
Sir Terry Pratchett has died - robin_reala
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156
======
mcphilip
The first celebrity death that hit me hard. I've read all fourty Discworld
novels, some of them 4 or 5 times. His books taught me to approach the world
with a twinkle in my eye and a smile quick to come out -- a good change from
the cynicism of my teens.

So many memories... he wrote amazing characters.

Dorfl, a Golem who figured out how to program himself (via writing his own
scrolls to feed into his head). His fireproof nature made him a great
firefighter and a constant nuisance on the street of small gods since he'd
engage in rational debates and was not deterred by the prospect of hell -- the
first fireproof athiest.

Death quipping to his grandaughter, Susan, when asked why people taught kids
to believe in lies like the tooth fairy: SO THEY'LL BELIEVE IN THE BIGGER LIES
AS ADULTS, LIKE JUSTICE AND EQUALITY.

I could go on forever, but I'll leave with one last quote from Death:

THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS JUST US

~~~
Joeboy
> THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS JUST US

I don't think that's a Pratchett original. It was a Ruthless Rap Assassins
track before Reaper Man, and I suspect it wasn't original then either. If
anybody knows where it originates I would like to know.

~~~
deerpig
> THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS JUST US

That quote was used in the Discworld novel Mort in 1986, when death was
talking to his apprentice. According to Wikipedia, Ruthless Rap Assassins'
first album was in 1990 and Reaper Man came out in 1991. I'm sure you are
right that other's likely have said it previously.

------
thirsteh
"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll
be warm for the rest of his life." — Terry Pratchett

RIP

~~~
arcatek
"The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is
very sharp." — Terry Pratchett

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
'He was the sort of person who stood on mountaintops during thunderstorms in
wet copper armour shouting 'All the Gods are bastards.' \- Terry Pratchett

~~~
kazinator
If you're encased in copper, wet or not, you have a fair chance. The copper
provides a conductive path around you that is better than through you.

Lightning rods and their cables also get wet, and are touching the building,
which is also wet.

~~~
vacri
Only if the copper creates a contiguous channel around you. If you wore armour
like say the old Greek breastplate-and-shinguards, there's a lot of space to
travel with no copper conduit. Likewise the helmet may not be in contact with
any of the other armour, so the next port of call for the electron stream is
your scalp...

------
lkbm
In case anyone hasn't seen it, Terry Pratchett helped make a documentary,
"Choosing to Die", about (and eloquently defending) assisted suicide:
[https://vimeo.com/105168003](https://vimeo.com/105168003)

I've yet to see any reports saying this was such a death, but he's been
dealing with Alzheimer's for some time now. At any rate, it sounds like he
died in a dignified and comfortable manner, as he deserves.

~~~
blueskin_
If he died at home, it's unlikely to be as it is, unfortunately, still illegal
in Britain. Switzerland is the key location where most British people go for
assisted suicide.

~~~
AngusMcQuarrie
His publisher has stated that despite his public support for assisted suicide
he didn't take his own life.

------
jgrahamc

       ‘Goodbye,’ Mort said, and was surprised to find a lump in 
       his throat.  ‘It’s such an unpleasant word, isn’t it?’
    
       QUITE SO.  Death grinned because, as has so often been 
       remarked, he didn’t have much option.  But possibly he 
       meant it, this time.
    
       I PREFER AU REVOIR, he said.
    

So, goodbye, Sir Terry; or at least let's hope it's just au revoir.

~~~
dredmorbius
Interesting, etymologically.

"Good bye" is a contraction of "God be with ye (you)", which isn't quite so
abrupt. "Au revoir", literally, "until (we) see again".

Similar to "Hasta manyana" (until later), or "bis später" (same), Spanish and
German, or "zài jiàn" ("see (you) again", Mandarin Chinese) . Farewells
(literally, "fare thee well", be well) in many languages share similar
attributes.

~~~
madaxe_again
Never mind "bis später", what about "auf wiedersehen"... and "à bientôt" \-
see you soon.

Strangely, I don't really say "goodbye" all that often - it's either "later"
or "'til next time.".

~~~
chrisdone
I think "auf wiedersehen" is the same as au revoir, no? re-voir is to "re-
see". I'm familiar with this contraction from Italian arrivederci - a
(to/towards) ri- (again) veder (to see) ci (we) - "till we see eachother
again".

~~~
madaxe_again
Yeah, that was my point!

------
lucraft
Words to live by:

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are
those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this
glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half
empty. The world _belongs_ , however, to those who can look at the glass and
say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? _Excuse_ me? This is my glass? I
don't _think_ so. _My_ glass was full! _And_ it was a bigger glass!"

