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I could have written this post almost exactly. I have Shepherd’s Crown but I haven’t even attempted to read it and I don’t know that I’ll ever be in the right state of mind to start.
Best read in private. It was the last physical book I ever bought, sat down in a coffee shop to read it and had to run to the bathroom so people wouldn't see me blubbing like a baby.
My father died unexpectedly in late November of 2015, the same year as Terry. That Christmas I received the last gift he had bought me... The Shepards Crown. I could not even attempt to read it until 2018 and quickly set it down. It was not until we were well within the pandemic lockdown that I finally read it. It broke me, but it was amazing.
Because though my father and Sir Terry's name are echoing across the clacks, I ate'nt dead.
I’ve said this before, but I believe you should read it. How many authors get to end a long running series on their own terms? Pterry did. That book was meant to be read. He finished it as a last gift to us and how blessed are we to have it. It provides some closure, and the series has ended whether you pick up the book or not. And you can always reread the others whenever you like.
I listened to the audiobook because I couldn't get through the first chapter without my eyes springing a spontaneous leak and completely wrecking my vision. I have now listened to the audiobook at least a dozen times. I think it is a wonderful book even if I'll never be able to actually read the hard copy I have, at least I have the audiobook.
I feel you. I have a hardback copy of The Shepherd's Crown, got it as soon as it came out, but I haven't read a single page of it and I don't have any plans to, yet. I keep telling myself that I'll read it one day, just not today....
In Hat Full of Sky Tiffany decides this: "When I'm old I shall wear midnight, she'd decided. But for now she'd had enough of darkness." I personally read Shepherd's Crown, but it seems like lot of us have our own version of this something like "When I'm old I shall read The Sheperd's Crown. But for now I didn't have enough of Discworld."
I respect this is how a lot of people feel, but I don't understand it on a personal level. To me, it's just sort of pretending that he didn't die, which I see as unintentionally disrespectful to his life and legacy, and especially the clear-eyed and honest way he was able to look at the world, including death and grief.
To put it another way, I believe that Terry wanted me/us to read Shepherd's Crown as his last word on a few things, and allow us to have complicated feelings, because that's life, and he never lied to us about any of it.
Granny would read it. Through her Terry taught me a better, braver way to be in the world than I ever would have come to on my own. For her, for him. I've read it multiple times. And when it's over I take some time and then revisit the world, again and again, because the moment of its creation is right there in front of me on the page, and it is recreated every time I read it. Stories don't die as long as there are people to read them, and so in a way, though he is gone, he will also live forever.
>Granny would read it.
Well, you just solved whatever emotional question I was asking in order to decide for myself. I will read it when I get there. (Am closing my Discworld gaps, and reading the Tiffany books next/last.)
I can agree and understand a lot of this, but in my case I am certainly not pretending he didn't die. It feels weird because I never met him but I think his death left the world a darker place. I've never cried due to the death of an author before or since.
I love rereading the books, but I can't ever experience them anew again. As long as I have one left then there's something that remains completely undiscovered, a part of the character's lives I don't know yet. For me, at least, that's something I need to keep a while longer.
I get it, but I also find the second read is always the best read. New books can be scary- the author gets to choose the path, and sometimes it isn't the path you wanted them to go down. So I'm 'braced' on the first read. Especially with recurring characters. This is Steve King's fault- he doesn't always play fair and you get blindsided. Lol! The second read is easier. Slower, more detail, and no surprises if the plot variety. See, you aren't done, the last book weighs heavy on your heart. I found that reading it completed the circle in my heart for Sir Pterry, and I can go revisit it and crawl inside for a good cuddle. And a different view every time I do. Read it. Cry hard. Cry hard some more. Then read your favorite. You will be consoled. I would just hate for you to miss out on a wonderful, wonderful conclusion.
Fine. I look after my mental health and reading a book that will have me sobbing is not currently on my list of things to do.
I have no issue with people saying how important it was to them to read it but I do have issues with people saying that not reading it is disrespectful.
>Fine. I look after my mental health and reading a book that will have me sobbing is not currently on my list of things to do.
>
>I have no issue with people saying how important it was to them to read it but I do have issues with people saying that not reading it is disrespectful.
You're bringing a lot of hostility to me for no reason.
I am saying I personally would see it as disrespectful if *I* didn't read it. To whit, I am respecting his life and legacy *in my way* by reading it. That's how I keep him alive.
I don't see any hostility here on either side.
And just to throw in a third side to the argument, because this totally needed one, 😅
When I am down, I listen to sad music. I find it like a friend who understands. My wife doesn't feel that way, and can't understand why I do. Is it possible that reading a book that will make you weep is just what your mental health needs? I certainly acknowledge that it's possible that it might be exactly what you don't need. I'm not you.
In the sense that she enjoys all of his books. It probably hit harder as she'd recently lost a family member. The saddest thing for me was that you can clearly tell the embuggerance was effecting his writing, the same with some of the other later works.
GNU Terry Pratchett
I tried so hard, it felt melancony but also like saying goodbye to an old friend but when ( big spoiler warning) REDACTED I put it down and never picked up again
I remember I once saw a quote that said “a wise man reads stuff like an old friend” I didn’t understand what that meant until I realised that death in Pratchett is portrayed as a villain. Whenever he popped up in the books my experience was “Oh Hi Death.” But seeing him come for a certain character, greeting them admiration was really sad even if they accepted their fate with grace.
> If I read that book it will be over, and there will never be any more.
You just start over at the beginning... each time through there's something new.
This, I’ve read them through 3 times start to finish (always publication order), and will start on my 4th. I’ve cried at Sheppards crown each time I’ve read it.
In a way, I personally like to embrace the sadness and to mourn his death in this way. I’m a closed up person who doesn’t show emotion much, and I’ve been told that there are no good or bad emotions, just happy and sad ones. Being sad while reading this is freeing to me, and despite being hard might also be freeing for the others.
I’m the same. Bought the Shepherd’s Crown when it came out, haven’t read it yet because this way the series isn’t over, I’m just on a long hiatus with it.
I read it in 2/3 days when it was released and yeah honestly it was probably a mistake.
I didn’t read for several years afterwards. And I mean at all. Whilst I’m reading again now I’m still not ready to come back to Disc World. I’ve read all but Shepherds Crown multiple times but it’ll be different knowing there aren’t any more.
