Ship of Fools: Terry Pratchett

Thread: Terry Pratchett Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Scots lass (# 2699) on :

Sir Pterry's death has just been announced.

Time to go and re-read as much of the Discworld as I have in the house, I think. He'll be missed.

Posted by Stumbling Pilgrim (# 7637) on :

[Frown]

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

What can one say? [Tear]

Posted by St Everild (# 3626) on :

Buggrit. Buggrit. Buggrit.

Thanks for all the joy you brought, Sir Terry.

I shall now go and find my fav Pratchett books and re-read them.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

RIP [Tear]

Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :

[Votive]

Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :

Very rarely has one man brought so much joy and laughter into the world. He created an entire alternative existence and populated it with people you wanted to know - even Havelock Vetinari. There are many times when I have wished that the world was ruled by Vetinari - it would be a far better place.

Goodbye, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax. Farewell, Sam Vimes, Fred Colon and Nobby Nobbs. Adieu Angua, Detritus and Cheery Longbottom. And the all the others...... [Votive]

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

I found this, from Going Postal -

quote:
Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?

Terry will be with us always, and Granny Weatherwax still ate'nt dead.

[Votive]

Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
Goodbye, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax. Farewell, Sam Vimes, Fred Colon and Nobby Nobbs. Adieu Angua, Detritus and Cheery Longbottom. And the all the others......

Not forgetting YOU KNOW WHO HIMSELF.

Putting it in this perspective actually makes me want to cry.

Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :

I love the way it was announced via Sir Terry's Twitter account:

quote:
"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER,"

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I bet he had a few things to say to DEATH.

[Smile]

Posted by Carys (# 78) on :

My brother and I used to tease our dad about the line in the author biography on the books "born in 1948 and still not dead" and now it's not true for either of them and it's just not fair. Neither made their 67th birthday. Just after Christmas I bought Mrs Bradshaw's guide to be dad's birthday present and told him he couldn't read it until then never thinking he'd be dead first nor that PTerry wouldn't be far behind.

Really not a fan of 2015

Carys

Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :

I have about two dozen Pratchett books of my shelves. The man was profoundly hilarious and hilariously profound. It takes a special kind of man to create even one lovable hero, and he created so many...

It is unfortunate that he was an atheist. Nevertheless, I certainly pray that he will find that not all gods are small.

Posted by Boadicea Trott (# 9621) on :

[Waterworks]

I really, really did not expect him to die so soon, even though he had not been particularly well for a while and had had to cancel his appearance at the last Discworld Con.

I have all the Discworld books at home. I shall start reading them all again in order and try to be thankful for the wonderful world he created rather than grieving over the stories as yet untold.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

God, please take care of Terry. Amen. [Votive]

Posted by Ags (# 204) on :

Oh bugger! [Frown]

Posted by Og: Thread Killer (# 3200) on :

Those characters were and will remain some of the most joyful discoveries of my life.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

Respect.

Posted by Arabella Purity Winterbottom (# 3434) on :

There were tears in our house this morning.

I don't think there's another author I've re-read as regularly and gained so much enjoyment and interesting ideas from.

I will always thank him for Sam Vimes, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, DEATH, Vetinari, and Tiffany Aching, among the many friends I've made reading his books. Seeing things as they really are.

Posted by Jack o' the Green (# 11091) on :

quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
It is unfortunate that he was an atheist. Nevertheless, I certainly pray that he will find that not all gods are small.

Shortly following his diagnosis of Posterior Cortical Atrophy, there was a persistent internet rumour that he had undergone a religious experience in which he knew that all would be well, and "found God". His retort was that he couldn't even find his keys never mind God.

Posted by Arabella Purity Winterbottom (# 3434) on :

Forgot my all time favourites, the Feegles, probably the most quoted literary characters in our house.

He wrote deeply moral books without having to believe in God. The last few are among the best books written with a specifically anti-racism agenda, and they're funny. His devotion to writing wonderful female characters (another favourite is Glenda) has rarely been matched in fantasy.

Posted by Badger Lady (# 13453) on :

His daughter's twitter posts made me [Waterworks]

""AT LAST SIR TERRY WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.
Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End."

[Votive]

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :

RIPterry.

Posted by Kitten (# 1179) on :

Thank you Sir Terry for many happy hours of reading.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Badger Lady:
His daughter's twitter posts made me

""AT LAST SIR TERRY WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.
Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End."

Nice.

Should we adopt him as a patron?

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :

RIP . He will be very much missed. On a more practical note, what will I buy #3 son as a birthday present! There was always a new book each year, just in time.

Posted by luvanddaisies (# 5761) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Badger Lady:
His daughter's twitter posts made me

""AT LAST SIR TERRY WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.
Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End."

The range of different people lamenting his passing show the wideness of the appeal of his books. He'll be much missed, but at the same time, he's going to continue to be read and laughed with for a long time. And yes, the way they tweeted his death was perfect. I wonder if that was him in advance, or if his children have acquired his sense of humour.

Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :

There are lots of quotes of his writing being shared at the moment, but I've always liked this:

quote:
PEOPLE’S WHOLE LIVES DO PASS IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES BEFORE THEY DIE. THE PROCESS IS CALLED ‘LIVING’.

The Last Continent

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :

quote:
Originally posted by luvanddaisies:
I wonder if that was him in advance, or if his children have acquired his sense of humour.

There was talk at some point that the PDaughter (Edit: Rhianna) was going to continue the Discworld in some form. I don't know whether that will happen, but I'm pretty sure she shares his sense of humour.

