Terry Pratchett, Creator of Discworld, Dead at 66
Death is a major character in British fantasy author Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Appearing in almost all of the many, many Discworld novels, death no mere figure of terror or fright. It can be witty, gentle, even merciful. It’s this death that I hope Pratchett encountered as he lost his battle with dementia Thursday at his home near Salisbury, England. Pratchett wrote a wide variety of books, more than 70 in all, but he’s best remembered for his series of 40 or so books about Discworld, a fantasy realm that is balanced on the backs of four elephants standing on the back of a great turtle in space. That should give you a taste of the absurd, playful, witty nature of the books, which were told in a style that managed to be both humane and pragmatic, moving and hilarious at the same time. Discworld, being so much more than a standard generic fantasy or fantasy parody setting, allowed Pratchett to explore and parody various sub-genres while working within the