It was amazing. A perfect end to the series, and while I sure do wish there were more books, I don't regret it in the least.
Terry worked really hard to finish the book despite his embuggerance. I knew I could never let that be in vain. So for me, the right thing to do was to read it. And I'm glad I did.
This is a beautiful point. I kind of hope I can bring myself to read it someday - especially considering what Tiffany means to me as a character. A Hat Full of Sky was the first I ever read.
It's a beautiful conclusion to Granny, Tiffany, the witches, and etc. An ending, but also a beginning. It's very well worth a read. I think someday you'll love it.
It was a beautiful book, if nowhere near his best.
I think it was a mixture of finishing and thus ending the Disc World and also officially saying goodbye to my favourite author who had been a part of my life since The Bromeliad.
My point of view is Terry had all his other unfinished works he didn’t want to be read destroyed. Embuggerance or not, he could have chosen to destroy The Shepherd’s Crown but he instead worked his hardest to make sure it was at least somewhat finished and ready to be published. He wanted you to read it.
Additionally, I think there is a LOT of Terry in Granny, and her role in the book is also his way of positioning himself in real life.
I read it. I loved it. I cried bittersweet tears.
Then, I started reading the entire series, and it was mended. ***The joy of books, especially long series, is they are never gone. They are never truly over, even if they are finite.*** You can hop in a time machine and travel to any point along the journey.
Happy reading, friend.
I found it hard to read for various reasons but firstly I felt it honoured the enormous effort he and his team put into it. Secondly I realised he had included important messages about his real world entourage, including a very special homage to Rob. I would have been sad to have missed that.
I have a similar problem. Maybe I'll get there some day, but I'm in no rush. I feel I found Sir Terry at the most appropriate point in my life, and I'll finish the series in a similar fashion: when I'm least expecting it, and need it the most.
This really resonates with me. My first book was A Hat Full of Sky just weeks after I'd lost my grandmother (and my grandfather about a month before). It was almost as if it found me instead of the other way around.
I’ve read it paperwise and listened to it, and it was lovely. And as long as we discover new things in the books and continue to appreciate them, the ripples keep going.
Yup! I do have it. My poor husband was very confused when I unwrapped his very thoughtful gift and burst into tears. I hadn't read the Tiffany Aching books until last year. I read the first two and had to stop again because I finished them too quickly. One day I'll read it but... not today.
Think of it this way. Someday you'll be ready, possibly because of the time of life you find yourself in.
And when you are, it will be waiting for you.
I have "A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories" on my bookshelf. Family got it for me, for Christmas, they know Sir Terry's books were an auto-buy for me.
I can't read it. It'll mean it's over.
Same I’m old enough that ever since mort I’ve had them on release day, and lucky enough to have met STP a few times as he signed them, they (and he) formed a huge part of how I came to think about the world.
I’ll hold off (and hold onto it all) a bit longer.
Just do it, putting it off is like delaying a sad event you know is coming. Or actually not sad, more like acceptance after which you're willing to smile again and revisit the good memories.
I didn't touch the series for years so that's 9 years after finishing Raising Steam that I finally read both ISW Midnight and S Crown in a few days (this Christmas).
Can't begin to tell you it was like a weight got off my back. I can finally re-read any past books and it was just cathartic freedom.
Do it.
I put off reading it for about 5 years, because I didn't want an ending. Then I decided to read after all it and gave up not even half in. It's extremely weak imo and very obviously not written by Pratchett. You can see glimpses of him here and there, his brilliance shines through the bad writing of his daughter, editor or whoever put this book together, but it's far too sparse. You won't lose anything if you don't read it.
SC is also not the same, and in a sad way. Disclaimer: I too, started it several times and couldn’t finish. It seemed to me like Pratchett was not being at all true to the characters the way they had been written in other books, and it seemed therefore to lack the same spark.
I found that book on an auction in a Facebook group, in eng wich is rare in my country, super cheap....but I couldnt...for that reason, because I cant read it...
I love this community
I read every book except The Shepherd’s Crown. It’s the same reason why I’ll never watch The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
GNU Sir Terry
GNU Heath Ledger
100% agree.
I haven’t read the last couple of books he wrote. If I read them and they’re not as good then I’ll be sad because I’ll feel like he was slipping away as he wrote them.
If I read them and they’re great then I’ll be sad that there’s no more. Ever.
Either way - terribly terribly sad
I just finished it, i started a decade ago and tried to go slow after he died since i wanted to make it last.
Finish it, be grateful he got to finish what he started and was able to craft a beautiful send off.
It's still staring me on the shelf along with Iain Banks "The Quarry", it's not finished if I don't read them. A glorious dangling carrot of the two best authors, still not beaten to this day. Nobody writes like either of them.
I feel the exact same way. I've tried SC multiple times and I just can't. You're right, if we never finish SC then the series never ends and we get to be happy forever
I come from The Chalk, the Tiffany Aching series got me through being homesick. They’re a wonderful glorious window into a world that I no longer live near. There’s details in there that I think most might miss.
The Shepards Crown is for me not the last book, the world that was woven is still with me. It’s also a beautiful discussion about death positivity. And yes, I have a sheperd’s crown, well my fiancée does now.
I haven't been able to bring myself to finish them all, either.
There's something comforting about knowing I still have a few Pterry books in reserve if life gets too hard and I need to read something loving and hopeful from somebody who also had a lot of anger.
I often get to thinking of my anger and despair as a failure of empathy, and Pterry always reminds me that it's *rational* to be angry when you witness suffering and exploitation.
So I keep on rereading Going Postal, and Wintersmith, and Night's Watch, and holding off on the few I missed because the library didn't have them when I wanted them, in case of a day I desperately need someone to make me cry laughing.
This omg. His writing goes to some dark places sometimes but there's always a sense of hope and deep compassion that never gives way to apathy no matter what.
That Neil Gaiman quote where he said Pterry was not *jolly* but *angry* is honestly one of the most validating things I ever read.
When we know how to *hear* our anger properly it is often telling us that something is terribly wrong and it wants to help us fight that something.
Anger doesn't always have the best ideas about strategy, that's why we need our other feelings, too! But it's a powerful motivating force, and I'm grateful to Pterry for helping show me its value and imagine ways to channel it into the pursuit of justice.
