Sad news about Terry Pratchett - Page 2

HarryT · 12-14-2007, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

First Robert Jordan passed away far too early and after a tragic illness, now the master of comedy-fantasy seems to be leaving us too...this really makes me sad...

Let's not get too carried away. To quote Terry himself:

Quote:

I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else.

Knowing Terry as I do, I can promise you that the very last thing he'd want you to do would be to sad for him. He'd want you to celebrate what he's achieved.

CommanderROR · 12-14-2007, 11:27 AM

OK...so that's where he got the idea for Granny Weatherwax:

I ain't dead yet...

HarryT · 12-14-2007, 11:30 AM

Exactly!

Kitty · 12-15-2007, 12:26 PM

The news stinks, but I love the way that man handles it with his customary irony.

I'm happy to see he's not lost his sense of humo(u)r. I shall continue to enjoy his works long after he's gone ... unless, of course, I go first.

Detour · 12-16-2007, 09:46 AM

He can say he doesn't want me to be sad all he wants, I still cried when I read that, and I am very sad. My favorite writers are not having a good year.

CommanderROR · 12-17-2007, 05:26 AM

I just found that "Hogfather" has been made into a movie...and I did not hear about it, I just stumbled over the DVD when looking for something completely different...

Why doesn't anybody tell me these things...

and it appears the film is actually quite decent...I have watched the first half, it's 3 hours long so I had to take a break...

So if you want some distraction, then go and buy the movie, it's even christmas-themed...^^

montsnmags · 12-17-2007, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

I just found that "Hogfather" has been made into a movie...and I did not hear about it, I just stumbled over the DVD when looking for something completely different...

Ahh, you been looking for documentaries on animal husbandry too, huh?

Quote:

Why doesn't anybody tell me these things...

We did! I sent you a memo and everything. We can't be held accountable if you're gallavanting out and about in the country trying to hybridise porcine sub-species!

Quote:

and it appears the film is actually quite decent...I have watched the first half, it's 3 hours long so I had to take a break...

Three hours?! Remind me not to drink too much water beforehand, or perhaps just attach my Cathet-o-bag (I bought it from an infomercial. It also came with a free emetic: the book 'My Life in Nude Pictures' by Margaret Thatcher).

Quote:

So if you want some distraction, then go and buy the movie, it's even christmas-themed...^^

It's also one of my favourite of his books, closely associated with one of my favourite, non-book, Pratchett quotes:

"Let's see, now... in HOGFATHER there are a number of stabbings, someone's killed by a man made of knives, someone's killed by the dark, and someone just been killed by a wardrobe.

It's a book about the magic of childhood. You can tell."

Ah, he's a funny bugger, isn't he? He'd have to be the most consistently funny bloke I've read (and by extension one of the smartest), and one that is always "hardbacked" for me, as anything new he brings out is "drop everything" time for me.

Someone mentioned that bad things happen to good people, which it certainly sometimes feels like (in the past few years, Dad, Pop, Mum-out-law, Monty-the-Best-Dog-Ever) but, really, truly, bad things happen to everybody. This is probably not the first "bad thing" that has happened to someone as good as Terry, and often, I reckon, it's the way they've lived with those past bad things, big or small, that has made them the good that they are. If this isn't the case, well, at least Terry's books are the things that help me, sometimes even tell me how to, get through the bad things. That's gotta be good, yeah?

Ya gotta laugh, hey?

Cheers,
Marc

CommanderROR · 12-17-2007, 06:23 AM

I actually own every single Pratchett book (apart fromt eh "Where is my Cow" and the quiz/map/cook books and the three I lent to somebody and never got back...^^) and I enjoy reading them over and over again. There is so much wit, so much fun and so many little hidden jokes in that they make me laugh even at the third or fourth re-reading.

The only writer who could possibly one day be as good as Pratchett is Jasper Fforde, but his latest books did not really live up to the standard of his other works...so i'm a bit worried...

