A Stroke of the Pen, Terry Pratchett

My daughter bought me A Stroke of the Pen as a surprise. She knows I have always been a fan of the late Terry Pratchett and has bought me special edition copies of a lot of his books. It was a real surprise to receive this one though.

I’m not sure where she bought this copy from but it’s a special edition and it’s different from anything else I can find online. I love the gold Discworld stamp and embossed signature inside.

The Blurb

A truly unmissable set of unearthed stories from the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett: award-winning and bestselling author, and creator of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.

An exclusive collection of twenty early short stories by one of the world’s best loved authors, these are rediscovered tales that Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym for newspapers during the 1970s and 1980s.

Whilst none of the stories are set in the Discworld, they hint towards the world he would go on to create in his award-winning and globally bestselling series, containing all of his trademark wit, satirical wisdom and fantastic imagination. These are tales which entertain, enlighten and, most importantly, make you laugh.

Meet Og the inventor, the first caveman to cultivate fire, as he discovers the highs and lows of progress; haunt the Council with the defiant evicted ghosts of Pilgarlic Towers; visit Blackbury, a small market town with weird weather and an otherworldly visitor; and travel millions of years back in time to The Old Red Sandstone Lion pub.

The final ever ‘new’ writing to be published from the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett, A Stroke of the Pen is a must-have collection of fantastic short stories for fans, old and new.

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9780857529633
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 442 g
Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 25 mm

You can buy from Waterstones for £16.99 hardback edition

A Stroke of the Pen my Review

The fan base for Terry Pratchett is still very strong even 8 years past his death. We often speak less of his stories now but always uphold his views and treat each other with respect. There have been ups and downs amongst fans and there have been divisions but the truth is we still aten’t dead yet! (I have the necklace to prove it!)

These short stories where written by a young Terry Pratchett for a newspaper under the pseudonym Patrick Kearns. It’s an enjoyable journey seeing the young writer finding his way around his fantasy ideas and a good read. I loved the story of Father Christmas, I guess it’s a little old fashioned as he goes to the job centre…does anyone actually do that these days, I think job searches are all done online! But it’s a sweet funny story and Terry Pratchett always did have a soft spot for Christmas and wrote a few children’s stories about it. I love that the Abominable Snow-Baby was made into an animation. I’ve already watched it this year.

Later he put a darker twist on Christmas because in the Discworld series, Father Christmas becomes The Hogfather, and when he goes missing, Death (grim reaper) takes his place for the night. HO HO HO!

The other stories are a little dated in places but you can see the ideas of his future characters and places developing, things that us fans have become to know and love and miss so very much.

If you are not a fan of Terry Pratchett then you will enjoy this as a book of slightly old fashioned, but funny/quirky short stories.

The Audio book is supposedly very good with different narrators such as David Tennant, David Jason, Derek Jacobi, Inidra Varma and his daughter Rhianna Pratchett. (I might just have to get it!)

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