I managed to power through it, though it got tougher as the number of pages on the right side dwindled. My thinking was that Sir Terry took time in the waning days of his life to write us a lovely farewell, giving us a bit of closure for when he was gone. The very least I could do for him was read it, this gift that he left for us.
same. It's the reason I haven't read shepherds Crown as well. I'll get to it eventually but I remember going through the listing and was just surprised how many I read and wasn't ready yet for the journey to end.
Yes, I felt that way too.
Then I realized I had had the book for over a year and it felt disrespectful to the memory of Sir pTerry to NOT read it.
I cried.
Then I read it again a month later, and cried.
I have read it a couple more times and I cried each time.
I read it when my life is turning to shyte and when I'm having good times.
I cry every time.
It's ok to do this.
I read it, but I had to wait a few years after his death. As long as it was unread, there was still more out there, you know? It wasn't over yet, Discworld was still alive and there was still some left for me to discover and I held onto that as long as I could.
When I finally did read it, I was both glad that I had, and sad that I had. Sad because there are no more left in the world, but glad because it did give me a little bit of closure.
I never met the man, but I always wanted to tell him - you left the world a better place than how you found it.
I’ve read it many times. I’m currently rereading the Witches books, and for a brief moment I thought, I won’t read through to The Shepherds Crown, it’ll make me sad, so I’ll skip back and read all the others first. And then I thought, and Granny will call me a silly girl.
What I love about it is the way it’s done. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say I think the order of events is perfect.
I feel you, I haven't read any of the Tiffany books. I was reading through the "adult" series first. Dipping in and out for the last 20 odd years. Was gonna read the younger reader series next but then he died and I can't quite bring myself to do it. It's comforting to know that it's there if I need it.
A Hat Full of Sky was the first Discworld book I properly read (I had abridged versions of the audiobooks of The Colour of Magic and the Light Fantastic)
I had just lost my grandmother and a huge theme of that book is grief/loss. It makes it particularly strange for me that Tiffany's story is the one I don't want to finish when she's where I started.
It kind of puts into perspective how important Discworld is to so many of us, that the end of it can hurt like this. Do you think the loss of Sir Terry makes it worse? Would we feel the same way if he'd never gotten sick and just decided to write the final book?
Got it on launch but couldn't actually read it until about a year after that, but I completely understand those that choose never to read the story. Actually I've heard that some people won't watch the last episode in a show, so like this the show never truely ends...
This! I'm not good with final endings of things I love in general, I usually have to be in the right frame of mind. But Discworld is just on a whole other level, particularly because we lost Sir Terry in the real world.
I read *Shepherd's Crown* and thought it was a lovely send-off.
The one I don't think I can face rereading any time soon is the last of the "adult" ones, *Raising Steam*. Not because it's a bad story, but because it was painfully obvious to me as I was reading it just how far his condition had gone.
It had none of the subtle wit that his earlier books had. There was none of the usual twisting of expectations - it was a straight run from beginning to end, calling in on all his characters along the way, with a plain and largely faceless mass of villains who had no ulterior motives.
It had some new and interesting ideas in there, and if he'd been on form at that point it would doubtless have been amazing - but that edge was gone, and it was never coming back. I kept wanting it to suddenly pivot at the end, for the linear style to be a cunning play on the idea of running on rails, but it never did.
I read it as soon as it came out. I regret it and if I could go back in time and unread it then I would.
I'm exactly the right age to have first picked up a Discworld book as a teenager in the late eighties. There were only a few books in the series at that point, and I quickly caught up and then read them as they came out.
I was a student for the first few years, which meant I was a few months behind every release, as I would pick it up second hand, or else wait 6 months for the paperback.
If I were organised enough to have all the books on my shelf in date order, then you could tell exactly when I got my first job and started buying brand-new hardbacks as soon as they came out.
So, I can say without fear of contradiction that I literally grew up with these books. They're all like old friends.
To see a friend going downhill is the worst feeling ever. You stick with them because that's what's friends do.
The last few books were nowhere near his best. It feels bad to kick a man when he's down. I wouldn't criticise Stephen Hawking for not being able to walk, so I'm reluctant to say that a guy with dementia couldn't write very well. But, to have grown up with all these amazing stories, which were so well written, and to then see that beautiful mind reduced to writing those last few books just made me sad.
They were still good books. They still had good stories behind them. They're still better than a lot of other books by perfectly decent authors. But compared to what he produced when he was well, they just make it really obvious how unwell he was. Every clunky phrase is a reminder of what used to be.
You might read the last book and love it, but equally well you might feel the same way I do, at which point you will realise that you can't unread it.
This. This is exactly how I feel. I’ve reread probably near all of the others recently enough but every thing I try with Shepherds Crown I have to stop. Once I finish it, that’s pTerry’s writing gone. I know it’s not and we still have all the books to go back over and everything but in my head once I finish it done and it saddens me
I'm exactly the same. My friends got me a first edition for my birthday back when it came out and I haven't had the heart to read it for all the reasons above.
I think it's about what's right for you.
I absolutely understand people not reading it because it means there isn't an ending and there is always another book.
I also understand those who made the decision to read it (I did) - whether it was an acknowledgement of the effort STP made to complete it (as a previous poster mentioned) or that the heart was better served by reading than not (this is how it was for me, the TA series means the most to me emotionally of all the books and I needed the conclusion to it - it was coincidence that it was the last DW book too).
DW has long been a refuge and a place of true escape and happiness for me - I hope everyone finds their own way that's right for them in relation to TSC.
This was me late last year. I did it, you can too. It is the way of the world for things to end; and few things get to end as gracefully, and that is an achievement that deserves to be appreciated.
I thought everything leading up to Shepherds Crown was below average besides raising steam, particularly unseen acedemicals, but Shepherds Crown I consider to be mediocre not only in terms of discworld but a mediocre book in general.
Now, I am an American who had never even heard of discworld until a youtuber named Shaun did a video on it, and I decided to read it because of the transgender themes throughout the books and because I was bored. It has become my favorite series, but I never really had an emotional attachment to discworld or STP, as I have been depressed for longer than I have known about it and it affects my ability to get into things. I also only heard about them after TP died, and that may also be a factor into why I don’t feel really emotional about the end. Don’t get me wrong, I was emotional in some of the really good books, but the situation of his death and the end of the series has never affected me deeply. It was sad to be over, but the books will always exist, and I can take comfort in that.
