Terry Pratchett, acclaimed fantasy author, dies
Fantasy author Terry Pratchett has died at age 66.
Pratchett was the author of the "Discworld" series, among other works, which began with his 1983 book “The Color of Magic” and also includes such titles as “Wyrd Sisters,” “Small Gods,” “The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents,” and “Night Watch.” He released the book “Raising Steam” in 2013 and he recently released a collection, titled “Dragons at Crumbling Castle,” of some of his early stories.
The author’s novels are known for their satire of fantasy tropes and of other well-known works (for example, parts of Pratchett’s book “Night Watch” are his take on “Les Misérables”). The author was the bestselling author in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, according to the Guardian. Nancy Pearl, called “the country’s most famous librarian” by Monitor writer Rebekah Denn, selected Pratchett as one of her favorite writers in a 2011 interview.
According to the Telegraph, Transworld Publishers managing director Larry Finlay said of Pratchett in a statement, “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 humor and constant invention.”
He was knighted in 2009 and his book “Maurice” won the Carnegie Medal in 2001. He received the 2010 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. His books have received and been nominated for such awards as the Prometheus Award, which is given to libertarian science fiction novels, and the Locus Award, which are given out by the science fiction and fantasy magazine of the same name.
According to the Guardian, Pratchett had finished a new “Discworld” book this past summer.
The figure of Death appears often as a character in Pratchett’s books, one who speaks all in capital letters, and Pratchett’s daughter Rhianna referenced this character when tweeting about Pratchett’s death.
