jonn reviewed Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett
Beautiful collection, tainted by Gaiman's foreword
5 stars
Cosy, cute and slightly naive. And yet, these sketches and ideas were clearly shaping into a coherent universe.
I'm happy that the portrayal of witches became more sophisticated, and that troll diet was changed to something completely outlandish in the books.
Conversely, I felt so happy to meet on these pages the English counterparts of unseen university fellows.
And, of course, reading about Santa changing jobs on a sunny Autumn day in Naples after having some ice cream is something I won't ever forget.
2023/24 were years of Pratchett for me and this book was a nice penultimate conclusion to it.
I know that I have rated it as 5 stars, which means that I should be able to provide many quotes, but for me this book was simply pure vibes. The literary sausage in the making. Travels and slow reading. So yes, here you go, young Terry, five stars. …
Cosy, cute and slightly naive. And yet, these sketches and ideas were clearly shaping into a coherent universe.
I'm happy that the portrayal of witches became more sophisticated, and that troll diet was changed to something completely outlandish in the books.
Conversely, I felt so happy to meet on these pages the English counterparts of unseen university fellows.
And, of course, reading about Santa changing jobs on a sunny Autumn day in Naples after having some ice cream is something I won't ever forget.
2023/24 were years of Pratchett for me and this book was a nice penultimate conclusion to it.
I know that I have rated it as 5 stars, which means that I should be able to provide many quotes, but for me this book was simply pure vibes. The literary sausage in the making. Travels and slow reading. So yes, here you go, young Terry, five stars. May you live in the wires forever.
• • •
P. S. On Gaiman: I didn't know who Gaiman was when I started the book, aside from roughly remembering that Good Omens had someone as a co-author (I never managed to start reading Good Omens properly, and now shan't).
I've savored this book since 2023, reading a short story now and then and already forgot who authored the foreword until I get to review it.
In the foreword, by the way, I think the guy moralizes Pratchett from a high horse vantage. Well, anyway, I don't want to turn this into a rant, but in my eyes now the guy is under a horse and I hope he gets thoroughly trampled.
