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A collection of short fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day. In the four decades since his first book appeared in print, Terry Pratchett has become one of the world's best-selling and best-loved authors. Here for the first time are his short stories and other short-form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screencharts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press, and the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.
Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas, all of it shot through with Terry's inimitable brand of humour. With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.
A collection of short fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day. In the four decades since his first book appeared in print, Terry Pratchett has become one of the world's best-selling and best-loved authors. Here for the first time are his short stories and other short-form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screencharts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press, and the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.
Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas, all of it shot through with Terry's inimitable brand of humour. With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
From the book
The Hades Business
Science Fantasy magazine, ed. John Carnell, no. 60, vol. 20, August 1963. An earlier version was published in the Technical Cygnet, the High Wycombe Technical High School magazine.
Argh, argh, argh . . . if I put my fingers in my ears and go “lalalala” loudly I won’t hear you read this story.
It’s juvenile. Mind you, so was I, being thirteen at the time. It’s the first thing I ever wrote that got published. In fact it’s the first thing I ever wrote with the feeling that I was writing a real story.
It began as a piece of homework. The English teacher gave me twenty marks out of twenty for it, and put it in the school magazine. The kids liked it. I was a writer.
And this was a big deal, because I hadn’t really been anything up until then. I was good at English. At everything else I was middling, one of those kids that don’t catch the teacher’s eye and are very glad of it. I was even bad at sports, except for the one wonderful term when they let us play hockey, when I was bad and very dangerous.
But the other kids had liked it. I’d sniffed blood.
There were three, yes, three professional sf and fantasy magazines published in the UK in those days. Unbelievable, but true. I persuaded my aunt, who had a typewriter, to type it out for me, and I sent it to John Carnell, who edited all three. The nerve of the kid.
He accepted it.
Oh boy.
The £14 he paid was enough to buy a second-hand Imperial 58 typewriter from my typing teacher (my mother had decided that I ought to be able to do my own typing, what with being a writer and everything) and, as I write, it seems to me that it was a very good machine for fourteen quid and I just wonder if Mum and Dad didn’t make up the difference on the quiet.
Fortunately, before I could do too much damage with the thing, study and exams swept me up and threw me out into a job on the local paper, where I learned to write properly or, at least, journalistically.
I’ve reread the story and my fingers have itched to strip it down, give it some pacing, scramble those clichés, and, in short, rewrite it from the bottom up. But that would be silly, so I’m going to grit my teeth instead.
Go ahead, read.
I can’t hear you! Lalalalalalala!
Crucible opened his front door and stood rooted to the doormat.
Imagine the interior of a storm cloud. Sprinkle liberally with ash and garnish with sulphur to taste. You now have a rough idea as to what Crucible’s front hall resembled.
The smoke was coming from under the study door. Dimly remembering a film he had once seen, Crucible clapped a handkerchief to his nose and staggered to the kitchen. One bucket of water later, he returned. The door would not budge. The phone was in the study, so as to be handy in an emergency. Putting down the pail, Crucible applied his shoulder to the door, which remained closed. He retreated to the opposite wall of the hall, his eyes streaming. Gritting his teeth, he charged.
The door opened of its own accord. Crucible described a graceful arc across the room, ending in the fireplace, then everything went black, literally and figuratively, and he knew no more.
A herd of elephants were doing the square dance, in clogs, on Crucible’s head. He could see a hazy figure kneeling over him.
“Here, drink this.”
Ah,...
About the Author-
TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he is the author of fifty bestselling books. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen and he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Worldwide sales of his books now stand at 70 million, and they have been translated into thirty-seven languages.
