Got my signed copy of the new Terry Pratchett!
by John MacBeath Watkins
I've just received in the mail my new copy of Terry Pratchett's new novel, Snuff. Pratchett is my favorite living author, which makes it a bit annoying that usually when I hear about him these days, it's because he's once again embroiled in the death with dignity controversy, as he has been pretty much since he was first diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. I'd been hoping he could reliably churn out a book a year into his 90s, like P.G. Wodehouse. It is not convenient to me for him to die without doing this, and it is upsetting to be reminded of his mortality.
So it's a relief to hear in a recent interview with Neil Gaiman that he says he still has good use of language, though he can't type and has to think twice putting his trousers on in the morning.
And, happily, he can still sign his name, so I've got a nice little book plate he signed in the book, along with a stamp that says...
Well, at least they didn't say it was his Snuff tour. His subject matter in the last book, I Shall Wear Midnight, was darker than usual, but then, the books have been getting steadily more serious over the years, and one of my favorites, Small Gods, deals with some fairly dark aspects of religion, while another, The Hogfather, is about an assassin who sets out to kill the Discworld equivalent of Santa.
I'm delighted to learn that Sir Pterry is working with Stephen Baxter on a project reviving the long earth, a series he abandoned when the Discworld books took off. We may not have him as long as we want, but he's still producing books for now.
So it's a relief to hear in a recent interview with Neil Gaiman that he says he still has good use of language, though he can't type and has to think twice putting his trousers on in the morning.
And, happily, he can still sign his name, so I've got a nice little book plate he signed in the book, along with a stamp that says...
"Sir Terry Pratchett
American tour 2011
Snuff
The New Discworld Novel
Seattle"
Well, at least they didn't say it was his Snuff tour. His subject matter in the last book, I Shall Wear Midnight, was darker than usual, but then, the books have been getting steadily more serious over the years, and one of my favorites, Small Gods, deals with some fairly dark aspects of religion, while another, The Hogfather, is about an assassin who sets out to kill the Discworld equivalent of Santa.
I'm delighted to learn that Sir Pterry is working with Stephen Baxter on a project reviving the long earth, a series he abandoned when the Discworld books took off. We may not have him as long as we want, but he's still producing books for now.
"Hogfather" was the first Discworld book that I read and I fell in love with his universe. Currently I am working my way through the books about the city watch. My husband and I discovered them when driving from Alaska to Oregon. "Guards, Guards" made the week long drive go much faster.
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