Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (See Review) The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (See Review) The Truth : A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett (See Review) The Monstrous Regiment by Terry & Lyn Pratchett (See Review) The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (See Review)

According to his website, Terry Pratchett was first published at the age of thirteen. His first novel was a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, published in 1971. He worked for many years as a journalist and press officer before turning to writing full-time. His first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, was released in 1983. Since that time he has written an additional 25 Discworld novels. In 1990, he co-wrote the non-Discworld book Good Omens with Neil Gaiman. His other works include two science fiction novels and seven novels for younger readers.

Pratchett won the British Fantasy Award for the Discworld novel Pyramids in 1989, was named an Officer of the British Empire ?for services to literature? in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1998, and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Warwick in 1999. His novels have sold more than 21 million copies worldwide, with translations in 27 languages. Terry Pratchett lives and writes in England.

SFRevu caught up with Pratchett at Worldcon in Boston, following the Locus Awards (wherein he won Best Children?s Novel for Wee Free Men and pretended great outrage that a book about tiny hooligans was successful as a children?s book).

?I don?t know why people like reading about these little fellows but they seem to,? he said afterward. ?They took over my writing schedule for awhile. I hadn?t meant to write about them again so soon (in the recent Hat Full of Sky) but? there it is.?

Asked about the newest Discworld novel, Going Postal, and the way Lord Vetinari coerced people into taking unwelcome jobs, he said, ?Well, that?s the beauty of being a tyrant, isn?t it? He just tells people they have a choice but one option is very unhealthy. Works wonders for cooperation. Oddly enough, he seems to be one of the most popular Discworld characters.?

He added that there are plenty more Ankh-Morpork institutions in need of restoration. ?When I tossed the idea of the Mint in (Going Postal), I ended up giving it a bit of thought. There might be a book in that somewhere, you know. Government is a pretty funny thing.?

In an appearance at the Borders at Baileys Crossroads in Falls Church, Virginia, Pratchett held an audience of approximately 200 spellbound with (he admitted) some things he?d told the audience at Worldcon the weekend before. He said some people came to see him (he hoped) and others were probably there because there might be blood. Which led to his first anecdote.

He?d had some dizziness, he said, and went to the hospital, only to find that his blood pressure ?was enough to push a barge uphill.? There were tests, medication?which was a miserable experience?and eventually surgery. ?My surgeon?s son is a Discworld fan,? he said, ?so I?m reasonably sure he wants to keep me alive. Can you imagine him having to explain to his son why I wouldn?t be writing any more??

When he came out of surgery, he found he had bruises that came from him sitting up during the surgery and insisting he saw a man in the corner who had sandwiches. This startled and alarmed the doctors, though the surgery was otherwise entirely ordinary (and successful).

?So I had a near-death experience?more like a ?near-sandwich experience,? actually. It?s nice to know that when the time comes, there?ll be something to eat while going to the next place,? he said.

Pratchett admitted he was a voracious reader around the age of ten, when he found that the library lent books out to nearly anyone. ?Librarians like me a lot?they say I?ve raised the status of the profession,? he said. ?The library only let me take out a few books at a time?they gave out tickets and there were only so many to have. So I went to the librarian and asked if I could have a job.? He learned the ins and outs of being an assistant librarian and said, ?They had two drawers?one of books they?d lent out and one of books I?d borrowed. I was up to 146 at one point?? He said that he started with fantasy, ?which I think most young readers start with, as a natural outgrowth of fairy tales,? but that he read everything he could find. ?I found I could get the same kick from history, geography, science? everything! And I hope this is something more young readers come to discover?that there?s excitement in all kinds of books.?

That interest in everything led to the creation of Discworld, the setting for his widely celebrated series of novels.

He added that this is Discworld?s 21st anniversary in print. ?There?ll be celebrations and dancing in the streets?well, my street, anyway.?

Pratchett also gave the audience a peek behind the scenes during the question and answer session. Asked if Carrot and Angua would have children or puppies, he said, ?I know in broad strokes where things are going with them, the overall arc, but still? I suppose if they had four children, they?d have one wolf, one baby and two werewolves. I had an idea for a wolf that becomes a wolf by the full moon, but the change is so small it never really notices.

?When I started Discworld, I had no idea really what I was getting into. It was enormous fun, but I thought there would be one story, maybe two? and then maybe a fifth or sixth? and now I?m closing in on way more than I expected, with more ideas all the time. If I?d given the fans what they?d asked for, I would?ve written ten books about a wizard with antisocial luggage, and then I would?ve killed myself. So I went in other directions. Seems the more I write, the more ideas there are for what I can do next, which is interesting.

?The next Discworld novel is called Thud?the word has a nice, noirish feel to it, like the sound of a falling body, and it?s a political murder mystery, a (Commander Sam) Vimes novel. There?s civil war brewing, the Watch is falling apart, things are boiling over everywhere in the city? but Vimes has to get home each night to read ?Where?s My Cow?? to his infant son?

?After that, I?m writing Wintersmith, the next ?Wee Free Men? story.? This led to a humorous anecdote about how he substituted a chocolate for the Carnegie Medal he?d won. Biting into it at the awards ceremony, he provoked a profound silence instead of the laughter he?d expected, when everyone wondered if the medal had been chocolate all along.

Pratchett also described co-writing Good Omens with Neil Gaiman as well, how it went back and forth between them until ?a sort of composite formed? he said he liked one bit quite well, and I said I hadn?t written it.? Could they write another story? ?It?d be nice to think so but his people would have to call my people, schedules and all, and it?s eighteen months later. We actually wrote a little of a sequel but then thought better of it. I?ve recycled the bits I wrote in things since then. [Good Omens] came along at the right time, but not again.?

He closed by describing his trip to Ayers Rock in the Australian outback, where he looked up and couldn?t identify the constellations because there were too many stars up there. He noted that G.K. Chesterton said (and I?m paraphrasing) that the role of fantasy was to make ordinary things remarkable by seeing them through fresh eyes. "There are trillions of stars--the universe is full of 'em. On the other hand, a light post is remarkable because it was created by the descendants of apes who couldn?t manage to stay in the trees. We got together, sorted it out and created light for ourselves. We ought to be proud of that," Pratchett suggests.

The upshot? If you?re lucky enough to have Terry Pratchett come to your town for a visit, be there in line early. You?re in for a great time. (With thanks to www.terrypratchettbooks.com for biographical information.)