R.I.P. Terry Pratchett (1948 – 2015) *Fantasy’s Greatest Satirist is Gone*

 

The world is a much less funny place than it was yesterday; author Terry Pratchett has died at 66.  The author, whose Discworld series spanned over 40 books, passed several years after announcing he was fighting a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease.  The incredibly prolific writer (over 70 MILLION copies of his books are in print) spent the last years of his life campaigning and raising awareness for dementia, Alzheimer’s and assisted suicide (though his own death came in his sleep).

This is a tough one.  Pratchett was one of my three favorite living authors.  If you’ve never read any of the Discworld books, they almost pass description, but the first of over 40 is called The Color of Magic and I can nearly guarantee you’ll be smiling the whole way through.  In Pratchett’s fantasy universe, his “hero wizard” was more of an alcoholic coward.  The rest of the wizards were homicidal rank climbers living in Unseen University (a bit like a Lord of the Flies nursing home…but with magic….and a librarian who was an orangutan).  His most inspired and hysterical creation, ironically, was an anthropomorphic personification of Death WHO SPOKE ENTIRELY IN CAPITAL LETTERS.  He also rode a horse by the name of Binky.

Terry Pratchett’s books have given me and will continue to give me joy and laughter for the rest of my life.  They were also quite wise, albeit in a sort of inside-out sort of way, and used satire keenly to skewer the reality in which he only partially lived.  Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Terry, will be deeply and sincerely missed.  Below is the BBC’s obit.  Terry Pratchett was 66.