Sad News: Terry Pratchett Comments on his "Embuggerance"

[WarBlade]

Discworld fans have been given sad news from the man himself, Terry Pratchett. He left a public statement on Discworld artist, Paul Kidby's website, which I will quote here:

AN EMBUGGERANCE Folks,

I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".

We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet :o)

PS I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell. I know it's a very human thing to say "Is there anything I can do", but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.

Terry Pratchett

[ShadowHM]

That is very sad news, indeed. Alzheimers is such a cruel disease.

[Kylearan]

Hi,

ouch, that's nod good. Pratchett is one of my favorite authors; it's really amazing how someone can write so many good books at such high frequency.

I hope some form of dried frog pills can slow down his disease.

-Kylearan

[Axiis]

This is very sad... having suffered through a case of Alzheimer's in my own family, I can only imagine what it's like having to deal with a loved one getting early onset Alzheimer's.

[ShadowHM]

Report (for WarBlade and anyone else who loves the Discworld books):

I purchased a copy of the movie version of Hogfather and watched it with the boys the other night. (I had to wait until my youngest finally finished reading the book before I was willing to get the movie.) It was made with actual actors (as opposed to being animated) and was, I thought, surprisingly well done.

I had low expectations, I admit. I seldom like it when movies are made from books I enjoyed. But they stayed surprisingly true to the dialogue of the book. The Auditors looked a bit different from my expectations, but the other characters were not far off. Mr. Teatime did fit my expectations very well, as did Albert. And, as a bonus, Terry Pratchett has a cameo in it.

It was worth the price I paid for it. I am quite sure it will see a fair number of re-runs in this household.

[WarBlade]

I've actually see the first half of that one. It screened on television as a miniseries and I never saw when part 2 was going to be on.

I have seen the whole Colour of Magic adaptation though and really enjoyed that.

In other news (and I'm kicking myself for not bringing this up until now) Terry Pratchett is now Sir Terry Pratchett.

Source

'Delighted'

Sir Terry , 60, best known for his hugely popular Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, has sold more than 55 million books worldwide.

He said: "There are times when phrases such as 'totally astonished' just don't do the job.

"I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to say, flabbergasted."

More comments from Sir Terry

[KingOfPain]

Terry Pratchett starts process to take his own life

The Guardian

[Ilios]

Yeah, I'm not sure I would let that shitty disease consume me either.

[Selrahc]

Scared me for a second there...

The euthanasia thing is quite old news, and concerns a campaign for when the disease progresses too far. His latest statements are talking about their being time for "A few books yet".

[ShadowHM]

He's still backing the campaign for assisted dying, though. "The people who are opposed to it – you wouldn't want to print the word I use about them … I'm in it for the fight, rather than anything to do with me."

On that note, I was pleased to see this report come out this week, coupled with another legal challenge to be heard by the British Columbia Supreme Court.

Maybe by the time I need it, I can access it legally without having to decamp to Switzerland...