Content warning 87/
Pratchett missed a lot in Witches Abroad that is to the story's detriment. Left to the author's trust in the reader to pick up what they're putting down, the nuance missing in that story will always be problematic.
Content warning 88/
And, at the same time, there's evidence in the books that followed to argue that Pratchett, himself, knew of these problems, and strived to explore them with more nuance. He grew; he changed.
Content warning 89/
> "If I'd written 25 versions of The Light Fantastic by now, I'd be ready to slit my wrists."
Content warning 90/
"ππΆπ΅ π©π°πΈ πΈπ°πΆππ₯ π©π¦ π³π¦π’π€π΅ πͺπ§ π΅π©π°π΄π¦ π£π°π°π¬π΄ πΈπ¦π³π¦ π±πΆπ£ππͺπ΄π©π¦π₯ π΅π°π₯π’πΊ--"
Millennium hand and shrimp with a side of rat onna stick, cease your vulgar non-sequitur*. He would be no different (OK, ten years wiser, at least).
Content warning 91/
He was on #Usenet over thirty years ago, π£π¦π§π°π³π¦ the Internet kicked off:
https://www.lspace.org/fandom/afp/timelines/afp-timeline.html
Content warning 92/
> My 33mhz 486 is no longer a goshwow machine, Dell having done their usual trick of waiting until I bought it before dropping the price hugely.
You don't even get 33 MHz in Fischer-Price toys, these days.
Content warning 93/
And anyways, this video by Shaun puts it best. Long story short: Terry may be very dead, but the books show where his views on social issues lay:
Content warning 94/
To say so is not putting words in the mouth of the dead. It's reading the words from his heart. And words in the heart cannot be taken.
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Pratchett's ability to discuss complex social issues through a fantasy satire series is something I hope to achieve in my own work:
https://brologue.net/2024/12/05/the-talisman-of-aubaum/
I may not get it right every time, but I hope to get it wrong better than most, change, and grow.
Content warning 96/end
And I hate the publisher monopoly as much as the next guy, but I'll be buying that annotated edition of Night Watch when it drops next April, and reading it all again with relish. Mind how you go.
