Sir Terry Pratchett + Rest In Peace

Sir Terry Pratchett has died, aged 66.

It feels like a favourite uncle has left me, even though I didn't know Terry Pratchett personally. Because he travelled extensively on his books tours, even to little far flung places like Aotearoa (New Zealand), Terry is one of the few literary giants I have met. Three times in fact. Like many kiwis, I loved his books and his well-spoken gentle manner, though I suspect he wasn't a nice guy. In the same way that Jesus wasn't nice. Neil Gaiman said his friend was fueled by fury and I may be inclined to agree.

I've written of my love of Terry Pratchett's fantastic books before. I am one of the millions of fans inspired by Discworld. I first read The Colour of Magic in my early teens soon after it's release. A fan of D&D and other RPGs, I devoured the Discworld series. They were fun-filled tales of adventure that took me to wonderful places and interesting times, often reminding me the importance of being human, making mistakes and being unique.

As a musician (Darcy Perry Band) I wrote a song inspired by one of his more memorable characters. Reaper Man was the seventh track on the Heavy Rain album.

The best life advice I ever heard from Sir Terry Pratchett was how he described himself as a writer, not because he had written a book but because he was currently writing his next one. His legacy of books (more than 70), humour and a wonderful way of putting words together that was often satirical but never sarcastic, will live on.

On my DiscWorld Mapp he wrote "To Darcy, Don't get lost!"

God bless you Terry, Rest In Peace.