Terry Pratchett has Alzheimer's

[Soukyan]

Via Slashdot http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/14/0113224&from=rss

sapphire wyvern writes "One of geekdom's most popular authors, Terry Pratchett, has announced that he has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. The OBE-winning author of the Discworld fantasy series made the original announcement on the website of Discworld illustrator Paul Kidby. Pratchett remains optimistic: 'I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell.'"

Links to the announcements:
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7141458.stm
Original announcement: http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html


I know there are a few other Discworld fans here, so I figured I'd post this.

[HaemishM]

Fuck.

I've not read any Discworld stuff, but Good Omens, the book he wrote with Neil Gaiman, was one of the funniest fucking pieces of literature I've ever read.

Fuck.

[NowhereMan]

 

[Murgos]

I had been wondering why his usual frenetic publication pace had slacked off the last couple of years.   

[WayAbvPar]

Never read any of his stuff, but very few people deserve Alzheimer's. Best wishes for him and his family.

[Tebonas]

Damn, thats really sad 

[Morat20]

Damn, thats really sad 

Well, at least he has a few things going for him -- fairly early detection, potloads of money (yes, money DOES help. It can't buy a cure, but it can fucking well buy you a lot other than that) -- and according to my wife, the fact that he's a life-long writer.

I can't recall the study she was so recently up to her ears in (it was a study on an order of nuns, whose convent rules were such that each kept a daily journal for her entire life. Which the convent kept. Those collected journals are an unbelievable treasure trove to researchers in a dozen fields), but it dealt with an order of nuns whose oldest members were startlingly resistant (resistant, not immune. They tended to resist it longer and more effectively than was normal, but they were by no means immune) to pretty much all forms of dementia. Some of it was undoubtably due to diet, exercise, and the like -- but some of it seems to trace back to simply the act of writing, which seems to convey a certain amount of brain adaptability even in the elderly.

It'll catch Terry sooner or later, but here's hoping his rewards for such talent help hold it at bay as much as possible until there's a cure.

[Phildo]

Pratchett is awesome.  Discworld is some funny stuff.

[Miasma]

That's quite sad, he seems like a really great person, I hope it's extremely slow and doesn't have an actual chance to affect him.  I hear they've made a few advancements with Alzheimer's so who knows.

I only started on Discworld this year and liked it so much I went through all thirty or so of the books already, got the latest one in hardback because they are just worth it.  The first books are very good but once he gets to Guards! Guards! everything just locks into place.

[geldonyetich2]

I didn't care much when Robert Jordan bought the farm - the way he wrote, it seemed to me he was in it for the money.  Pratchett, on the other hand, is a genuine tragedy.  His books are usually both funny and surprisingly insightful.  This guy's the real thing.

[DraconianOne]

I only started on Discworld this year and liked it so much I went through all thirty or so of the books already, got the latest one in hardback because they are just worth it.  The first books are very good but once he gets to Guards! Guards! everything just locks into place.

Personally I'd say Mort was the first really good book where he started to hit his stride and then from Wyrd Sisters on he really gets going.  But yeah, Guards!  Guards! was stepped it another gear too.  Have yet to get the latest one (that's what Christmas is for!) but glad to see that he's announced at least two more.  

Good ol' Terry.

[Morat20]

I only started on Discworld this year and liked it so much I went through all thirty or so of the books already, got the latest one in hardback because they are just worth it.  The first books are very good but once he gets to Guards! Guards! everything just locks into place.

Personally I'd say Mort was the first really good book where he started to hit his stride and then from Wyrd Sisters on he really gets going.  But yeah, Guards!  Guards! was stepped it another gear too.  Have yet to get the latest one (that's what Christmas is for!) but glad to see that he's announced at least two more.  

Good ol' Terry.

Mort/Wyrd Sisters is about where he stopped doing parody and starting creating a fantasy world. Small Gods and Reaper Man is where he moved past creating a fantasy world and started making it a thoughtful one. :)

[eldaec]

Sad news.

Have yet to get the latest one

I can confirm it's awesomeness. And it manages to be surprisingly topical given that it was written before the banking crisis.

'I am not dead'.

"I ATEN'T DEAD"  shurely?


For people who haven't read Discworld and want to try, as others have said you should look at Mort, Guards! Guards! or Small Gods.

[DeathInABottle]

This is a shame.  I've been reading Discworld for years, and getting a new book every Christmas from my sister has become something of a tradition for us.  Here's hoping he's as resistant as the diary keeping nuns.

I'll throw my support behind Guards! Guards! as well.  Every Vimes book has been gold.

[Llava]

I'll throw my hat in the ring.  I loved Good Omens.

[Ironwood]

Sad news.  Discworld and his other books are excellent.

However, I take it none of you have met this bloke in person or watched his interviews ?  He's, er, not the nicest chap in the world....

[Tebonas]

That may well be true, but I still enjoy his books. Being nice is a prerequisite I have for my friends and people I hang out with. For faceless authors being good and funny suffices.

[Comstar]

However, I take it none of you have met this bloke in person or watched his interviews ?  He's, er, not the nicest chap in the world....

Err, what? I have spoken to fans who sat at the same table as he has when he's been to Australia, and I've never heard of this. Links/Youtube?

I hope he writes the stories from when he was the Public Relations officer at the Nuke plant some day.

