A Tribute to Terry Pratchett: June 'Inspiration' Week 1

I've had a lot of favorite authors over the years, but my current favorite, Terry Pratchett, stands out above all the rest. In fact, it's almost difficult to imagine a world in which I'm not obsessed with his books - but a year and a half ago, I'd never read any of them. Now, I've read 34 of his Discworld books, and not only have they inspired me, they've redefined my definition of good fantasy writing. Here's why:

 

Terry Pratchett is an incredible writer. Full stop.

 

Okay, actually, let me explain: Terry Pratchett was an incredible writer because of a few different factors:

1. He knew fantasy well, effectively parodying/satirizing many tropes within the genre. 

2. He had a unique approach to worldbuilding. Specifically, he would take a fantasy concept and then apply logic to it. 

3. He was particularly skilled at using humor, wit, puns, and jokes to keep the writing engaging, fun to read, and light in tone. 

4. He was really, really good at addressing real-world problems through the lens of fantasy. (Which is probably related to his early days in journalism.)

5. His characters are highly unique, complex, and often deeply relatable. That being said, they’re also deeply unapologetically fantasy characters, and often embody ideals.

Let's take a look at one of my favorite Discworld books, Feet of Clay, as an example:

 

The premise of Feet of Clay, the 3rd book in the City Watch series and the 19th Discworld book chronologically, is this: What if Golems had been here the whole time? (If you don't know what a Golem is, they're originally part of Jewish mythology - human-shaped vessels made of clay that, when given the right words upon/in their heads, develop voiceless sentience and serve their creator tirelessly. In a way, their creation parallel's G-d's creation of Adam, except that human's aren't as good at it, so the Golems don't get souls or voices.)

 

If Golems have been here the whole time, Pratchett postulates, then aren't they doing all the worst, unwanted, forgotten jobs? Wouldn't society then be running on the free/unpaid labor of an entire race? Isn't that unfair? And what if the Golems had begun to dream of something else?

 

And now we're off to the races! Clearly, these questions give the book a thematic kick that is most definitely steel-toed (like any good dwarfish boot) and these thematic ideas help us to reflect our own world - diving into concepts like freedom, free will, and what it means to have self-ownership. Additionally, Pratchett's 'logic' requires that we examine what a society of silently oppressed workers might want, and what they might do. If they have dreams of freedom, can they create a leader who embodies those dreams? Can this one leader free them? If this sounds Biblical, it's (probably) supposed to. But unlike Moses, the Golem's creation is overwhelmed by all the hopes, dreams, desires, and wishes its head is filled with, and its efforts to serve its creators (for the first time, other Golems, rather than people) causes it to break down, devolving into something the other Golems aren't capable of. Spoiler alert: It's murder.

 

As City Watch investigates the crime, they also have to ponder the real-world questions of who has rights, who is responsible for murder (and who is capable of it), how to give voice to the voiceless, and who has free will. It's so well contained within the already-established Discworld that the integration of Golems feels flawless, and they stick around for the remainder of the Discworld books. Additionally, Ankh-Morpork is the perfect setting for the morally complex narrative - as the largest and most convoluted city in the world, what they say, goes - and by this point, they're no strangers to overcoming complex historical and racial conflicts (like the one between dwarves and trolls in the previous City Watch book, or the subplot in Feet of Clay in which the setting of Ank-Morpork as a large, diverse, city, is integral to the dwarfish exploration of their own ideas of identity and gender.)

 

Additionally, the whole thing would probably fall apart without Commander Vimes, one of the most beloved Discworld protagonists, leading the City Watch. Vimes, a grim, old, cynic and an old-fashioned copper, doesn't give in to the idea of 'easy' justice (or easy answers). He doesn't let the City Watch become an authoritarian arm for upholding the status quo, nor does he let 'authority' (read: money, in some cases) dictate what the 'truth' or 'justice' should be. He choses intentionally to take no shortcuts and to serve no one but the facts he can find and prove. This generally gets him accused of serving 'the people'. Additionally, he's got the Once-and-Not-Future-King, Captain Carrot, by his side, embodying all kinds of idealism.

 

If this hasn't convinced you that Pratchett's a masterful and highly intentional writer, I'd highly recommend you go and read one of his books and find out for yourself. But in case you just want some easy examples of Pratchett's aforementioned skills, here are my examples for you, directly from Feet of Clay:

Parody/Satire of Common Tropes:

• “People kept on talking about the true king of Ankh-Morpork, but history taught a cruel lesson. It said - often in words of blood - that the true king was the one who got crowned.”

Unique Worldbuilding: The Apply-Logic Approach

• [What would being a werewolf be like? Well...] “You know, sometimes I envy you. It must be nice to be a wolf. Just for a while.” “It has its drawbacks.” Like fleas, she thought, as they locked up the museum. And the food. And the constant nagging feeling that you should be wearing three bras at once.”

• [Pratchett takes the 'all dwarves appear male' trope and turns it into an examination of gender as a social construct.] "Female? He told you he was female?" / "She." Angua corrected. "This is Ankh-Morpork, you know. We've got extra pronouns here." She could smell his bewilderment... / "Well, I would have thought she'd have the decency to keep it to herself," Carrot said finally. "I don't think it's very clever, you know, to go around drawing attention to the fact." / "Carrot, I think you might have something wrong with your head," said Angua. / "What?" / "I think you might have it stuck up your bum."”

Humor/Wit/Puns:

• “Again? How many times have you been killed this week?” / “I was minding my own business!” said the unseen complainer. / “Stacking garlic? You’re a vampire, aren’t you? I mean, let’s see what jobs you have been doing . . . Post sharpener for a fencing firm, sunglasses tester for Argus Opticians . . . Is it me, or is there some underlying trend here?”

• “"Why are you all covered in crap, Fred?" / "Well, sir, you know that creek you're up without a paddle? It started there and it's got worse, sir."”

Real-World Problems

• “People said that there was one law for the rich and one law for the poor, but it wasn't true. There was no law for those who made the law, and no law for the incorrigibly lawless.”

• “You couldn't say 'I had orders.' You couldn't say 'It's not fair.' No one was listening. There were no Words. You owned yourself. [...] Not 'Thou Shalt Not'. Say 'I Will Not'.”

• “That's blasphemy." [...] "That's what people say when the voiceless speak.”

Strong, Unique, Complex, Characters

• “Sorry?’ said Carrot. If it’s just a thing, how can it commit murder? A sword is a thing’ – he drew his own sword; it made an almost silken sound – ‘and of course you can’t blame a sword if someone thrust it at you, sir.”

And if you successfully made it to the end of the blog post, I can only hope that you have developed similar love or interest for your own favorite authors. Let me know which authors inspire you, and I'll do my best to give them a read!