~~~
arcatek
That could be a Cave Johnson quote.

    
    
        "When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons
        back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed
        to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it
        thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the
        man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my
        engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!"

~~~
kazinator
When life gives you lemons, leave them where they are and demand their
equivalent in cash instead. As soon as you drive them out of the GM
dealership, their value cuts in half.

------
robin_reala
If the site goes down again, here’s the text:

It is with immeasurable sadness that we announce that author Sir Terry
Pratchett has died at the age of 66.

Larry Finlay, MD at Transworld Publishers:

"I was deeply saddened to learn that Sir Terry Pratchett has died. The world
has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds.

In over 70 books, Terry enriched the planet like few before him. As all who
read him know, Discworld was his vehicle to satirize this world: he did so
brilliantly, with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention.

Terry faced his Alzheimer's disease (an 'embuggerance', as he called it)
publicly and bravely. Over the last few years, it was his writing that
sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come.

My sympathies go out to Terry's wife Lyn, their daughter Rhianna, to his close
friend Rob Wilkins, and to all closest to him."

Terry passed away in his home, with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by
his family on 12th March 2015. Diagnosed with PCA1 in 2007, he battled the
progressive disease with his trademark determination and creativity, and
continued to write. He completed his last book, a new Discworld novel, in the
summer of 2014, before succumbing to the final stages of the disease.

We ask that the family are left undisturbed at this distressing time.

All enquiries: Lynsey Dalladay, Publicist ldalladay@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
T: 0208 2316793 M: 07920 712543

A Just Giving page donating to the Research Institute to the Care of Older
People (RICE) has been set up in his memory:
[https://www.justgiving.com/Terry-Pratchett](https://www.justgiving.com/Terry-
Pratchett)

1\. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a progressive degenerative condition
involving the loss and dysfunction of brain cells, particularly at the back
(posterior) of the brain. alzheimers.org.uk

------
burke
“It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That
is true, it's called Life.” — Terry Pratchett

------
conorh

      "Yes. I know. He's Vorbis," said Brutha. "Vorbis changed people. Sometimes he
      changed them into dead people. But he always changed them. That was his triumph." 
       -- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)
    

I love this book, Small Gods, one of my favorite books by any author. I think
the same could be said of Terry Pratchett, he changed people through his books
(and as a bonus generally left them alive). Godspeed Terry.

~~~
AceJohnny2
Wasn't the audio codec "Ogg Vorbis" named after Pratchett's work?

Edit: yes it is, at least the Vorbis part. Ogg, despite similarities with
Nanny Ogg, isn't:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorbis#Name](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorbis#Name)

------
Luc
AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.

[https://twitter.com/terryandrob/status/576036599047258112](https://twitter.com/terryandrob/status/576036599047258112)

~~~
riffraff
just in the off case you didn't notice it (cause I didn't): read the follow up
tweets, i.e. the whole profile.

[https://twitter.com/terryandrob](https://twitter.com/terryandrob)

~~~
akkartik
[https://storify.com/akkartik/best-eulogy-
ever](https://storify.com/akkartik/best-eulogy-ever)

------
btilly
Read [http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-
pratchett...](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-pratchett-
angry-not-jolly-neil-gaiman) if you want to understand him.

Read [http://www.lspace.org/books/pqf/](http://www.lspace.org/books/pqf/) if
you want a quick reminder of what we have lost.