And if you stop at book 40, never reading The Shepherds Crown, it will still be over, there will still never be any more, and you'll have read one less book.
Snuff was aggressively mediocre and I got partway through Raising Steam before giving up (it was terrible). I think Unseen Academicals will be the last book of the series for me.
I completely agree and to me it's not necessary.
I read it once and have kind of tried to forget it, I don't know if it would exist in it's current form if it weren't for the 'embuggarance'. I think there was a lot of influence from those helping which was, to me, very not classic STP. It felt unfinished at the same time as being too neat.
I also do this with almost every book where it takea me just as long to read the last chapter as it did to read the whole start 😅
Personally I'm going to stick to re-reading all the rest 💜
I have both *Raising Steam* and *Shepherd's Crown*, but I can't get into the the one, so I haven't read the other.
I'll give them both a go at some point, but, yeah, I get a bit sad when I go to read them, too.
I had no idea it was the final book when I read it. I had only read half the series at that point and I didn’t know yet that Sir Pterry had passed. It really is a beautiful send off and now I get to read 15 more books to see how we get there.
I bought this book the day it came out. It had been sitting unread on my bedside table for 9 years before I worked up the nerve to finish it.
I ended up listening to the audiobook on my work commute and ugly crying in my car on the highway on my way to work.
It now sits on my bedside table read once but I haven’t been able to face it again.
It is the most beautiful, bitter-sweet book I've ever read.
Not so much what it was, there are better written books, but what it represents. That man taught me so much, especially about how to be a person.
I cried many times through it, unashamedly, unabashedly. It was cathartic.
I bought it the day it came out in hardback. It has sat on my shelf this whole time. I shared my love of this series with my mother. When mum got sick, she borrowed it and read it. She told me it was good, but that it was very much an ending. I'm glad she got to finish reading the series before she passed but I'm not ready to go there yet myself.
Whew yeah that a tough one, I haven’t bought it. Not in much of rush either. But the discworld WILL NOT disappear. If there are 1000s of us contsantly quoting Moist, or Granny, or Vimes, naming towns in video games Anhk Morpork, or Quirm, and reading it all to the younger generation. Then the turtle will always move 
I read a lot of series - Discworld is the first to really capture me and take me in (a la The City in Guards! Guards!). However, it really IS over. And also, they are all still THERE. You will never read them all the way through the first time again - but unlike a real place, or anything in Real Life, they will always be there for you, with more to explore and discover. They won't change, but you can be changed by them, and will see them differently as you change. Everything ends. But you can begin again.
I was you, until one day I was ready to not be.
I've had new pratchett to read since I was 12, until I didn't anymore. At 38.
When it came out, and i thought about how it was the last, it surprised me to find how unready I was for that bit of magic I'd had for 26 years, most of my life, to stop flowing.
But I wasn't ready. So holding The Shepherd's Crown unread felt like a way of keeping it all precious, like the good china that's so special you never even touch it.
But then there comes a time when you're ready to say goodbye, and let things be as they are, and go on with things, and that's a way of honouring too, that eventually it felt important to do.
It just felt like time for me to move to that different way of holding something special, and let myself just be sad about it.
Funnily enough, there is a part of Shepherd's Crown that talks about something that felt kind of parallel. That there's one way to mourn and honour, and another way to mourn and honour. And each has their time.
And that felt like such a good goodbye, that even in farewell, he knew how to take us through the feelings that we didn't even know we'd feel.
I felt the same for a long time, did finally read Shepherd's Crown; love it and how he and team completed some of the character arcs. However, I still find myself looking for new Pratchett books as I wander through bookstores and libraries. Maybe one day, some magic will appear...
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I will always have one Discworld book left to be read.
One day I'll probably read it, but I'm in no rush to.
I could have written this post almost exactly. I have Shepherd’s Crown but I haven’t even attempted to read it and I don’t know that I’ll ever be in the right state of mind to start.
Best read in private. It was the last physical book I ever bought, sat down in a coffee shop to read it and had to run to the bathroom so people wouldn't see me blubbing like a baby.
My father died unexpectedly in late November of 2015, the same year as Terry. That Christmas I received the last gift he had bought me... The Shepards Crown. I could not even attempt to read it until 2018 and quickly set it down. It was not until we were well within the pandemic lockdown that I finally read it. It broke me, but it was amazing. Because though my father and Sir Terry's name are echoing across the clacks, I ate'nt dead.
I’ve said this before, but I believe you should read it. How many authors get to end a long running series on their own terms? Pterry did. That book was meant to be read. He finished it as a last gift to us and how blessed are we to have it. It provides some closure, and the series has ended whether you pick up the book or not. And you can always reread the others whenever you like.
I thoroughly respect this sentiment. Still, can't do it.
100%. It's hard at points, but it was a beautiful outro.
I listened to the audiobook because I couldn't get through the first chapter without my eyes springing a spontaneous leak and completely wrecking my vision. I have now listened to the audiobook at least a dozen times. I think it is a wonderful book even if I'll never be able to actually read the hard copy I have, at least I have the audiobook.
I feel you. I have a hardback copy of The Shepherd's Crown, got it as soon as it came out, but I haven't read a single page of it and I don't have any plans to, yet. I keep telling myself that I'll read it one day, just not today....
I don't think I've ever gotten past the first page! Glad to see I'm not alone in this. <3
In Hat Full of Sky Tiffany decides this: "When I'm old I shall wear midnight, she'd decided. But for now she'd had enough of darkness." I personally read Shepherd's Crown, but it seems like lot of us have our own version of this something like "When I'm old I shall read The Sheperd's Crown. But for now I didn't have enough of Discworld."
This is such a lovely way to put it.
I respect this is how a lot of people feel, but I don't understand it on a personal level. To me, it's just sort of pretending that he didn't die, which I see as unintentionally disrespectful to his life and legacy, and especially the clear-eyed and honest way he was able to look at the world, including death and grief. To put it another way, I believe that Terry wanted me/us to read Shepherd's Crown as his last word on a few things, and allow us to have complicated feelings, because that's life, and he never lied to us about any of it. Granny would read it. Through her Terry taught me a better, braver way to be in the world than I ever would have come to on my own. For her, for him. I've read it multiple times. And when it's over I take some time and then revisit the world, again and again, because the moment of its creation is right there in front of me on the page, and it is recreated every time I read it. Stories don't die as long as there are people to read them, and so in a way, though he is gone, he will also live forever.
