Beyond The Grave

I walked through a store the other day, and I was very confused to see a book on a new release rack by Terry Pratchett. A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories.

To everyone who is a fan we can all say he died far too young, at the age of 66, in 2015. He undoubtedly had more tales to tell, and those tales which he did leave us have reached recent new popularity and revival by means of his writing companion Neil Gaiman and the BBC in the production of Good Omens. While I was less a fan of season two, found it less on point to Gaiman’s writing, it doesn’t detract from the fact that I loved his books, grew up on them and they were one of the group of pieces that formed my character.

I ramble but my point is perhaps, I could be justified in being surprised not quite a decade from his death that new Terry Pratchett books were available. To write to us from beyond the grave is a very rare treat. How many of us have a favorite artist, musician or author we would give nearly anything for one more magical piece?

Here we have dozens.

This is not what most people would have considered a normal collection. These were pieces he wrote at times under other names, extremely early in his career, and you can see the artist’s growth from just starting, to who he will become. Even the worst of them, are still clearly the same tone and same perspectives he will show us later as a more mature author, and honestly by the halfway point it is very clear that Pratchett had found who he was going to become. They are short, wonderful, whimsical additions to the Pratchett collection, and I couldn’t more highly recommend them.

To every author out there. If you have pieces half finished, and hidden gems, please leave them for us. Your fans will thank you for years to come. You never know, your fame may peak after you have decided to take a permanent nap.