make you think before you break them!"
--- from Thief of Time

"I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs, a very endearing sight, I'm sure you'll agree. And even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged onto a half submerged log. As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to this day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters, who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature's wonders, gentlemen. Mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that is when I first learned about evil. It is built into the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior."
--- from Unseen Academicals

dondomat · Mar 12, 2015

Whoa, very Schopenhauer quote from the Unseen Academicals

I took my dad's copies of the Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic when I was 12, and they were super boring. I tried again when I was 13--and they were brilliant.

But to this day, it's the first three books--Strata, The Dark Side of the Sun, and The Carpet People--that give me the most joy. They are very light, and yet full of youthful energy. Like early albums of great bands.

I'll miss this guy. I live in dread of waiting for Michael Moorcock and Brian Aldiss and Larry Niven to croak. Because we'll all be orphans then; no-one has stepped up to fill their shoes...

ClareGreen · Mar 13, 2015

As serious fantasy, as laugh-out-loud comedy, as needle-sharp satire, as observation and commentary, as a mirror to the world, and as something to aspire to, the works of Terry Pratchett are books I keep coming back to - and books in which I find something new every time I read them, even if I've read them a dozen times before.

RIP.

JimmyB27 · Mar 13, 2015

Did anyone check for an 'I ATEN'T DEAD' sign?

Also, on the same day this happened. I definitely think they should name it Leshp in his honour.

Pratchett was one of the first adult authors I ever read, and now, many years later, I'm still reading and still loving his books. He's easily my most read author.
Started buying and reading the Discworld series in order Christmas 2013 when I got my Kindle, and I'm up to Jingo now, number 21.

RedRajah · Mar 13, 2015

Today's XKCD pays tribute.

Blinkk · Mar 13, 2015

This is very sad. You will be missed, Sir Terry Prachett. Like some of you, I've been teary all day.

Bolero · Mar 13, 2015

Nuts. Want to swear a lot about this one.
About 90% of the quotes I use for situations come from Terry Pratchett. From Sergeant Colon having a breastplate moulded with muscle and fitting it "like a jelly fits its mould", through the three witches "when shall we three meet again?" "I don't know about you, but I can do next Tuesday" and lots of ones from the Unadulterated Cat.

I always reckoned he had a mind with a really big attic - so many odd things stored up.
One I really admired was from Interesting Times. There are several chase scenes, which go through a garden, past a certain willow tree, over a bridge - and if you picture them carefully he is describing the picture on willow pattern china. That is really clever.

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett

@PeteMC666

[insert witty title here]

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Beastly Fido

Snarkenfaugister

!

nice & cynical

Merovingian Superhero

socially distancing

Runs With Scissors

Often misses his target

Mildly Disturbing

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.

Ah-HA!

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

is watching you via her avatar

Onwards, ever onwards

Hoopy frood

Special Snowflake? No. Hailstone

Searching for dragons