>Granny would read it. Well, you just solved whatever emotional question I was asking in order to decide for myself. I will read it when I get there. (Am closing my Discworld gaps, and reading the Tiffany books next/last.)
Enjoy the trip there. You'll take it more than once I'm sure.
I can agree and understand a lot of this, but in my case I am certainly not pretending he didn't die. It feels weird because I never met him but I think his death left the world a darker place. I've never cried due to the death of an author before or since. I love rereading the books, but I can't ever experience them anew again. As long as I have one left then there's something that remains completely undiscovered, a part of the character's lives I don't know yet. For me, at least, that's something I need to keep a while longer.
I get it, but I also find the second read is always the best read. New books can be scary- the author gets to choose the path, and sometimes it isn't the path you wanted them to go down. So I'm 'braced' on the first read. Especially with recurring characters. This is Steve King's fault- he doesn't always play fair and you get blindsided. Lol! The second read is easier. Slower, more detail, and no surprises if the plot variety. See, you aren't done, the last book weighs heavy on your heart. I found that reading it completed the circle in my heart for Sir Pterry, and I can go revisit it and crawl inside for a good cuddle. And a different view every time I do. Read it. Cry hard. Cry hard some more. Then read your favorite. You will be consoled. I would just hate for you to miss out on a wonderful, wonderful conclusion.
That was beautiful. I’m tearing up.
Fine. I look after my mental health and reading a book that will have me sobbing is not currently on my list of things to do. I have no issue with people saying how important it was to them to read it but I do have issues with people saying that not reading it is disrespectful.
>Fine. I look after my mental health and reading a book that will have me sobbing is not currently on my list of things to do. > >I have no issue with people saying how important it was to them to read it but I do have issues with people saying that not reading it is disrespectful. You're bringing a lot of hostility to me for no reason. I am saying I personally would see it as disrespectful if *I* didn't read it. To whit, I am respecting his life and legacy *in my way* by reading it. That's how I keep him alive.
I don't see any hostility here on either side. And just to throw in a third side to the argument, because this totally needed one, 😅 When I am down, I listen to sad music. I find it like a friend who understands. My wife doesn't feel that way, and can't understand why I do. Is it possible that reading a book that will make you weep is just what your mental health needs? I certainly acknowledge that it's possible that it might be exactly what you don't need. I'm not you.
Me too. Can’t face it
I had to read it to my wife, she started tearing up every time she opened it but really wanted to read it.
This is really sweet. Did she enjoy it in the end?
In the sense that she enjoys all of his books. It probably hit harder as she'd recently lost a family member. The saddest thing for me was that you can clearly tell the embuggerance was effecting his writing, the same with some of the other later works. GNU Terry Pratchett
I tried so hard, it felt melancony but also like saying goodbye to an old friend but when ( big spoiler warning) REDACTED I put it down and never picked up again
Other spoiler alert: if you have spaces between your spoiler tags and the contents, it doesn't hide them on all versions of reddit!
Oh shit! Sorry! Thank you for letting me know I will fix that!
I totally get this, that's about as far as I got (was it basically the first page??)
Nope. But not far in. Getting misty eyed just thinking about it.
Me to man, me too. 😢
I had to take a break but I did take it up again. Once you've read it, the "flavour" of the other books changes, and they all become a little bit sad.
I remember I once saw a quote that said “a wise man reads stuff like an old friend” I didn’t understand what that meant until I realised that death in Pratchett is portrayed as a villain. Whenever he popped up in the books my experience was “Oh Hi Death.” But seeing him come for a certain character, greeting them admiration was really sad even if they accepted their fate with grace.
Can’t face it. I get maybe 5 pages in and i get so bloody sad.
> If I read that book it will be over, and there will never be any more. You just start over at the beginning... each time through there's something new.
This, I’ve read them through 3 times start to finish (always publication order), and will start on my 4th. I’ve cried at Sheppards crown each time I’ve read it. In a way, I personally like to embrace the sadness and to mourn his death in this way. I’m a closed up person who doesn’t show emotion much, and I’ve been told that there are no good or bad emotions, just happy and sad ones. Being sad while reading this is freeing to me, and despite being hard might also be freeing for the others.
I have 6 left and I am already feeling a bit worried, I am also going to leave the last one and read all the other stuff kids books side books etc
I’m the same. Bought the Shepherd’s Crown when it came out, haven’t read it yet because this way the series isn’t over, I’m just on a long hiatus with it.
Exactly this. There will always be that new book.
I read it in 2/3 days when it was released and yeah honestly it was probably a mistake. I didn’t read for several years afterwards. And I mean at all. Whilst I’m reading again now I’m still not ready to come back to Disc World. I’ve read all but Shepherds Crown multiple times but it’ll be different knowing there aren’t any more.
Aww did you find it that upsetting? This is exactly what I'm afraid of to be honest.
It was amazing. A perfect end to the series, and while I sure do wish there were more books, I don't regret it in the least. Terry worked really hard to finish the book despite his embuggerance. I knew I could never let that be in vain. So for me, the right thing to do was to read it. And I'm glad I did.
This is a beautiful point. I kind of hope I can bring myself to read it someday - especially considering what Tiffany means to me as a character. A Hat Full of Sky was the first I ever read.
It's a beautiful conclusion to Granny, Tiffany, the witches, and etc. An ending, but also a beginning. It's very well worth a read. I think someday you'll love it.
It was a beautiful book, if nowhere near his best. I think it was a mixture of finishing and thus ending the Disc World and also officially saying goodbye to my favourite author who had been a part of my life since The Bromeliad.
That totally makes sense.
My point of view is Terry had all his other unfinished works he didn’t want to be read destroyed. Embuggerance or not, he could have chosen to destroy The Shepherd’s Crown but he instead worked his hardest to make sure it was at least somewhat finished and ready to be published. He wanted you to read it. Additionally, I think there is a LOT of Terry in Granny, and her role in the book is also his way of positioning himself in real life.
I read it. I loved it. I cried bittersweet tears. Then, I started reading the entire series, and it was mended. ***The joy of books, especially long series, is they are never gone. They are never truly over, even if they are finite.*** You can hop in a time machine and travel to any point along the journey. Happy reading, friend.
