Wonderduck's Pond

March 12, 2015

Terry Pratchett

I read Terry Pratchett's works only rarely. Good Omens, certainly. His retelling of the "Faust" story in the Discworld universe, yes. Maybe Carpe Jugulum, I can't remember. But that really covers it, pretty much. I remember being unhappy when I heard he had had a stroke, and quite vexed with the cruel universe that would find it humorous to afflict an author with Alzheimers. But it didn't really hurt me, y'know? Not the way Anne McCaffery did, for example... possibly because Pratchett could still write; Alzheimers is a progressive disease, after all.

Terry Pratchett passed away today, and I didn't really feel anything when I heard the news... until I read his final tweets announcing his death. If you're unfamiliar with Pratchett's writings, one of his main characters was Death itself, who always spoke in capital letters:

AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.

Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.

The End.

That's a good way to go out.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 01:11 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Posted by: Pixy Misa at March 12, 2015 05:50 PM (2yngH)

2 Yeah... almost no effect on me, but a lot of friends are pretty broken up about it. Man, 2015 has decided to come out swinging, hasn't it?

Posted by: GreyDuck at March 12, 2015 07:34 PM (AQ0bN)

When Prachett learned he had Alzheimers, he said he was going to investigate physician-assisted suicide, particularly in a clinic in Switzerland.

I'm finding myself thinking he got someone in Switzerland to give him a lethal dose of something painless, and that this morning he took it, at home.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at March 12, 2015 10:10 PM (+rSRq)

4 Reportedly not, Steven, but one never knows.

Posted by: Wonderduck at March 12, 2015 10:15 PM (jGQR+)

5 I think assisted-suicide is against the law in the UK, so of course they wouldn't admit it (for fear that his family or friends might face legal repercussions).

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at March 13, 2015 04:14 AM (+rSRq)

6 It was widely reported that Pratchett had some kind of respiratory infection in his chest, and that he just didn't manage to fight it off.

Very few people try to kill themselves when they've got pneumonia or colds, oddly enough. I suppose that having something infectious tends to focus the brain on survival.

Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at March 13, 2015 01:57 PM (ZJVQ5)

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