Goodbye Terry, you will be remembered fondly.

~~~
zeidrich
I don't think we have lost anything.

I think we gained something incredible over a short time.

Nobody lives forever. What Terry Pratchett has given to us will live longer
than any person. I'm not sad that he has died. Everyone who is born dies, and
there's an infinite number of potential people who are never born. What is
important is that we live, and while we live some of us do extraordinary
things.

I'm reading Guards! Guards! to my 2-year old right now, a section each night.
She gets me to turn to the inside cover to look at the picture of the "man". I
tell her that that's Mr. Pratchett. She calls him "Mister Patchett" because
she has trouble with that R. She likes to pretend she's a dragon. She will say
"dragon needs her socks on". She talks about the "little tiny dragon Errol".
Every night she comes and gets me before bed and asks me to read a story.

Tonight I'll read this to her again. I'm not going to tell her that he has
died. She won't understand, and it's not important to her. She will still get
excited to read the story. She will still look at the picture of the man. I'll
still tell her it's Mr. Pratchett. She'll still be excited to pretend to be a
dragon. She'll still want me to read another book when it's done, we're very
near the end. She'll still learn a lot from him.

While there won't be any new books written by him, the ones in our collection
won't go away. He will continue to help her get excited to read, to give her
funny stories, to make her think about the world in a different way. For her,
today will be no different than yesterday or the day before.

By the time she's finished reading through our collection and wants to know
why there's no new books, if from nowhere else, she will have learned from him
about death. She will have learned in a funny and non-threatening way. But she
will heave learned nonetheless. We can talk about him at that point, but I'd
rather not lament what we've lost, because claiming we've lost something is
claiming ownership, like saying we deserved him, or that it was our right to
have books written by him. We've lost nothing, because we didn't have him to
start with. But we have gained a lot that he has decided to give the world.

So I don't want to lament his passing. I want to thank him for the things he
has given us. I'm not sad there will be no more, I'm happy that he gave us
these gifts to begin with.

~~~
Loughla
While beautiful, I need to know - how do you get a 2 year old to sit still to
listen to "Guards! Guards!"? (or any book without ridiculous pictures, for
that matter)

~~~
DanBC
Try starting with books like "Press here" or "the book with no pictures"

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Press-Here-Herve-
Tullet/dp/081187954...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Press-Here-Herve-
Tullet/dp/0811879542)

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0141361786](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0141361786)

------
jmduke
"No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away."
~ TP, _Reaper Man_

An absolute force. I've got a bookshelf devoted to Pratchett, and it's only
going to grow. RIP.

~~~
dpeck
I always liked the following sentences to that one too.

"No-one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away -
until the clock they wound up winds down, until the wine they made has
finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of
someone's life is only the core of their actual existence."

~~~
jws
I suppose we'll have to count my daughter as a ripple. Exposed at a young age,
she grew up a Granny Weatherwax fan. I type this now from her cottage in some
impoverished mountains where she is the local midwife. So Mr. Pratchett has
another 50 years of women without healthcare getting access to a reasonable
birthing experience to ripple out.

------
AnkhMorporkian
This hits hard. Pratchett has been a constant in my life ever since I picked
up my first Discworld book at 13. I'll be reading "Guards, Guards!" tonight in
memory of him while eating a hot meat pie of questionable origin.

~~~
ConceptJunkie
I shall be having sausages. Inna bun.

------
chrisdone
I had and continue to have a lot of laughs with Pratchett. One of my favourite
ones which I only a couple of years ago re-listened on Audiobook while walking
about town and was giggling outloud uncontrollably was this quote:

> ...if you haven’t smelled Ankh-Morpork on a hot day you haven’t smelled
> anything.

> The citizens are proud of it. They carry chairs outside to enjoy it on a
> really good day. They puff out their cheeks and slap their chests and
> comment cheerfully on its little distinctive nuances. They have even put up
> a statue to it, to commemorate the time when the troops of a rival state
> tried to invade by stealth one dark night and managed to get to the top of
> the walls before, to their horror, their nose plugs gave out.

The idea of carrying chairs outside to appreciate it is so hilarious. It
speaks a wealth to me about working class pride in whatever circumstance and
condition your town and life is in. That “This may be so, but it's _mine_ ”
attitude.

Terry's plots were fun but his best most memorable things were his insights
into every day life; his grandoise fantasy elements were always the backdrop
to the characterization and human elements, always witty.

> Rincewind had in any case seen his past life flash in front of his eyes so
> many times that he could sleep through the boring bits…

------
brotoss
“DON'T THINK OF IT AS DYING," said Death. "JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY
TO AVOID THE RUSH.”

~~~
kiiski
Why the quotes?

~~~
AceJohnny2
I see you're downvoted, but you're right. The lack of quotes around Death's
words was characteristic. Death didn't "speak", his words just existed,
imperial, in the narrative :)

~~~
lomnakkus
That and the, well, rather more down-to-earth reasoning that his words were
set in small caps and so were easily distinguishable from the rest of the
text.

I still wish I could speak in small caps.

