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The Terry Pratchett Thread

Danster

By Danster
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rumblecat

rumblecat

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Jonathan Jones writes an article for the Guardian dismissing Pratchett's work as trash and mediocre, despite admitting in the article that he's never actually read a book by him.

Predictably it's worked out really well and he's no doubt enjoying the seemingly endless stream of mocking and ridicule he's been receiving as a result.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/aug/31/terry-pratchett-is-not-a-literary-genius

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Festoon

Festoon

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Honestly I don't understand the logic. Yeah you can criticise Pratchett, fair enough. But to moan how he isn't a good writer when you haven't read any of his work? How the hell did he think that was a good idea?

Internet hits. All that matter.

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Danster

Danster

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Brilliant comment:

...so, sorry, Jonathan Jones, who is most emphatically NOT an expert on literature, cheerfully admits that he HAS NEVER READ ANY OF PRATCHETT'S BOOKS, but he is so gloriously convinced of his own powers of magical discernment that he believes he can make assertions about the man's talent as a writer without doing a jot of research?

And you paid him to do so?

Will the Graun be paying Jeremy Clarkson to review the Henry Moore exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and settle for "I couldn't be arsed to look at any of the statues, but I know they're all just badly made fat birds, and a four year old could do better, so stop pretending this Moore bloke is any good" and present this as in any way a cogent critique?

For fuck's sake, Jonathon. You are offensively, crassly, ignorantly, stupidly, smugly WRONG.

Look, I love Austen. She's hands down one of my favourite writers - although Mansfield Park is perhaps my least beloved of her novels. But, yes, she's the dog's bollocks. Have a shiny gold star for liking her.

But Pratchett is better. There. I said it. I've got an MA in English Language and Literature from one of Britain's oldest universities, I've read more books than you've had hot dinners, I teach English Literature for a living, and I bloody well said it. Pratchett's better. He was ridiculously prolific, and some books are stronger than others, but if we compare body of work against body of work, Pratchett wins. It kills me a little, as a feminist, to say that - but it's true. He's funnier (which is a hell of a thing, because Austen is FUNNY), but he's also more profound.

Oh, Jonathan, you ridiculous snob, you don't even have any idea what breadth of wit, rage, compassion and wisdom you're witlessly belittling. You don't grasp how ridiculous you're making yourself: a 21st century iteration of Hans Christian Anderson's foolish Emperor, strutting along with your pimply arse proudly on display to all and sundry. You poor, ignorant fool.

Terry Pratchett was a great man. I don't say that lightly. He was a great man in the same way that Shakespeare was great: brilliant wordplay dancing at his fingertips, layers upon layers of references and ideas, effervescent and accessible wit, but above and beyond all that he possessed a profound insight into the human spirit, and his writing abounds with rage and compassion in equal measure. (You suspect me of hyperbole? But Shakespeare's plays are a very mixed bag, in terms of quality. His poetry always shines through, because wordplay just pored from his pen, but it's only the tragedies, some of the histories and a couple of the problem plays that are magnificent. We celebrate Shakespeare's genius because AT HIS BEST he was extraordinary. And that extraordinary quality wasn't just the music of his verse - it was his deep insight into human nature. His compassion. And Pratchett has that in spades: not just the surface glitter of clever wordplay and concatenating references, but a bone-deep understanding of what it is to be human. And love. Not sentiment - never that. But love.

Pompous old fools like yourself, whose names will be forgotten as soon as they are dead, may think themselves too clever and discerning to read Pratchett - that is assuredly your loss, and will detract not a jot from the man's achievements and legacy.

But, oh, Jonathan, it's such a loss. The world is a much better place for Terry Pratchett's existence, and by choosing to spout such nonsense you are hurting nobody but yourself.

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deerokus

deerokus

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Jones is the same guy who wants museum charging reintroduced (so the riff raff will appreciate museums more or something).

Trolling cunt best ignored. Notice the guardian also has rebuttal articles. They relay on controversy-bait. A less vituperative daily mail these days.

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Alask

Alask

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My son is ten soon, which I'm thinking is an age where you can start to appreciate discworld? Any suggestions for which ones might be best though? I don't have any of my copies anymore (I suspect my sister stole them).