I really hope Mr. Pratchett will write more books, maybe Alzheimer will actually make them even funnier? And perhaps there will be more movie-adaptations as well? I am usually dead against movie adaptations, mainly because they are usually "loosely based on the book" and sometimes change charakters, roles and parts of the story to fit "Hollywood cliché"...in the Hogfather version a lot of text is taken directly from the book, and the story remains recognizable, so I'm quite happy. Tonight I'll have to see how the second half goes...

fugsly · 12-17-2007, 07:09 AM

It's terry pratchet that really got me into reading. Me and my Dad would sit and read them and talk about them when i was really young (6/7) and we still exchange Pratchett books every christmas. Lots of good memories with Pratchett books and I still love them to this day.

I was very sad to hear about this and hope that he and his family cope as best as possible.

billyd · 12-17-2007, 09:44 AM

Hello all. As a newly joined member of the forum, I ma delighted to find so many Terry Pratchett fans. In Terry's statement to the press after the bad news, I was amused that he said he was not dead yet!!
He should have brought Granny Weatherwax's card with him which states:-'I AITN'T
DEAD YET!'

aapezzuto · 12-17-2007, 12:45 PM

Now here is a great man who deserves to be late to his own funeral.

I have to admit that my first reaction to reading the news was "Hu, so you can loose your mind more than once..."

I think the good half of this is with irony being what it is, He might become immortal. Next thing you know he will have a sword and go after the heads of other great authors who refuse to die.

I'm a little scared that towards the end we may get the diskworld equivalent to "I am the walrus," Not that that would be all bad. He could sell the movie rights to every major studio, and not be held accountable for it. Joking aside, I do look forward to many more good books from this man.

vivaldirules · 12-17-2007, 02:19 PM

I must be on some other planet. I read the first post and could only ask myself who is this guy? I'm sad about is condition but I've never heard of him. So now I see that there are 26 posts here by almost as many people who seem to adore his books. Sony sells 33 ebooks by him. Where would you suggest I start?

Also, what other authors do you people know that you absolutely covet their works and you've neglected to tell me about?

NatCh · 12-17-2007, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Where would you suggest I start?

The beginning is always a good spot to start.

In this case, that would be The Colour of Magic

As for other authors, have I mentioned David Weber (in the last 5 days)?

nekokami · 12-17-2007, 04:04 PM

Oh, but I didn't like The Colour of Magic that much (I know, heresy!) I'd recommend Good Omens (written with Neil Gaiman), and also Wyrd Sisters, which was snort-tea-all-over-the-ebook-reader funny.

You might like The Colour of Magic more than I did, though. I guess my point is that even within the Discworld series, there are different strands, and if you don't like one set of characters, you might well like another. (I'm a huge Granny Weatherwax fan, myself.)

The good news about all this is that he was diagnosed early and there are some pretty good treatments available these days. Also, research is showing that staying mentally active is very good for postponing memory loss, and I think we can safely say he does that!

BoingBoing had a post about this recently with some great comments. Including one little vignette about a large room with shelves of hourglasses....

AnemicOak · 12-17-2007, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nekokami

I guess my point is that even within the Discworld series, there are different strands, and if you don't like one set of characters, you might well like another. (I'm a huge Granny Weatherwax fan, myself.)

Here's a good way of explaining the different sub series within the Discworld universe.
http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-...-guide-1-5.jpg

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12-14-2007, 11:27 AM	#17
CommanderROR eink fanatic Posts: 2,022 Karma: 4924 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Germany Device: STAReBOOK, iRex Iliad, Sony 505, Kindle 2	OK...so that's where he got the idea for Granny Weatherwax: I ain't dead yet...

12-14-2007, 11:30 AM	#18
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Exactly!

12-15-2007, 12:26 PM	#19
Kitty Member Posts: 13 Karma: 48 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Montana Device: Aaahhhhahahahaha! It's heeeee-rrre! ... oh. CyBook	The news stinks, but I love the way that man handles it with his customary irony. I'm happy to see he's not lost his sense of humo(u)r. I shall continue to enjoy his works long after he's gone ... unless, of course, I go first.

12-16-2007, 09:46 AM	#20
Detour Lurker Posts: 20 Karma: 91 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ankh Morpork Device: Sony Reader PRS 500/505 (blue) / iPhone / Kindle (gave away)	He can say he doesn't want me to be sad all he wants, I still cried when I read that, and I am very sad. My favorite writers are not having a good year.