~~~
aw3c2
ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴏғ ɪᴛ ᴀs ᴅʏɪɴɢ said Death. ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴏғ ɪᴛ ᴀs ʟᴇᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴛᴏ
ᴀᴠᴏɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴜsʜ.

~~~
lomnakkus
I see your Unicode there... and I like it! Nothing more to say, really.
Awesome :)

(EDIT#3: I overspoke. Nevermind, beautiful!)

------
bentcorner
I've never read any of his books, although I've been meaning to for some time.

Can anyone who's read through them comment? According to the Discworld
wikipedia article, publication order may not be the best way to go through the
series. This[1] page recommends reading a plot/chronological order. Personally
I prefer reading books in publication order, since I get to follow the mind of
the author. Given that, there are a lot of books here so I'm open to
suggestions.

[1] [http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/books/reading-order-
guides/index...](http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/books/reading-order-
guides/index.html)

Edit: Thanks for the responses, I had already reserved _The Colour of Magic_
(you have no idea how nice it is to type that as a Canadian ex-pat) at my
local library, I'm going to hunt down _Guards! Guards!_ now. :)

Edit 2: And... there's a waitlist. Thanks, everybody!

~~~
shabda
Small Gods is a common recommendation from other people, but it is a
collaboration with Gaiman. Not that its a bad thing, but it is missing the
full Pratchett voice.

My favorites are all Moist_von_Lipwig books. I recommend starting with Going
Postal. Its comes much later in chronological order, but is the first
Moist_von_Lipwig book and is enjoyable standalone.

~~~
lucraft
Although Going Postal is the first Moist book, The Truth is the first
"Industry" book and I think it's best of the lot. Going Postal is still great
though (much better than the later industry ones).

~~~
shabda
Sorry, I was wrong. Good Omens is the collaboration.

~~~
selimthegrim
I had my copy of Good Omens autographed by Gaiman, whence I remarked that I
needed the other half now (this was 2011). Gaiman responded, "You'd better
hurry up about it."

Sorry, Sir Terry :(

------
owenversteeg
It's interesting how the last few major deaths I remember on here have been of
people that discussed death publicly. Hal Finney, some time ago, discussed
cryopreservation after his diagnosis of ALS, and Terry Pratchett discussed his
views on assisted suicide publicly.

He had also previously said [0] that he wanted to hear "Spem in Alium" [1]
play as he died. I wonder if he was able to do this.

I'm also curious what people would think of a black bar.

[0]
[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/willheaven/100025158/sir-t...](http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/willheaven/100025158/sir-
terry-pratchetts-portrayal-of-assisted-death-is-as-fantastical-as-his-
discworld-novels/)

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cn7ZW8ts3Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cn7ZW8ts3Y)

------
aaronbasssett
Hs anyone checked for a "I ATEN'T DED" sign?

~~~
notahacker
Terry Pratchett's standard author blurb begins: "Terry Pratchett was born in
1948 and is still not dead"

------
beat
One of my bands, the Feng Shui Ninjas, wrote a song about the Nac Mac Feegles,
who appear in several of Terry Pratchett's books. In his memory, we're making
it available for free on Bandcamp. Any payments for the song or the album will
be donated for Alzheimer's research. This hit us really hard.

[https://fengshuininjas.bandcamp.com/track/livin-every-dae-
as...](https://fengshuininjas.bandcamp.com/track/livin-every-dae-as-though-
yer-deid)

~~~
beat
The drummer and I also have a side band named Carpe Jugulum, after another
Terry Pratchett story. And another bandmate was on the concom for the
Discworld convention. Like I said, it hit us pretty hard.

I hope he's drinking, fighting, and stealing his way through the amazing
afterlife with the Feegles. He deserves it.

------
ewood
I hope "embuggerance" is accepted as an new word this year, in honour of one
of the greatest English writers.

~~~
gpvos
That word should win all "word of the year" awards this year.

------
krupan
One of my favorite Pratchett books is Nation. It's actually not a Discworld
book, but very much in the same vein. My wife and I listened to the audiobook
(and then later both read it) and loved it. The Milk that Happens, when Daphne
figures it all out, is the only scene in a book that has ever made me
simultaneously laugh and cry (not from laughter) at the same time. Every time
I read it. Hilarious and heartwarming.

------
mswift42
We all knew this day would come, but it doesn't make it any easier.

Pterry created some of my favourite characters in the literary world. Nany
Ogg, the witch who's keen on drink and singing (The wizards staff has a knob
on the end), The Igors and Igorinas, Conina the barbarian hairdresser, DEATH,
Nobby Nobbs, the luggage, ... .

