Quote:
Originally Posted by dickloraine
The way he comments on our world in a funny and wise way, without his stories just being analogies. It is a special way, how he does this and that he don't use humor in the way most other authors use it. For example, he normally didn't use it in a negative way.
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I absolutely agree with this. Pratchett was brilliant in exactly the way you say, and I don't think anybody here is denying that. But the whole premise of this thread is the argument that he is (or isn't) one of the literary greats, on a level with Shakespeare, for instance.
And, I'm sorry, he simply isn't. He is amazing in what he does: telling very funny tales with a deeply humanist message and dazzling philosophical and cultural allusions and references.
But having just finished
The Shepherd's Crown, I couldn't help but notice Pratchett's repetetiveness in the plot department. The vast majority of his books follows the same pattern: The Discworld is threatened by a dark force, which is overcome by hero/heroine, who experiences personal growth in the process; also, usually, another group of mythical creatures is integrated into Discworld society
.
How Pratchett tells these stories, what he weaves into them, the depth he gives some of his characters, is absolutely brilliant; but there is also something missing that I expect from great literature: real newness, real surprise. Sorry, but that's missing from Pratchett after you've read a few of his books. Pratchett found a formula that worked and brought it to perfection. I recommend him to anybody who asks for a good book to read. But picking up a Discworld book I know what to expect and, after a few pages, where the story will be going. Nothing wrong about that, but there is a thrill missing, and a challenge.
Let me give you a counterexample, an author I consider to be a writer of great literature, Salman Rushdie. His new novel will be out in a few days, and I can't wait to get it onto my reader. A chapter from the book was published in advance on the New Yorker website, and since I read it I've been waiting for the novel to come out because I want to know where Rushdie is going to take the story. Of course, there is a certain sound in his prose that is familiar from his other books, but in the end I have no idea what I can expect.
And that's the difference: After the first pages of a Discworld novel, I know exactly what to expect.