Not my words, Terry Pratchett’s. My favourite author of all time, the man who brought us the Discworld, has announced that he has early onset of alzheimers.
I have read every single novel he’s written, I buy his new books on the day they’re released, I have read and reread them all over and over again. The man is a genius.
Mrs Sane bought me three new books I haven’t read yet (different authors) the other day and a Terry Pratchett book I’ve read a couple of times before. The three new books are still on the floor next to the bed unopened and I’m reading the Terry Pratchett book again.
This is on his publisher’s website:
Folks,
I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s, which lay behind this year’s phantom “stroke”.
We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there’s time for at least a few more books yet :o)
PS 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. For me, this maybe further off than you think – it’s too soon to tell. I know it’s a very human thing to say “Is there anything I can do”, but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.
If he doesn’t write any more books I may have to give up reading.
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Shocked to hear about Terry’s problem. Like yourself I am a great fan of the man especially the Witches books, when he writes about Granny Weatherwax I’d swear down he’d met my great aunt Ethel. The only person who wasn’t scared of her was Granddad, but then he’d gone over the top in the Great War which I suppose gave him a certain perspective on things. 😉
Probably the greatest English writer of the last fifty years.
Stopped counting how many times ive reread his books at 15 times each.
Hope he gets loads more written, I’m going to bloody miss him and his brilliant tales.
Glod..glod glod glod glod…. millenium hand and shrimp…
fetch the dried frog pills theres a good chap…
This is indeed very sad news. Terry Pratchett has long been a favourite in our family, not least for his remarkable ability to make his characters seem like people you know. My personal favourite has always been Granny Weatherwax although my son-in-law insists that I am more of a Nanny Ogg. Hmmm.
Let’s just hope that he has many more years to go before things get bad.
We are all sending our best wishes his way. His humour has always seemed to me, at least, to be delightfully and uniquely English, while at the same time making some very telling comment about funny little human quirks.
And of course we all know a Magrat.
There are so many questions I need answering. Is Granny Weatherwax more powerful than the wizards or does most of her power come from headology (ie. tricking people into thinking she’s more powerful than she is)? Is Tiffany Aching going to turn out to be more powerful than Granny Weatherwax? How did the Great A’Tuin get pregnant? Does that mean there’s another turtle carrying a discworld?
We will never know who is most powerful because she won’t let us know, she always acts from the position of bluffer and has never been successfully called out.
Dont underestimate the power of Headology, it is just as relevant.
There are several Discworldesque turtles…remember \”Rincewind Trilogy\”? That saw the \”birth\” of several baby world turtles, did it not? 🙂
It\’s an embuggerance alright. After spending YEARS with you trying to convince me to pick up a Pratchett, Jem has converted me, and we have most of them now. Just finished re-reading \”Making Money\” for the nth time..:) I need more input!! MORE!!
A great author, I have all the paper back Discworld books, plus most of his non discworld books as well.
My favourite non-Discworld book has to be Good Omens
My favourite Discworld character has to be Captain Carrot of the Watch.