Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015: Death has the Last Word
No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away…
Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man
Terry Pratchett was open about living with Alzheimer's disease and so his death is not a complete shock. Nevertheless I am devastated. I am not a fantasy reader but would always make an exception for Pratchett. He made me laugh. A lot. My favourite character was Death who appeared in numerous Discworld novels including my favourite, Hogfather.
I was writing a very sincere obituary but I've scrapped it to share some of my favourite quotes from his books.
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"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.
Sourcery
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A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.
Guards Guards
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He'd been wrong, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower.
Mort
Albert grunted. "Do you know what happens to lads who ask too many questions?"
Mort thought for a moment.
"No," he said eventually, "what?"
There was silence.
Then Albert straightened up and said, "Damned if I know. Probably they get answers, and serve 'em right."
Mort
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“The female mind is certainly a devious one, my lord."
Vetinari looked at his secretary in surprise. "Well, of course it is. It has to deal with the male one.”
Unseen Academicals
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But here's some advice, boy. Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions.
Night Watch
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People flock in, nevertheless, in search of answers to those questions only librarians are considered to be able to answer, such as "Is this the laundry?" "How do you spell surreptitious?" and, on a regular basis, "Do you have a book I remember reading once? It had a red cover and it turned out they were twins.”
Going Postal
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Gravity is a habit that is hard to shake off.
Small Gods
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Give a man a fire and he's warm for the rest of the day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Jingo
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"Ook," said the Librarian.
The Last Continent
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Terry Pratchett died peacefully at home with his cat on his bed and his family around him on Thursday March 12, 2015.
5 thoughts on “Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015: Death has the Last Word”
The Post Office was the underdog, and an underdog can always find somewhere soft to bite.
Going Postal
“So this was it. It was, in some strange way, rather liberating. You didn’t have to fear the worst that could happen anymore, because this was it, and it was nearly over.”
– Going Postal
Thank you Jeff and w.
Going Postal is a great book. The film isn’t bad either.
Here’s one more quote from Good Omens: the Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
DON’T THINK OF IT AS DYING, said Death. JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH
Sigh … You realise this just makes me miss him more.
“book with a red cover and turned out to be twins”
First edition of The Other By Thomas Tryon has a red cover and twins