And when he's long gone, I wonder what they'll call the movie based on him.

[Ironwood]

That may well be true, but I still enjoy his books. Being nice is a prerequisite I have for my friends and people I hang out with. For faceless authors being good and funny suffices.

Indeed.  Hence the seperate lines/paragraph.

[DraconianOne]

However, I take it none of you have met this bloke in person or watched his interviews ?  He's, er, not the nicest chap in the world....

Yes, I've met him a couple of times at signings and once at another event.  He was very civil and courteous.  I've listened to/watched a lot of his interviews as well.  My general impression is that he doesn't suffer fools gladly and if he's asked a stupid question in interviews, he'll generally treat it as such.  I've heard interviews where's sounded like the most genial, lovely bloke in the world and others where he's sounded like an absolute arsehole.  The only difference has been in the quality of the interviewer.

[Signe]

Sad news.  Discworld and his other books are excellent.

However, I take it none of you have met this bloke in person or watched his interviews ?  He's, er, not the nicest chap in the world....

I have, too, which is why I haven't said anything.  hehe.  I used to see him at least once a year at company BBQ and chat to him on the phone now and then.  He sure didn't like American, women or  anything else very much.  Suffice to say, I enjoyed his books much more than him.  Anyway, unless he goes completely brain numb, I don't see how a bit of dementia can hurt his style of writings, right?   I have to say, he WAS nice enough not to force Discworld MUD to shut down, which I liked working on very much for years. 

PS his big stupid hat caught me right in my eye when he bent over once.  It was red and sore for days. He didn't even say sorry!  I forgive him now, though.

Mort was my favourite book of his.  I stopped reading after Interesting Times, though.  Too many.  I'm not a big series person, I think.

[Ironwood]

  My general impression is that he doesn't suffer fools gladly and if he's asked a stupid question in interviews, he'll generally treat it as such. 

I put it to you that this is a negative trait if you also combine it with a general belief that everyone else is a fool.

 

[Miasma]

Hmph, I only assumed he was a good person based on his books and characters, he seems to extol virtues and punish the bad.  I have no idea what he's like in real life and by the sounds of things I might just choose to remain ignorant on this one so that it doesn't detract from any future books...

[Signe]

The literary world is full of arrogant fucks.  In fact, some of my favourite writers are the arrogant fucks that other arrogant fucks admire. 

[Tebonas]

The trick is not letting everybody know that they are idiots compared to you. I guess if you have enough money you can stop doing that. Now that I think about it, if I ever win millions I would man those customer support phones one last day... 

[Morat20]

The literary world is full of arrogant fucks.  In fact, some of my favourite writers are the arrogant fucks that other arrogant fucks admire. 

The literary world is notorious for legendary fucks. Pick any genre, and you can name a handful of arrogant fucks who probably deserve a swift kick to the nuts. :)

In the sci-fi/fantasy world, Pratchett's not even near the top. For one, he seems fond of his fans. :)

[geldonyetich2]

So, what you're saying is, I have a chance in literature? ;)

[Signe]

The literary world is full of arrogant fucks.  In fact, some of my favourite writers are the arrogant fucks that other arrogant fucks admire. 

The literary world is notorious for legendary fucks. Pick any genre, and you can name a handful of arrogant fucks who probably deserve a swift kick to the nuts. :)

In the sci-fi/fantasy world, Pratchett's not even near the top. For one, he seems fond of his fans. :)

It's true.  I think Harlan Ellison is at the top of my arrogant fucks I've had the displeasure of meeting list.  Terry doesn't even come close to that level.  I've met a lot of arrogant fuck musicians, but they don't even compare to the level of dickiness writers are capable of... it's one of the reasons they're fun to hang out with sometimes.  Especially when they fight amongst themselves.  Then they're especially fun to watch.

[DraconianOne]

Irrespective of what he's like in real life, I've got to kudos to Pratchett for his comments about J.K. Rowling.  After she said "I didn't realise I was writing a fantasy book", he said "I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, hidden worlds... would have given her a clue?"

Harlan Ellison is very vitriolic from the writers strike interviews I've seen recently with him.  Very funny but from a distance only.

Neil Gaiman, on the other hand, does come across as a genuinely nice guy. 

[Ironwood]

The various kickings he's given to Rowling are examples of my point :  Totally unneccesary bitchiness for jealousy's sake.  Your example is not the only one he's unleashed.

And I don't even LIKE Rowling...

[Signe]

oooo... Ironwoodl's postcount is at 7777.  He needs to find a casino quick!

[Ironwood]

Or, you know, get a life....

[Soukyan]

Or, you know, get a life....

Ah, but that is always an option.

[Miasma]

The various kickings he's given to Rowling are examples of my point :  Totally unneccesary bitchiness for jealousy's sake.  Your example is not the only one he's unleashed.

And I don't even LIKE Rowling...

As I was reading through the series over the summer at one point the first page of the books start bragging about how Pratchett is Britain's bestselling living author, then that line is quietly dropped a dozen or so books later (presumably after the Potter series).  I always wondered how he felt about that, I guess he didn't take it in stride?

[Soln]

Well fuck.  That is sad.  There are so many second rate writers out there getting in the way, sad this had to happen to someone genuinely inventive and witty.