A Slip of the Keyboard (A Book Review) · 7:51pm Jan 23rd, 2018
A Slip of the Keyboard
By Terry Pratchett (reviewed by B)
I'm glad to have read this book.
I did not expect much from Terry Pratchett, who came highly regarded from Mr. Numbers and Aragon, for the reason of his mediocre prose. I expected to get half-way through the first Discworld book, judge anymore to be a waste of my time, toss it aside and then move on.
What happened instead was me buying all the books on Death—the best so far.
Terry Pratchett taught me something special: that prose isn't everything. That narrative can be strong without flowery language, that dialogue can trump descriptors, and most importantly, that prose itself can be outright hilarious if supported by a sharp wit.
A Slip of the Keyboard covers the career of Sir Terry, from his frustration to get proper schooling to his journalism days, tidbits on being a writer and what it's like to be an author, and, of course, what it means to be allowed a good death.
I wish there were more I could say, other than Terry Pratchett is a wonderful, somewhat crazy man, and I am glad to have got to know him a little better—to see what lurks in the background of his books.
If you're interested in reading the Discworld books, start with Mort. If you want to give his more serious works a try, then Nation is worth your time.
~ B_25 ~
We lost a truly great author when he died. I recommend all of is book to anybody who ask me 'What should I read next?'
Mort's series is one of my favorites, for sure. Now that you've read that, maybe you should give Good Omens a go.
4780234
That's the one written with Neil Gaiman! Been looking for an excuse to pick it up and now I have one.
The Death series has by far been the best in Discworld. Guards is a close second, though I've meant to check out the rest.
By the way, I've been meaning to ask you for books to read for becoming a better writer, as well as any you've personally enjoyed. If you ever get free time, do you think you could spare a list?
Thank you for reading the blog!
4780214
My buddy came over the other day, never having read a book the day he got out of High-School, showing him Mort. He spent a good deal reading it, and I delighted to hear his every chuckle. Unfournatly, he didn't take the book home with him, but I'll try to get him to loan it one way or the other.
Fun Fact: Terry Pratchett received countless emails thanking him for getting kids into reading, all so that they could move on to read better books. Never failed to get a chuckle outta him.
4780244 Oddly enough, before I saw she had passed away, I was going to suggest Ursula Leguin's "Steering the Craft", since it has some very solid foundations overall.
4780896
This makes me sad to hear, and I know, after I read through a few of her books, I'll be all the more sadder.
Thank you for the recommendation, Wanderer. If you can think of any more, I'd love to read em.