Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died aged 66, 8 years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
According to his Transworld publisher Larry Finlay, the author died at home, surrounded by his family, “with his cat sleeping on his bed”.
Despite campaigning for assisted suicide after his diagnosis, Sir Terry’s publishers said he did not take his own life. BBC News correspondent Nick Higham said, “I was told by the publishers his death was entirely natural and unassisted, even though he had said in the past he wanted to go at a time of his own choosing.”
Upon hearing the news of Sir Terry’s passing, fellow author and friend Neil Gaiman was among those paying tribute to Sir Terry:
I woke up and my email was all condolences from friends, and requests for statements from journalists, and I knew it had happened. I’d been warned.
Thirty years and a month ago, a beginning author met a young journalist in a Chinese Restaurant, and the two men became friends, and they wrote a book, and they managed to stay friends despite everything. Last night, the author died.
There was nobody like him. I was fortunate to have written a book with him, when we were younger, which taught me so much.
This was the last thing I wrote about Terry. I knew his death was coming and it made it no easier:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-pratchett-angry-not-jolly-neil-gaiman
I’ll miss you, Terry.
I’m not up to writing anything yet. Maybe one day.
An English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works, he’s best known for his Discworld series of about 40 volumes. Sir Terry’s first novel, “The Carpet People”, was published in 1971. Since his first Discworld novel, “The Colour of Magic”, was published in 1983, he wrote two books a year on average.
In total, he wrote more than 70 books during his career and completed his final book last summer.
Larry Finlay describes Sir Terry as someone who “enriched the planet like few before him” and through Discworld satirised the world “with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention”.
He added:
Terry faced his Alzheimer’s disease (an ’embuggerance’, as he called it) publicly and bravely. There was nobody like him. Over the last few years, it was his writing that sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come.
Sir Terry leaves behind wife Lyn and daughter Rhianna.
The announcement of his death was made on Sir Terry’s Twitter account on Thursday (12th March) afternoon, with Rhianna later writing:
Many thanks for all the kind words about my dad. Those last few tweets were sent with shaking hands and tear-filled eyes.
— Rhianna Pratchett (@rhipratchett) March 12, 2015
So sorry I’ve not been able to reply to all the lovely messages. Please know that they are very much appreciated. — Rhianna Pratchett (@rhipratchett) March 12, 2015
Miss you already. pic.twitter.com/DxxjGIluzJ
— Rhianna Pratchett (@rhipratchett) March 12, 2015
So much universe, and so little time.
Rest in peace, Sir Terry Pratchett.