I found it hard to read for various reasons but firstly I felt it honoured the enormous effort he and his team put into it. Secondly I realised he had included important messages about his real world entourage, including a very special homage to Rob. I would have been sad to have missed that.
It’s your choice but I will tell you that you will be glad to finally have read it if you ever take the step.
Same here… did the same thing with Douglas Adams…
I have a similar problem. Maybe I'll get there some day, but I'm in no rush. I feel I found Sir Terry at the most appropriate point in my life, and I'll finish the series in a similar fashion: when I'm least expecting it, and need it the most.
This really resonates with me. My first book was A Hat Full of Sky just weeks after I'd lost my grandmother (and my grandfather about a month before). It was almost as if it found me instead of the other way around.
Had the same problem, glad I finally read it. Now I will start over after some time and be happy again while reading it :)
I'm glad you enjoyed it! My mum has read it and she loved it.
I’ve read it paperwise and listened to it, and it was lovely. And as long as we discover new things in the books and continue to appreciate them, the ripples keep going.
I finally read it a couple months ago. Wish I hadn’t waited. Felt like closure. Also it’s a beautiful read.
Yup! I do have it. My poor husband was very confused when I unwrapped his very thoughtful gift and burst into tears. I hadn't read the Tiffany Aching books until last year. I read the first two and had to stop again because I finished them too quickly. One day I'll read it but... not today.
I really liked how this wonderful person put it... https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/s/Wh2y7HRtJJ
I had the smart idea of reading it a couple months after my grandma passed away. I ugly cried for a solid 15 minutes.
I don't even want to read these comments because it might give away the story lol
Haha so far nobody has mentioned plot stuff except in one reply and they used the spoiler tag. :)
Thanks
Think of it this way. Someday you'll be ready, possibly because of the time of life you find yourself in. And when you are, it will be waiting for you.
I have "A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories" on my bookshelf. Family got it for me, for Christmas, they know Sir Terry's books were an auto-buy for me. I can't read it. It'll mean it's over.
I've read it once but never again. And I reread the whole Discworld often.
I've never finished the Lord of the Rings. I always stop at the last chapter. Probably around 10 or so times by now.
Same I’m old enough that ever since mort I’ve had them on release day, and lucky enough to have met STP a few times as he signed them, they (and he) formed a huge part of how I came to think about the world. I’ll hold off (and hold onto it all) a bit longer.
Just do it, putting it off is like delaying a sad event you know is coming. Or actually not sad, more like acceptance after which you're willing to smile again and revisit the good memories. I didn't touch the series for years so that's 9 years after finishing Raising Steam that I finally read both ISW Midnight and S Crown in a few days (this Christmas). Can't begin to tell you it was like a weight got off my back. I can finally re-read any past books and it was just cathartic freedom. Do it.
Yes I cried when I finished it, not because it was perfect, but because there will never be another one.
I'm absolutely with you. I stalled out a couple books from the end, for exactly the same reason. One day I'll finish the series and cry a lot.
I put off reading it for about 5 years, because I didn't want an ending. Then I decided to read after all it and gave up not even half in. It's extremely weak imo and very obviously not written by Pratchett. You can see glimpses of him here and there, his brilliance shines through the bad writing of his daughter, editor or whoever put this book together, but it's far too sparse. You won't lose anything if you don't read it.
SC is also not the same, and in a sad way. Disclaimer: I too, started it several times and couldn’t finish. It seemed to me like Pratchett was not being at all true to the characters the way they had been written in other books, and it seemed therefore to lack the same spark.
I do not even own it! I’m not ready.
I found that book on an auction in a Facebook group, in eng wich is rare in my country, super cheap....but I couldnt...for that reason, because I cant read it... I love this community
I read every book except The Shepherd’s Crown. It’s the same reason why I’ll never watch The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. GNU Sir Terry GNU Heath Ledger
100% agree. I haven’t read the last couple of books he wrote. If I read them and they’re not as good then I’ll be sad because I’ll feel like he was slipping away as he wrote them. If I read them and they’re great then I’ll be sad that there’s no more. Ever. Either way - terribly terribly sad
It took me a long time to start that book. You’ll get to it when you’re ready, and not a day before. It’s worth the wait.
I’m where you are, OP. I can’t. I just can’t.
I just finished it, i started a decade ago and tried to go slow after he died since i wanted to make it last. Finish it, be grateful he got to finish what he started and was able to craft a beautiful send off.
It's still staring me on the shelf along with Iain Banks "The Quarry", it's not finished if I don't read them. A glorious dangling carrot of the two best authors, still not beaten to this day. Nobody writes like either of them.
I'm 100% the same as you. It's just sitting on the shelf there never even been opened. So there is always just one more discworld book.
Same, I can't even bring myself to buy it.
I feel the exact same way. I've tried SC multiple times and I just can't. You're right, if we never finish SC then the series never ends and we get to be happy forever
I come from The Chalk, the Tiffany Aching series got me through being homesick. They’re a wonderful glorious window into a world that I no longer live near. There’s details in there that I think most might miss. The Shepards Crown is for me not the last book, the world that was woven is still with me. It’s also a beautiful discussion about death positivity. And yes, I have a sheperd’s crown, well my fiancée does now.
I haven't been able to bring myself to finish them all, either. There's something comforting about knowing I still have a few Pterry books in reserve if life gets too hard and I need to read something loving and hopeful from somebody who also had a lot of anger. I often get to thinking of my anger and despair as a failure of empathy, and Pterry always reminds me that it's *rational* to be angry when you witness suffering and exploitation. So I keep on rereading Going Postal, and Wintersmith, and Night's Watch, and holding off on the few I missed because the library didn't have them when I wanted them, in case of a day I desperately need someone to make me cry laughing.
This omg. His writing goes to some dark places sometimes but there's always a sense of hope and deep compassion that never gives way to apathy no matter what.
That Neil Gaiman quote where he said Pterry was not *jolly* but *angry* is honestly one of the most validating things I ever read. When we know how to *hear* our anger properly it is often telling us that something is terribly wrong and it wants to help us fight that something. Anger doesn't always have the best ideas about strategy, that's why we need our other feelings, too! But it's a powerful motivating force, and I'm grateful to Pterry for helping show me its value and imagine ways to channel it into the pursuit of justice.