12-17-2007, 05:26 AM	#21
CommanderROR eink fanatic Posts: 2,022 Karma: 4924 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Germany Device: STAReBOOK, iRex Iliad, Sony 505, Kindle 2	I just found that "Hogfather" has been made into a movie...and I did not hear about it, I just stumbled over the DVD when looking for something completely different... Why doesn't anybody tell me these things... and it appears the film is actually quite decent...I have watched the first half, it's 3 hours long so I had to take a break... So if you want some distraction, then go and buy the movie, it's even christmas-themed...^^

12-17-2007, 06:23 AM	#23
CommanderROR eink fanatic Posts: 2,022 Karma: 4924 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Germany Device: STAReBOOK, iRex Iliad, Sony 505, Kindle 2	I actually own every single Pratchett book (apart fromt eh "Where is my Cow" and the quiz/map/cook books and the three I lent to somebody and never got back...^^) and I enjoy reading them over and over again. There is so much wit, so much fun and so many little hidden jokes in that they make me laugh even at the third or fourth re-reading. The only writer who could possibly one day be as good as Pratchett is Jasper Fforde, but his latest books did not really live up to the standard of his other works...so i'm a bit worried... I really hope Mr. Pratchett will write more books, maybe Alzheimer will actually make them even funnier? And perhaps there will be more movie-adaptations as well? I am usually dead against movie adaptations, mainly because they are usually "loosely based on the book" and sometimes change charakters, roles and parts of the story to fit "Hollywood cliché"...in the Hogfather version a lot of text is taken directly from the book, and the story remains recognizable, so I'm quite happy. Tonight I'll have to see how the second half goes...

12-17-2007, 07:09 AM	#24
fugsly living dead girl Posts: 40 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Device: sony 505	It's terry pratchet that really got me into reading. Me and my Dad would sit and read them and talk about them when i was really young (6/7) and we still exchange Pratchett books every christmas. Lots of good memories with Pratchett books and I still love them to this day. I was very sad to hear about this and hope that he and his family cope as best as possible.

12-17-2007, 09:44 AM	#25
billyd Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: cybook	Hello all. As a newly joined member of the forum, I ma delighted to find so many Terry Pratchett fans. In Terry's statement to the press after the bad news, I was amused that he said he was not dead yet!! He should have brought Granny Weatherwax's card with him which states:-'I AITN'T DEAD YET!'

12-17-2007, 12:45 PM	#26
aapezzuto Zealot Posts: 116 Karma: 693 Join Date: Sep 2007 Device: none	Now here is a great man who deserves to be late to his own funeral. I have to admit that my first reaction to reading the news was "Hu, so you can loose your mind more than once..." I think the good half of this is with irony being what it is, He might become immortal. Next thing you know he will have a sword and go after the heads of other great authors who refuse to die. I'm a little scared that towards the end we may get the diskworld equivalent to "I am the walrus," Not that that would be all bad. He could sell the movie rights to every major studio, and not be held accountable for it. Joking aside, I do look forward to many more good books from this man.

12-17-2007, 02:19 PM	#27
vivaldirules When's Doughnut Day? Posts: 10,059 Karma: 13675475 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX, US Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	I must be on some other planet. I read the first post and could only ask myself who is this guy? I'm sad about is condition but I've never heard of him. So now I see that there are 26 posts here by almost as many people who seem to adore his books. Sony sells 33 ebooks by him. Where would you suggest I start? Also, what other authors do you people know that you absolutely covet their works and you've neglected to tell me about?

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12-17-2007, 04:04 PM	#29
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Oh, but I didn't like The Colour of Magic that much (I know, heresy!) I'd recommend Good Omens (written with Neil Gaiman), and also Wyrd Sisters, which was snort-tea-all-over-the-ebook-reader funny. You might like The Colour of Magic more than I did, though. I guess my point is that even within the Discworld series, there are different strands, and if you don't like one set of characters, you might well like another. (I'm a huge Granny Weatherwax fan, myself.) The good news about all this is that he was diagnosed early and there are some pretty good treatments available these days. Also, research is showing that staying mentally active is very good for postponing memory loss, and I think we can safely say he does that! BoingBoing had a post about this recently with some great comments. Including one little vignette about a large room with shelves of hourglasses....