Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Colin Bishop on March 12, 2015, 03:34:52 pm
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Very sorry to hear that Terry Pratchett has just lost his long battle with Alzheimers.
His books were not just funny but were very perceptive in exploring the human condition and mocking prejudice. A great man and a disappointment that there will be no more Discworld novels.
Colin
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A very funny writer and a great human being,spent many happy hours lost in his books may he rest in peace after suffering for many years from that terrible altzimers, Ray.
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R.I.P. Terry, I can still remember and laugh at "Teppic" the kings son's antics at the school of assassins and the greatest mathematician in all the world "You "illigitimate"" the camel. He will be sadly missed. My condolences to his family.
Regards,
Peter.
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Excellent Terry quote on the BBC which is relevant to a lot of us I think!
"Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened."
Colin
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Very true Colin
RIP Terry.
Ned
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Great shame, I enjoyed his books so much. Fortunately I still haven't read them all, so will treasure those left all the more.
(And Death of Rats remains one of my favourite Pratchett creations {-) )
Greg
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So many stories yet that we will never see. A sad, sad, loss for all of us.
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A sad loss. At least it appears he didn't have to choose to meet his creation as he seemed to believe he might.
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A very sad day, I love his books, can't believe there won't be any more 8)
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A huge loss to literature.
Favourite character(s)? The Nac Mac Feegles - "Crivens" "Oh Waily Waily"
Susan Sto Helit - What a heroine! Makes Mary Poppins look like a real wimp!
I've got all his books and reread them when I need cheering up.
Dave.
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What about "Gaspode" ? Bark said Gaspode! did that dog speak then.
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......and the character for whom Gaspode was the thinking brain dog - Foul Ole Ron. And Corporal Nobbs. And Throat Dibbler. Such a huge, rich and wonderful tapestry that he created.
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RIP, Sir...you deserve it.
Rich
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My fav character Rincewind but love all at the unseen university and of course the watch
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RIP Terry.
just re-read Colour of Magic (also watched the DVD again!)
Favourite character : Cohen the barbarian (could only manage Shoup - until he got himself some dentures!)
Richard
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Sir Terry Pratchett used to be an industrial journalist reporting for the in-house newspaper for the South West Region of the Central Electricity Generating Board in the UK.
That background sometimes popped up in his novels in expressions like “…… it made the sound of a spanner passing through a 660MW steam turbine….”.
In his Discworld novel “Thief of Time”, there were Tibetan monk type characters that controlled time with the use of giant prayer wheels in a great hall – if they spun the wheels faster time would be let out, or, if spun slower than time would be pulled back in.
Well, that was a direct take on Sir Terry’s experience in visiting power stations where the National Grid frequency was adjusted to maintain the old synchronous clocks – during the day when the frequency was low the clocks slowed down and at night (generally) the frequency (more power Scotty) was raised to speed them up.
We even had a clock with two minute hands – one driven by the grid and t’other from the old pendulum clock (it was a long while ago!); this showed any discrepancy.
My wife read the same novel, but had no idea it was partially a critique on the power industry – very subtle our Sir Terry!
We had some “Tibetan monks” at my old power station, who had that mystical ability to predict your future if you repeated any mistake!
Ian
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Someone mentioned Pyramids and that reminded me about a character. I think Pratchett just about covered everyone in his book.
"A new player had entered the drama of his death.
Grinjer, the maker of models.
He'd always wondered about the models. Even a humble farmer expected to be buried with a selection of crafted livestock, which would somehow become real in the netherworld. Many a man made do with one cow like a toast rack in this world in order to afford a pedigree herd in the next Nobles and kings got the complete set, including model carts, houses, boats and anything else too big or inconvenient to fit in the tomb. Once on the other side, they'd somehow become the genuine article.
The king frowned. When he was alive he'd known that it was true. Not doubted it for a moment
Grinjer stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as, with great care, he tweezered a tiny oar to a perfect 1/80th scale river trireme. Every flat surface in his corner of the workshop was stacked with midget animals and artifacts; some of his more impressive ones hung from wires on the ceiling.
The king had already ascertained from overheard conversation that Grinjer was twenty-six, couldn't find anything to stop the inexorable advance of his acne, and lived at home with his mother. Where, in the evenings, he made models. Deep in the duffel coat of his mind he hoped one day to find a nice girl who would understand the absolute importance of getting every detail right on a ceremonial six-wheeled ox cart, and who would hold his glue-pot, and always be ready with a willing thumb whenever anything needed firm pressure until the paste dried.
He was aware of trumpets and general excitement behind him. He ignored it. There always seemed to be a lot of fuss these days. In his experience it was always about trivial things. People just didn't have their priorities right. He'd been waiting two months for a few ounces of gum varneti, and it didn't seem to bother anyone. He screwed his eyeglass into a more comfortable position and slotted a minute steering oar into place.
Someone was standing next to him. Well, they could make themselves useful .
'Could you just put your finger here,' he said, without glancing around. 'Just for a minute, until the glue sets.'
There seemed to be a sudden drop in temperature. He looked up into a smiling golden mask. Over its shoulder Dios's face was shading, in Grinjer's expert opinion, from No.13 (Pale Flesh) to No.37 (Sunset Purple, Gloss).
'Oh,' he said.
'It's very good,' said Teppic. 'What is it?'
Grinjer blinked at him. Then he blinked at the boat.
'It's an eighty-foot Khali-fashion river trireme with fishtail spear deck and ramming prow,' he said automatically.
He got the impression that more was expected of him. He cast around for something suitable.
'It's got more than five hundred bits,' he added. 'Every plank on the deck is individually cut, look.'
'Fascinating,' said Teppic. 'Well, I won't hold you up. Carry on the good work.'
'The sail really unfurls,' said Grinjer. 'See, if you pull this thread, the-'
The mask had moved. Dios was there instead. He gave Grinjer a short glare which indicated that more would be heard about this later on, and hurried after the king. So did the ghost of Teppicymon XXVII." - Pyramids
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Just magic to 're read something from a few years back
Ned
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I too am rereading some of our Discworld books (though I had started several months ago), along with those of another recently(ish) deceased author, Iain M Banks.
It is so sad that there will be no more books in either of these series.
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I read "The Quarry" by Ian M Banks on the basis that he was a mate of Ian Rankin, who had praised his work to the skies when he died. It was sooooooooooo depressing.....................
I will read TP's books now - a pleasure I've somehow missed or overlooked in the past.
DM
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I read "The Quarry" by Ian M Banks on the basis that he was a mate of Ian Rankin, who had praised his work to the skies when he died. It was sooooooooooo depressing.....................
I will read TP's books now - a pleasure I've somehow missed or overlooked in the past.
DM
Wrong I'm afraid. That was Iain Banks, same man, different author.
We have a few of his too and I agree they are not easy and I gave up getting them. The 'M' books are very different - sci-fi, space opera.
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So it wasn't written by Ian M Banks; it was written by Ian Banks........but they are one and the same person.
So I was both correct and wrong at the same time.
It's only because I'm so stupid that I haven't yet realised how clever I am.................. ;D
DM
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Yes, a double Banked writer!
The Space Opera stuff is good and I love his artificial intelligence starship classes and their quirky names, list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series
Colin
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The Space Opera stuff is good and I love his artificial intelligence starship classes and their quirky names, list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series)
One reason I love both these authors is that I think Banks' Culture and Pratchett's Discworld share an optimism about civilisation (I nearly said humanity, but that really isn't correct in either case) that is sadly hard to see in the real world.