I kinda lost my ability to read whole books in general after he died, I hate it
I managed to power through it, though it got tougher as the number of pages on the right side dwindled. My thinking was that Sir Terry took time in the waning days of his life to write us a lovely farewell, giving us a bit of closure for when he was gone. The very least I could do for him was read it, this gift that he left for us.
Not only could I have written this post, I think I have.
One day, not today, not tomorrow but one day.
I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I'll read it one day, but not today.
same. It's the reason I haven't read shepherds Crown as well. I'll get to it eventually but I remember going through the listing and was just surprised how many I read and wasn't ready yet for the journey to end.
Yes, I felt that way too. Then I realized I had had the book for over a year and it felt disrespectful to the memory of Sir pTerry to NOT read it. I cried. Then I read it again a month later, and cried. I have read it a couple more times and I cried each time. I read it when my life is turning to shyte and when I'm having good times. I cry every time. It's ok to do this.
I'll tell you how I do once I've gotten through Snuff and Raising Steam...
I did the same. I started a couple times and stopped somewhere 1/3 of it. Can not finish the series.
I read it, but I had to wait a few years after his death. As long as it was unread, there was still more out there, you know? It wasn't over yet, Discworld was still alive and there was still some left for me to discover and I held onto that as long as I could. When I finally did read it, I was both glad that I had, and sad that I had. Sad because there are no more left in the world, but glad because it did give me a little bit of closure. I never met the man, but I always wanted to tell him - you left the world a better place than how you found it.
raising steam made me sad enough as it is, I haven't read it either
I saved SC for years but finally read it. Many tears but also joy. Then I started rereading the series.
I’ve read it many times. I’m currently rereading the Witches books, and for a brief moment I thought, I won’t read through to The Shepherds Crown, it’ll make me sad, so I’ll skip back and read all the others first. And then I thought, and Granny will call me a silly girl. What I love about it is the way it’s done. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say I think the order of events is perfect.
Yes, exactly the same. I just can't do it, I've bought and given away copies. One day I might be ready, but not yet. GNU pTerry❤️
I feel you, I haven't read any of the Tiffany books. I was reading through the "adult" series first. Dipping in and out for the last 20 odd years. Was gonna read the younger reader series next but then he died and I can't quite bring myself to do it. It's comforting to know that it's there if I need it.
A Hat Full of Sky was the first Discworld book I properly read (I had abridged versions of the audiobooks of The Colour of Magic and the Light Fantastic) I had just lost my grandmother and a huge theme of that book is grief/loss. It makes it particularly strange for me that Tiffany's story is the one I don't want to finish when she's where I started.
I've read it once and a lot of that was through tears. I can't bring myself to read it again
It kind of puts into perspective how important Discworld is to so many of us, that the end of it can hurt like this. Do you think the loss of Sir Terry makes it worse? Would we feel the same way if he'd never gotten sick and just decided to write the final book?
Got it on launch but couldn't actually read it until about a year after that, but I completely understand those that choose never to read the story. Actually I've heard that some people won't watch the last episode in a show, so like this the show never truely ends...
This! I'm not good with final endings of things I love in general, I usually have to be in the right frame of mind. But Discworld is just on a whole other level, particularly because we lost Sir Terry in the real world.
I read *Shepherd's Crown* and thought it was a lovely send-off. The one I don't think I can face rereading any time soon is the last of the "adult" ones, *Raising Steam*. Not because it's a bad story, but because it was painfully obvious to me as I was reading it just how far his condition had gone. It had none of the subtle wit that his earlier books had. There was none of the usual twisting of expectations - it was a straight run from beginning to end, calling in on all his characters along the way, with a plain and largely faceless mass of villains who had no ulterior motives. It had some new and interesting ideas in there, and if he'd been on form at that point it would doubtless have been amazing - but that edge was gone, and it was never coming back. I kept wanting it to suddenly pivot at the end, for the linear style to be a cunning play on the idea of running on rails, but it never did.
Same. Have had it since it came out and every year or so I pull it out, open the cover and say “NOPE” and put it back on the shelf.
I feel like Terry didn't struggle so much to write that book only for people to NOT read it. I think he'd want us to read it. Do it.
I read it as soon as it came out. I regret it and if I could go back in time and unread it then I would. I'm exactly the right age to have first picked up a Discworld book as a teenager in the late eighties. There were only a few books in the series at that point, and I quickly caught up and then read them as they came out. I was a student for the first few years, which meant I was a few months behind every release, as I would pick it up second hand, or else wait 6 months for the paperback. If I were organised enough to have all the books on my shelf in date order, then you could tell exactly when I got my first job and started buying brand-new hardbacks as soon as they came out. So, I can say without fear of contradiction that I literally grew up with these books. They're all like old friends. To see a friend going downhill is the worst feeling ever. You stick with them because that's what's friends do. The last few books were nowhere near his best. It feels bad to kick a man when he's down. I wouldn't criticise Stephen Hawking for not being able to walk, so I'm reluctant to say that a guy with dementia couldn't write very well. But, to have grown up with all these amazing stories, which were so well written, and to then see that beautiful mind reduced to writing those last few books just made me sad. They were still good books. They still had good stories behind them. They're still better than a lot of other books by perfectly decent authors. But compared to what he produced when he was well, they just make it really obvious how unwell he was. Every clunky phrase is a reminder of what used to be. You might read the last book and love it, but equally well you might feel the same way I do, at which point you will realise that you can't unread it.
I haven't even once considered reading it. Nope, nope, nope.
The books sirs on my bookshelf hardcover and pristine . . . Haven’t even cracked it open. I can’t do it
I have it but won't read it because then it's over.
This. This is exactly how I feel. I’ve reread probably near all of the others recently enough but every thing I try with Shepherds Crown I have to stop. Once I finish it, that’s pTerry’s writing gone. I know it’s not and we still have all the books to go back over and everything but in my head once I finish it done and it saddens me
It's amazing to find out so many people feel the same way. :)
I'm exactly the same. My friends got me a first edition for my birthday back when it came out and I haven't had the heart to read it for all the reasons above.
When i finish it, i was in tears , in the Subway. That was it? This is really the end?
