I blame it on Terry Pratchett · 6:53am Mar 13th, 2015
Years ago, at school, I picked up a book. I blame what happened next on Terry Pratchett.
The book was "Guards! Guards!", and its impact has never left me. I voraciously devoured all the other discworld books I could find, loving each and every one. I even tackled pyramids and small gods, where Pratchett's rapier wit skewered organized religion, and found them utterly, utterly fascinating, and quite frankly I think they're some of his best work.
It's no secret he was an atheist, but I think that's mostly because in the grand scheme of things, he knew that an atheist is reponsible for creating him (or her) self, and their own gods along with them.
And that's where Pratchett excelled -- he created an entire universe filled with fascinating people, places, events, and all of them strutted their hour upon the stage with such fiery passion that, in a very meaningful way, they became real.
More accessible than Tolkien, deeper than C. S. Lewis, more humour and hubris than Caroll or Stevenson... I aspire to be like him in my work, though last time I ran one of those ridiculous "who do you write like" it did indeed come out like Tolkien, so there you go (though to be fair, I used my Tolkien-like adventure to do the comparison).
Pratchett's work catches you off guard, and whilst I'm not sure it's his -- because while being one of my favourite books "of his", "Good Omens" was a collab with the equally amazing Neil Gaiman -- one of my favourite lines is "devils' wings are like angels' wings, only better groomed". It took me a while before that treacherous, traitorous, mind-expanding little throwaway gag penetrated my thick skull.
I could go on for a lot longer about him, seeing as he is an inspiration, a goal-post, an icon, a master wordsmith... but I don't know what more to say. Without him, I wouldn't be able to think so far outside the box. I'd be less of a person.
RIP.
Good Omens is definitely one of my favorites, though I didn't notice that particular line. I cherish all the Pritchett books that grace my library; the world is a bit lesser now that he has finally made his appointment with Death.
RIP, Terry. So long, and thanks for all the Disc.
We shall all miss him. His endless wit was taken away from us far too soon.
Have fun joyriding on Death's alternate-erased-timeline motorcycle, Terry. Your words shall echo forever in the Clacks of the Internet.
We've been losing some of our best these past two years... I'll miss him.
... I'm starting to wonder if there's a digital compilation of all of Pratchett's work. I'd love to be able to read his stuff at work.