I have been reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books from the time that the second one, The Light Fantastic, was released in paperback. They moved from being parodies of high fantasy, to hilarious sendups of real world topics set in a richly detailed fantasy world built up over the course of thirty seven Discworld books. Small Gods was satire on the gap between organized religion, Moving Pictures targeted Hollywood, and Soul Music was full of jokes about pop and rock.
Last year Terry Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He has donated $1m to research into the condition, which triggered an internet campaign by fans to raise a matching sum. He has become an advocate for better funding for dementia research. This is a horrible disease to strike someone who has given so much pleasure to so many through his writing.
It has just been announced that the Queen has awarded him a knighthood in the New Year’s Honour List, so he shall now be Sir Terry Pratchett; a richly deserved recognition of his literary contribution and his campaigning work for dementia sufferers and Orangutans.