RIP Sir Terry, you have enriched my life greatly.

~~~
pferde
Wasn't the "Wizards' Staff" more of Ankh-Morpork song? Nanny was known more
for her Hedgehog song.

Although I wouldn't put it past her to hear Wizards' Staff at some point of
her long life, and of course she would like it too. :)

~~~
mswift42
I am pretty sure the song is first mentioned in 'Wyrd Sisters' when Nanny Ogg
is shouting at the night sky.

~~~
riffraff
I am not sure it's first mentioned there, but Nanny definitely sings it in
wyrd sisters[0].

[0]
[https://books.google.it/books?id=t4Djt1RPNiYC&printsec=front...](https://books.google.it/books?id=t4Djt1RPNiYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=wyrd+sisters&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8NoBVaWxIanXyQPtvIDADw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=knob%20on%20the%20end&f=false)

------
diminoten
Site is slow/down, probably due to the amount of traffic.

Got a screenshot of the site, though:
[http://i.imgur.com/Ui09H2y.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/Ui09H2y.jpg)

------
thret
poem_for_your_sprog on Reddit produced this sublime poem:

[http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ysvzb/terry_pratchet...](http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ysvzb/terry_pratchett_has_died_megathread/cpcp6bg)

The sun goes down upon the Ankh,

And slowly, softly fades -

Across the Drum; the Royal Bank;

The River-Gate; the Shades.

A stony circle's closed to elves;

And here, where lines are blurred,

Between the stacks of books on shelves,

A quiet 'Ook' is heard.

A copper steps the city-street

On paths he's often passed;

The final march; the final beat;

The time to rest at last.

He gives his badge a final shine,

And sadly shakes his head -

While Granny lies beneath a sign

That says: 'I aten't dead.'

The Luggage shifts in sleep and dreams;

It's now. The time's at hand.

For where it's always night, it seems,

A timer clears of sand.

And so it is that Death arrives,

When all the time has gone...

But dreams endure, and hope survives,

And Discworld carries on.

------
b0n40
"Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you." — Terry Pratchett

------
sunilkumarc
"It occurred to me that at one point it was like I had two diseases - one was
Alzheimer's, and the other was knowing I had Alzheimer's." \- R.I.P Sir Terry
Pratchett

------
trengrj
If you enjoyed Discworld, checkout out Discworld MUD. Probably the most
indepth and enjoyable game I have every played:

    
    
      telnet discworld.atuin.net 23

------
venomsnake
He will be missed so much ... he was next up to Carlin ... RIP. I just don't
know what to say. I grew up with his books and have reread everything more
than 5 times ...

Small gods is still one of the best books ever written ...

------
Shivetya
I was introduced to Terry Prachett by watching Terry Pratchett's Hogfather as
done by Sky One. Really late to get into his stories, but since then I had
started with book 1 of Discworld.

Are there authors who write similarly?

~~~
atourgates
> Are there authors who write similarly?

Nope.

But the closest you're going to get is probably Douglas Adams.

~~~
dchichkov
Maybe Robert Asprin? Same generation and I think his first MYTH books were at
the similar level of ridiculousness and brilliance.

------
mhomde
Man, first Nimoy and now this... I hate being the age when all your childhood
heroes starts dying off one by one :(

~~~
tomjen3
Still better than being at the age where everybody around you start dying.

~~~
mhomde
and that is still better than being dead :)

~~~
Aradalf
Nah, actually being dead isn't that terrible. You hurt the people around you
more than yourself when you go. Unless of course you die painfully/violently.

------
amyjess
Well, I'm glad he's no longer suffering. He had Alzheimer's, and he's been
advocating for assisted suicide for years now.

As much as it hurts to lose him, this is what he wanted.

------
albinoloverats
+++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++
(Hogfather)

------
biggc
I have to ask, did anyone start on Pratchett with the Nome trilogy? I think I
was 8 or 9 when my mum brought truckers home from the library to read together
with me. After I went through that trilogy on my own she bought me a copy of
Pyramids and it's been uphill since then.