[ 12. March 2015, 20:20: Message edited by: Leorning Cniht ]

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

I met him once and he was wonderful. [Tear]

Posted by saysay (# 6645) on :

The first Terry Pratchett book I read was Good Omens because a friend recommended it. From there, I discovered the vast worlds created both by Gaimen and Pratchett. Sad there will be no more from Pratchett.

Posted by dj_ordinaire (# 4643) on :

[Frown]

That is all...

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

[Tear]

Wonderful writer. I'll miss the additions to his shelf that will never come.

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

[Votive]

May he find light, and peace, and wonderful surprises. And may all who care about him be blessed and comforted.

I draw on many sources for my theology and philosophy, and Terry Pratchett has been my favorite theologian for some time. He *got* just about everything--and expressed what he learned with bluntness, honesty, compassion, wicked wit, and wickeder puns.

His books have gotten me through all sorts of times. I reread them often. Fortunately, there are still a bunch I haven't read yet.

Tolkien said, in the essay "On Fairy Stories", that all stories are true somewhere, or will be. So may Terry's creations--Granny, Nanny, the other Lancre witches, Lord Vetinari, Sam Vimes and his family, the Nightwatch, the Seamstresses, Tiffany Aching, Rincewind, Twoflower, Gaspode, all the wizards, Susan, all the other characters, and DEATH himself--meet and greet their creator...and escort him to meet and greet his.

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

A sad loss. Rest in peace, Terry.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

[Frown]

a sad passing. Sir Terry wrote the first chapter, about living with dementia, in a book on a health course I teach. Not only was he a wonderfully witty writer of fantasy but he worked tirelessly to get dementia into public discussion, not a hidden disease, and to improve funding for research whilst knowing it was too late for himself.

Posted by Fredegund (# 17952) on :

All rather weepy in our household - a writer we all loved. I remember him awarding honorary doctorates of Unseen University to Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen when he received an honorary award from Warwick. It was marvellous to watch them with their knobbly staffs.
If anyone's on Reddit, there's some wonderful tributes, and alternative treatments of Sir Terry's encounter with Death.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Ook?

[Votive]

(One of my favourite characters is Mrs. Cake, who IIRC foresees the future backwards.....).

Ian J.

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Wonderful writer. I'll miss the additions to his shelf that will never come.

One obit I've read said that he'd finished a book called The Shepherd's Crown lastr year and which would be released later this year

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :

I'll miss him. Stephen Sondheim said "Children and Art" are what matter and persist. He certainly left us a great deal of art to comfort us.

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

Hmmm...I wonder if "The Shepherd's Crown" is a Tiffany Aching book? (She's a witch from a shepherding background, and has her own branch of the Disc World series.)

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

yes, it is.

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

Bugrit! [Tear]

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Millenium hand n' shrimp!

(I used to have a regular patient I nicknamed Foul Ole Ron - you can imagine why!)

Ian J.

Posted by QLib (# 43) on :

[Frown]

Posted by Cottontail (# 12234) on :

I am very sad. TP was a great human. I respect his honest and generous atheism, yet I also think that God has been pursuing him mightily all this time - and occasionally he seemed to get a glimpse of that. He understood faith; he understood much of the heart of it.

And speaking of 'mightily', I have pondered long on The Rev. Mightily Oats and his double-edged axe called Forgiveness. Thank you, Sir Terry.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Someone, somewhere, somewhen (if they haven't done so already*), is going to write a thesis on The Theology Of Discworld.

[Ultra confused]

(*if they have, please, please, pretty please - let me know!).

Ian J.

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

I thought it was called Small Gods.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Yes, but I want to know more about exactly how and why the essence of the sausages is actually more pleasing to Offler than the taste thereof.....

Ian J.

Posted by QuakerCub (# 4728) on :

Safe journey home, friend

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Yes, but I want to know more about exactly how and why the essence of the sausages is actually more pleasing to Offler than the taste thereof.....

Ian J.

Perhaps he can't actually eat material objects?

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

Bishop's Finger:

quote:
Yes, but I want to know more about exactly how and why the essence of the sausages is actually more pleasing to Offler than the taste thereof.....

You've got it the wrong way round. The reason why sausages never taste as good as they smell while they're cooking is that Offler has 'eaten' the best part, the essential sausageness if you like, and what's left over for us is the bit he didn't want.

Also explains bacon.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

But...but....the priest of Offler says that it is the essence of the sausage that is most pleasing to Him (Offler, I mean)!

Can it be * that the priest is telling fibs, in order to get the best of the sausage for himself?

Is Outrage!

Ian J.

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
Hmmm...I wonder if "The Shepherd's Crown" is a Tiffany Aching book? (She's a witch from a shepherding background, and has her own branch of the Disc World series.)

It is.

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

Bishop's Finger: you should be a theologian [Big Grin]

Posted by Patdys (# 9397) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Someone, somewhere, somewhen (if they haven't done so already*), is going to write a thesis on The Theology Of Discworld.

(*if they have, please, please, pretty please - let me know!).

Ian J.

Not a thesis but masters level subject essay looking at the atheism of Pratchett and Pullman. (Fantasy and the Christian Tradition)- I studied some of the best subjects. It was wonderful claiming fantasy books on tax). These days I would write on Gaiman.

And Vale Sir Pratchett.

quote:
It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.

[ 18. March 2015, 10:16: Message edited by: Patdys ]

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

xkcd comic in memory of Terry Pratchett. And hold your mouse over any of the pics for a special message.

UBB.classic^TM 6.5.0