Reviews-
February 2, 2015 Diehard Pratchett fans will celebrate this first-ever collection of short fiction from the world-famous author of the Discworld novels. These 32 pieces, which show Pratchett “playing with words to see what happens,” include his student writing and stories that anticipate his later novels. The author’s wry wit shines early on with the publicity-minded devil of “The Hades Business,” written at age 13. “Kindly Breathe in Short, Thick Pants,” “And Mind the Monoliths,” and “There’s No Fool like an Old Fool Found in an English Queue” celebrate “half-baked politicians” and bureaucrats. In “The Glastonbury Tale,” “Twenty Pence, with Envelope and Seasonal Greetings,” and “Once and Future,” Pratchett twists classic tales from Chaucer, Dickens, and T.H. White. Discworld characters Cohen the Barbarian, Granny Weatherwax and her fellow witches, the wizards of Unseen University, and Lord Vetinari, ruler of Ankh-Morpork, make appearances in a special section of Discworld-related works. “Short stories cost me blood,” Pratchett reminds readers, citing his much greater comfort with novels. Though the stories here aren’t his absolute best writing, there is plenty to entertain curious fans. Longtime Pratchett illustrators Josh Kirby and Paul Kidby provide entertaining artwork.
January 15, 2015 A short story collection covering the entire career of one of our most prolific, and beloved, fantasy writers. Pratchett (Dragons at Crumbling Castle: And Other Tales, 2015, etc.) wrote the first story in this collection when he was just a teenager, and it's astonishing to see how much of the Pratchett-ness is there already. His ability to create a character in a phrase and a plot in a paragraph; his wit; his knowingness-it's all there. Yes, some of the earlier stories are, though funny, a bit glib. And there are a few bits of Discworld ephemera that are probably for fans only. But then there's the loner at the outer edges of the multiverse whose peace is shattered by two intruders from the universe next door. There's the hero who shows up at the door of the writer who just killed him off. There's a time traveler named Mervin who gets stuck in a not-quite-England in need of a king, a bunch of witches who are pretty tired of Esme always winning the Trials, and a letter to Father Christmas that doesn't come from the sort of person you'd expect-or from a person at all. One of the main draws of this collection for serious fans, or aspiring writers, will be the chance to trace the evolution of Pratchett's craft-but there's plenty here for readers who have never heard of him to enjoy.
COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
February 15, 2015 Well, here's a treat: the first collection of short fiction from the creator of the fabulously popular Discworld series. About half the book is given over to Discworld stories, with the other half comprising a fascinating miscellany, including newspaper writings done early in Pratchett's career. The author's very first published short story is here, too, written nearly 55 years ago (he was 13). Also here is the story that sparked Pratchett's collaboration with Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth (2012). In addition, there is is a hysterical transcript of a fake political broadcast, a spoof of The Canterbury Tales, a story about a guy who's hired as Hell's public relations director, and a clever tale about Christmas cards come to life. The quality ranges quite considerably, but as a representation of the short-fiction career of one of the fantasy genre's most respected authors, this volume will be much sought after by Pratchett's many devoted fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
February 15, 2015
This collection spans the entirety of Pratchett's prolific career, beginning with the first short story he ever published (when he was just 13), "The Hades Business." Included here are original tales that inspired his "Bromeliad" trilogy and "The Long Earth" series (coauthored with Stephen Baxter) as well as some welcome additions to the "Discworld" canon. Each piece is introduced by the author, giving readers an idea of its where, when, and why. VERDICT With an introduction by A.S. Byatt, this volume provides insight into the extraordinary mind and wit of Pratchett and reveals how he evolved as a writer. An excellent introduction to his work for new readers and the piece de resistance for longtime fans.[See Prepub Alert, 9/22/14.]--Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2014
Though a third of the stories here are set in Pratchett's blockbuster Discworld universe, this collection ranges over Pratchett's entire career. There's even an introduction from A.S. Byatt comparing Pratchett to British fantasy stars from Tolkien to Rowling.
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
The New York Times Book Review
"A book meant to be cherished."
The Washington Post Book World
"Some writers simply possess the Gift. No matter what they bring out. . . . That's certainly the case with Terry Pratchett."
The Guardian
"Pratchett is one of the great comic writers and storytellers of our time."
New York Daily News
"One of the giants in the world of fantasy literature."
The Daily Telegraph (London)
"You can't call what Pratchett does satire--it's far too good-natured for that--but he has a satirist's instinct for the absurd and a cartoonist's eye for the telling detail."
Kirkus Reviews
"A short story collection covering the entire career of one of our most prolific, and beloved, fantasy writers. . . . One of the main draws of [A Blink of the Screen] for serious fans, or aspiring writers, will be the chance to trace the evolution of Pratchett's craft--but there's plenty here for readers who have never heard of him to enjoy."
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