Unfortunately Pyramids was a bit too weird for her, and put her off Pratchett,
I can see why that would be.

~~~
masklinn
I couldn't say which one I started with, it was too long ago, but the
bromeliad trilogy is certainly one of the first of his I read.

------
venomsnake
RIP. He brought so much food for thought, smiles and brutal social criticism.
It is immeasurable loss for humanity. He was probably one of the greatest
humanists ever to live ;(

In a hundred years we'll all be dead, but here and now, we are alive.” -
Brutha, Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett.

------
s_dev
Wow, it was only a few years ago I recall him joining our university as
creative writing lecturer. He was very well received here in Dublin by both
staff and students.

I thought he'd have another five or ten years lecturing before kicking the
bucket. 66 seems a little young.

------
saraid216
From Sep 2014, Neil Gaiman writing about Terry Pratchett:

[http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-
pratchett...](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-pratchett-
angry-not-jolly-neil-gaiman)

------
igl
... =(

I saw his movie on assisted suicide. I hope he left us with no regrets. RIP

------
rat87
Incredibly sad news.

Plenty of people on this thread have recommended some of his best books(Small
Gods, The Truth, Monstrous Regiment) but nobody has brought up _Jingo_ yet.
It's a wonderful satire of extreme war nationalism, it's part of "The Watch"
series of Discworld books so it helps if you've read the previous books (
Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay ) but reading it by itself is fine.

------
cyphax
That's so much faster than I thought... HOPED for. I'm a big fan of his
writing style. Clever and funny. He'll be missed. RIP, Sir.

------
Grazester
Can't say I am familiar with any of his work but I have been reading about his
battle with Alzheimer's and his stance on assisted suicide. This makes me
think of own mortality and I hope I dont have to deal with having such a
disease where my body or mind slowly deteriorates(well ageing does this so I
will have to deal with it anyway).

I nearly wish for a swift death that I don't see coming.

------
lione
It's quite a sad day. I loved his books, and he will always be one of the
greatest authors to me. Glad he's no longer suffering.

------
sp8
We read and studied "Guards! Guards!" at school, and we were fortunate enough
that he visited and spoke to a group of us, answering questions. I seem to
recall that I asked a fairly dumb question... This was about 25 years ago, but
I'm honoured to have met him and will always remember his enthusiasm and
charisma.

------
Kurtz79
Dear sir,

After all the hours spent in the company of your charming characters, puns,
and wit, I have only two parting words:

Thank you.

------
javajosh
In honor of Sir Pratchett, let us redefine pi to be 3.12

~~~
robin_reala
12.3, he’s British.

~~~
arethuza
A real British pi would never have a decimal point in it - they are newfangled
foreign things.

~~~
jameshart
Right - we all know that pi is actually three pounds, two shillings and
tenpence.

------
memco
Sad to hear. Guards, Guards! was my first, but Thief of Time is my favorite.

Wen The Eternally Surprised: "… I know the answers to many questions. Ask me."

The apprentice gave him a bleary look. It was too early in the morning for it
to be early in the morning. That was the only thing he currently knew for
sure.

"Err… what does the master want for breakfast?"

…

"Ah," he said. "One of the _difficult_ ones."

Not many good quotes on LSpace, but Goodreads has many:
[http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/46982-thief-of-
time](http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/46982-thief-of-time).

------
joshuapants
Perhaps of interest to the hacker community is that Terry experimented with
computer-generated text in some of his work.

I don't know to what extent these experiments were involved in his books, the
one concrete example we have is "Millennium hand and shrimp," apparently a
combination of a They Might Be Giants song and part of a Chinese take out menu
[1]

[1][http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/lords-and-
ladies.html#p32423...](http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/lords-and-
ladies.html#p324233)

------
butterfi
Thanks Sir Terry! Your books are a comfort to me and you can just add me to
the list of fans world-wide whose lives are just that bit richer for your
being here. Nicely done.

------
EToS
bbc link: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-
arts-31858156](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31858156)

------
kposehn
I'm saddened greatly by this - for many reasons, not the least of which is
that we will likely not see any more Long Earth novels in concert with Stephen
Baxter.

------
thret
The 25th of May is Towel Day, to commemorate Douglas Adams.

If we keep the 8th of April as Terry Pratchett day, perhaps we could all wear
wide-brimmed fedoras?