I was thinking guards, guards! Mort and Small gods were pretty good starting ones?

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Nick R

Nick R

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Guards! Guards! and Mort are always good starting recommendations. Small Gods is amazing but I'm not sure why it's amazing would be apparent until he's a little older (although the god-turned-screaming-tortoise is amusing at any age).

Could also consider those Discworld books made with a children's/YA audience in mind: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, and The Wee Free Men.

And his non-Discworld children's books: Only You Can Save Mankind (my first of his novels!), Truckers, The Carpet People.

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Anne Summers

Anne Summers

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My son is ten soon, which I'm thinking is an age where you can start to appreciate discworld? Any suggestions for which ones might be best though? I don't have any of my copies anymore (I suspect my sister stole them).

I was thinking guards, guards! Mort and Small gods were pretty good starting ones?

Not Discworld, but Good Omens is a great starting point with Pratchett I think. And of course by the age of 10 your son is obviously already a big Neil Gaiman fan unless you've been a very negligent parent.

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Chindie

Chindie

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Introduce him to Pratchett first I think - the Carpet People, Johnny Maxwell books or the Bromeliad trilogy (the collected edition of this is still one of my most cherished possessions).

I think appreciate the Discworld more once you have your eye in with his style and his non-Disc YA stuff is a good way to do it.

I started with the Johnny books, then worked up through Carpet People and the Bromeliad, before picking up Jingo on a whim. I enjoyed Jingo at the time but I was too young to really enjoy it and 'get' it, I think you need to have that little bit of experience of pop culture and archetypes to really enjoy the Disc and 10 might be too young to really get it which might put him off jumping straight in.

I'd definitely say that's true of Good Omens, and that is a book you simply can't have anything but a perfect introduction to, as it's so good. My favourite to this day.

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Danster

Danster

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Three new things out in the last month or so:

 

  • The last in the series of the "Long..." sci-fi books is out. Must get it at some point just to satisfy that itch of completion.
  • What looks like a kid's book of short stories called the Witch's Vacuum.
  • AND, what I've just bought, Small Gods the graphic novel. :)

Wonder how much longer they will release things he'd already written. As I understand from his writings on the subject, he was a prolific writer, aiming for a thousand words a day everyday (even Christmas), so there may well be a whole bunch of stuff left to come, albeit very unlikely to be any more complete Discworld novels.

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Chindie

Chindie

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Some concept art for a Mort animated movie popped up a few months back. Interesting that that seems to have been the book they wanted to use as a jumping on point for the Discworld. It's fairly standalone and introduces some long running concepts, and a fun fairy story at heart, but it wouldn't be my first choice. Still, any Discworld adaptation I'll take at this point...

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Chindie

Chindie

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On 8/31/2016 at 11:28, Danster said:

Three new things out in the last month or so:

 

  • The last in the series of the "Long..." sci-fi books is out. Must get it at some point just to satisfy that itch of completion.
  • What looks like a kid's book of short stories called the Witch's Vacuum.
  • AND, what I've just bought, Small Gods the graphic novel. :)

Wonder how much longer they will release things he'd already written. As I understand from his writings on the subject, he was a prolific writer, aiming for a thousand words a day everyday (even Christmas), so there may well be a whole bunch of stuff left to come, albeit very unlikely to be any more complete Discworld novels.

There has to be a fair amount of work still out there. He had announced at least 1 more Discworld book than he ultimately ended up releasing before his death - Raising Taxes was announced shortly after Making Money, and that's nearly 10 years old...

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Nick R

Nick R

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He mentioned a few titles and subjects over the years - Raising Taxes, Scouting for Trolls, a few others that Rob Wilkins hints at in the afterword to The Shepherd's Crown - but unfortunately I think that really is the last one that was in any fit state to release.

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kensei

kensei

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The Shepard's Crown was clearly more than a few drafts away form being really done too - too many loose threads and too many areas lacking polish.

 

I'd be interested in some sort of "unfinished work" volume(s) a la Tolkien - complete mini stories edited into stand alone shape, and discussion of ideas and development.

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