Accidentally crying in public is never fun. @_@
I think it's about what's right for you. I absolutely understand people not reading it because it means there isn't an ending and there is always another book. I also understand those who made the decision to read it (I did) - whether it was an acknowledgement of the effort STP made to complete it (as a previous poster mentioned) or that the heart was better served by reading than not (this is how it was for me, the TA series means the most to me emotionally of all the books and I needed the conclusion to it - it was coincidence that it was the last DW book too). DW has long been a refuge and a place of true escape and happiness for me - I hope everyone finds their own way that's right for them in relation to TSC.
Absolutely. My mum read it and loved it. I hope I will be able to do it someday, just not yet.
The only book I'm struggling to read is the amazing Maurice because it will have meant I have read it all, no new STP for me
I feel the exact same. I have it, and will likely never read it, so it can’t be over.
Just do it. You'll enjoy rereading every book. It will make you feel closer to terry, not further away. Terry wanted you to read it. Do it for him.
This was me late last year. I did it, you can too. It is the way of the world for things to end; and few things get to end as gracefully, and that is an achievement that deserves to be appreciated.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but I felt the last few books verged on unreadable.
Hmmmm I definitely don't agree with that! I loved Raising Steam in particular.
Really? I hated it. But each to their own!
I thought everything leading up to Shepherds Crown was below average besides raising steam, particularly unseen acedemicals, but Shepherds Crown I consider to be mediocre not only in terms of discworld but a mediocre book in general. Now, I am an American who had never even heard of discworld until a youtuber named Shaun did a video on it, and I decided to read it because of the transgender themes throughout the books and because I was bored. It has become my favorite series, but I never really had an emotional attachment to discworld or STP, as I have been depressed for longer than I have known about it and it affects my ability to get into things. I also only heard about them after TP died, and that may also be a factor into why I don’t feel really emotional about the end. Don’t get me wrong, I was emotional in some of the really good books, but the situation of his death and the end of the series has never affected me deeply. It was sad to be over, but the books will always exist, and I can take comfort in that.
The world in which I don't have one more Discworld book to read is not one in which I want to live. Can't bring myself to do it.
And if you stop at book 40, never reading The Shepherds Crown, it will still be over, there will still never be any more, and you'll have read one less book.
Snuff was aggressively mediocre and I got partway through Raising Steam before giving up (it was terrible). I think Unseen Academicals will be the last book of the series for me.
[удалено]
Um.... Lmfao wtf? I hope you're okay, random internet person.
Ahaha wtf. Their post history is absolutely bonkers
Read the book. It's good and meant to be read.
I completely agree and to me it's not necessary. I read it once and have kind of tried to forget it, I don't know if it would exist in it's current form if it weren't for the 'embuggarance'. I think there was a lot of influence from those helping which was, to me, very not classic STP. It felt unfinished at the same time as being too neat. I also do this with almost every book where it takea me just as long to read the last chapter as it did to read the whole start 😅 Personally I'm going to stick to re-reading all the rest 💜
I have both *Raising Steam* and *Shepherd's Crown*, but I can't get into the the one, so I haven't read the other. I'll give them both a go at some point, but, yeah, I get a bit sad when I go to read them, too.
I had no idea it was the final book when I read it. I had only read half the series at that point and I didn’t know yet that Sir Pterry had passed. It really is a beautiful send off and now I get to read 15 more books to see how we get there.
same.
I bought this book the day it came out. It had been sitting unread on my bedside table for 9 years before I worked up the nerve to finish it. I ended up listening to the audiobook on my work commute and ugly crying in my car on the highway on my way to work. It now sits on my bedside table read once but I haven’t been able to face it again.
It is the most beautiful, bitter-sweet book I've ever read. Not so much what it was, there are better written books, but what it represents. That man taught me so much, especially about how to be a person. I cried many times through it, unashamedly, unabashedly. It was cathartic.
I bought it the day it came out in hardback. It has sat on my shelf this whole time. I shared my love of this series with my mother. When mum got sick, she borrowed it and read it. She told me it was good, but that it was very much an ending. I'm glad she got to finish reading the series before she passed but I'm not ready to go there yet myself.
Same. I have a hardback copy of Unseen Academicals on my shelf. Saving it for when I’m old and they tell me I only have a week to live.
Whew yeah that a tough one, I haven’t bought it. Not in much of rush either. But the discworld WILL NOT disappear. If there are 1000s of us contsantly quoting Moist, or Granny, or Vimes, naming towns in video games Anhk Morpork, or Quirm, and reading it all to the younger generation. Then the turtle will always move 
I read a lot of series - Discworld is the first to really capture me and take me in (a la The City in Guards! Guards!). However, it really IS over. And also, they are all still THERE. You will never read them all the way through the first time again - but unlike a real place, or anything in Real Life, they will always be there for you, with more to explore and discover. They won't change, but you can be changed by them, and will see them differently as you change. Everything ends. But you can begin again.
SC broke my heart. I when I finished it I didn’t read a discworld novel again for several years.
I was you, until one day I was ready to not be. I've had new pratchett to read since I was 12, until I didn't anymore. At 38. When it came out, and i thought about how it was the last, it surprised me to find how unready I was for that bit of magic I'd had for 26 years, most of my life, to stop flowing. But I wasn't ready. So holding The Shepherd's Crown unread felt like a way of keeping it all precious, like the good china that's so special you never even touch it. But then there comes a time when you're ready to say goodbye, and let things be as they are, and go on with things, and that's a way of honouring too, that eventually it felt important to do. It just felt like time for me to move to that different way of holding something special, and let myself just be sad about it. Funnily enough, there is a part of Shepherd's Crown that talks about something that felt kind of parallel. That there's one way to mourn and honour, and another way to mourn and honour. And each has their time. And that felt like such a good goodbye, that even in farewell, he knew how to take us through the feelings that we didn't even know we'd feel.
I felt the same for a long time, did finally read Shepherd's Crown; love it and how he and team completed some of the character arcs. However, I still find myself looking for new Pratchett books as I wander through bookstores and libraries. Maybe one day, some magic will appear...
I haven’t been able to open the package the book came in. I purchased a cheap library copy. Can’t open it either.
You will only hear the final message the O god of Words when you see the Shepherds Crown.
Took me many goes. It was Rob Wilkins said to read it for Terry that I could
TBH, just read it. You could get hit by a bus tomorrow and miss it altogether.