10 Things You Didn't Know About Terry Pratchett

So much universe, and so little time.

By Tom Baker /

€œAT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. Terry took Death€™s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. The End.€ That was how @terryandrob, the joint Twitter account of the fantasy author and his assistant Rob Wilkins confirmed the reports of Terry Pratchett's death, age 66, of early-onset Alzheimer€™s disease. Pratchett was a prolific author who wrote frequently of death €“ in fact, a trilogy of books in his grand overarching Discworld series were all about the Grim Reaper himself, the personification of Death struggling with his workload and taking a vacation (with disastrous consequences). When faced with the end of life, Pratchett often responded with the absurd. Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer€™s a few years ago the writer slowed down a little, but by no means was reduced to a snail's pace: he still managed to put out a couple of books a year, continuing his Discworld series and collaborating on a sci-fi series with Stephen Baxter. And they continued to be best-sellers. Pterry, as his numerous fans affectionately dubbed him, took his failing health well. He continued to work, produced a documentary about assisted death practices in Switzerland, and was a fighter to the end. A good time to look back on the man before, not as he is now: here are ten things you didn't know about the late, great Terry Pratchett.