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towel_Day](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towel_Day)

[http://www.sfwa.org/2014/04/international-sir-terry-
pratchet...](http://www.sfwa.org/2014/04/international-sir-terry-pratchett-
day/)

~~~
myrmi
25th of May is also the Glorious Twenty-fifth on the Discworld, where those
involved in the People's Revolution wear lilacs to memorialise those they've
lost.

Seems obvious what should happen at this point.

------
mark_integerdsv
I met him once.

He came to talk at UNiversity of Cape Town here in South Africa.

I was never really a fan (not for any reason apart from my infatuation with
Gibson which kept me more in Chiba City than in Discworld) but I went with a
friend who got his copy of Mort signed.

Sir Pratchett gave a great talk and made a funny (yet by todays standards
perfectly hideous) comment about fat goth girls.

Just a memory that a total random holds of the man. For what it's worth.

------
dang
Url changed from [http://www.pjsmprints.com/](http://www.pjsmprints.com/),
which stopped working.

------
jhallenworld
Where is my Discworld augmented reality overlay (from Rainbow's End, Vernor
Vinge)? Google glass was supposed to bring us this...

------
riffraff
STP's books were my favorite for the last 2 decades, it's so sad to know he's
gone. So long.

------
jugchock
A little shocked at how hard this hit me, maybe it was from reading the
comments here. It always made me a little sad that I never met anyone in
person that appreciated him the way I did. Hopefully his death will spread
awareness of his work and his influence will never die.

------
spiritplumber
Ook :(

------
dageshi
I've read most of the books and listened to a great number of the audiobooks
which are brilliant in their own right, I'm very sad there'll be no more from
Terry but he left a body of work that really touched an awful lot of people.

GNU Terry Pratchett

------
batoure
I was first introduced to Terry Pratchett's work at the age of 9.

Much has changed over the years, but not the power of his books to bring forth
a conspiratorial giggle as I read them. Consistently confusing bystanders then
and today.

------
wglb
Ok, something weird here. Link to article redirects to localhost.

~~~
dang
Can anybody suggest another URL?

Edit: We'll use [http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-
arts-31858156](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156) via
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9191262](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9191262).

------
tomjen3
I seem to have a habit of only starting to read authors right around their
deaths, but for somebody who has not read him, which novel would be the best
to start with?

~~~
MrUnderhill
There is a handy Discworld Reading Order Diagram available at the following
link :)

[http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-
guides/](http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/)

~~~
lomnakkus
I can only second these recommendations. My first one was "Mort" which truly
_excellent_ since TP had found his stride by then. I can't say I remember much
about "Guards! Guards!" but IMO this story arc is the best one. The whole
Vimes/Vetinari "storyline" is truly masterful. (Might be coloured by Vimes and
Vetinari being my two favorite characters in the entire Discworld oeuvre.)

------
sekasi
Life long Pratchett fan. Only thing comes to mind is a quote that I don't know
who to credit for

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"

:/

~~~
larrywright
I've always heard that attributed to Dr. Seuss, but it looks like that's
disputed:
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss#Disputed](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss#Disputed)

I like to think it was Seuss, but to be honest it doesn't sound very Seuss-
ian.

------
dhackner
I'm in the middle of Feet of Clay - he'll be in my heart as I finish it.

------
AaronM
This makes me want to log back into the discworld MUD and pay my respects

------
smudgy
This makes me very, very sad.

Goodnight Sir Terry, we'll always remember you.

------
lotsofmangos
I hope he remembered to shoot the missionaries.

------
chrisau
Death finally catches Rincewind.

R.I.P. Greatly missed

------
known
RIP, Sir.

------
_0ffh
I resent this! :,-(

------
JohnLen
He was a great man.

------
Fuxy
Lol redirects to 127.0.0.1

------
etiam
Damn! Won't some millionaire here get him the cryogenics treatment. The world
should not lose a man like Terry Pratchett.

~~~
etiam
Apparently that's pissing people off. Too bad for those who feel offended.
I'll stand by my statement.

Pratchett has had a profoundly positive impact on the world including my life
in particular. I wanted to see him cured and flourishing to a ripe, very old
age. If I could have brought about even a moonshot possibility of having that
happen eventually I would. But I failed. I was too late. Some others needn't
have been.

Shit. I don't know that I've ever been this sad at the death of a public
person...

~~~
Jach
Alas it's too late, for his brain is dead and warm. There was a nice
'translation of a song' on today's _Harry Potter and the Methods of
Rationality_ chapter
([http://hpmor.com/chapter/120](http://hpmor.com/chapter/120)), I'll repost
here:

    
    
        Even if the stars should die in heaven,
        Our sins can never be undone.
        No single death will be forgiven
        When fades at last the last lit sun.
        Then in the cold and silent black
        As light and matter end,
        We'll have ourselves a last look back
        And toast an absent friend.

~~~
etiam
Thank you.

