Pisci znanstvene fantastike - Terry Pratchett

Pisci znanstvene fantastike - Terry Pratchett

What is science fiction?

Modern science fiction and fantasy were created in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century. It was about imaginative stories based on characters who live in an advanced technological future, very often in outer space, and behave and speak the way people would behave in these imaginary, unusual circumstances.

The next phase began in the 60s of the 20th century when authors appeared who added to the genre the element that it had lacked the most until then, namely literary complexityand psychological and philosophical depth.

Momentum waned during the 80s of the last century when there was a decline in technological optimism and loss of faith in a better future, as well as the commercialization of culture in general.

Most common scientific topics fantastike

Science fiction is part of popular literature, and the most common topics it deals with are:

5 fundamental elements of every good science fiction novel are:

The genre of science fiction is often denoted by the abbreviations ZF and SF or sci-fi (according to the English original).

One of the most significant representatives of this literary direction is Terry Pratchett, about whom we will write in this blog.

Terry Pratchett

For fans of science fiction, this is a very famous author. Terry Pratchett was born in 1948 in England, the son of an engineer and a secretary. From an early age, he was fascinated by science fiction, so he published his first story when he was only 13 years old. When he turned seventeen, he decided to leave school to become a journalist. He continued to write, and published his first novel, entitled "People in the Carpet" in 1971. During the 1990s, he was the best-selling British author. He wrote more than 80 works of literature during his lifetime.

"Fantasy is an exercise bike for the mind. It may not get you anywhere, but it strengthens the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong." Terry Pratchett

The Discworld series of novels

Pratchett is probably best known for the 41 series of Diskworld novels. It is a collection of satirical, fantastic novels, the action of which is set in a world that looks like a big disc, and lies on the backs of four giant elephants, which in turn stand on a giant turtle. 

Photo: Internet

The books have become extremely popular all over the world, they have been translated into almost 37 languages, and about 100 million copies have been sold. Terry Pratchett was an extremely prolific writer, publishing one or more books almost every year during the early 21st century.

The series also spawned video games, stage plays, and films and series. While most of the books in the series were aimed at an adult audience, they were also popular with children, and Pratchett wrote several novels set in Discworld specifically aimed at younger readers.

"If you have enough book space, I don't want to talk to you." Terry Pratchett

"Imaginative stories tend to upset the unimaginative." Terry Pratchett

Other works

In addition to the Discworld series, Terry Pratchett also wrote several novels for children. We will single out:

The Bromeniad Trilogy

The main characters are goblins, humanoid beings smaller than dwarves. They are only ten centimeters high. They live in a department store and think it's the whole world. In a department store there is neither night nor day, neither spring nor autumn, but only opening and closing and seasonal sales. The seals spend their time in competitions and small wars, department against department, Jewelers against Galanter, Klobučari and de Likatese against Papirničar...

Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (so far not translated into Croatian)

The story follows a young fan of video games who finds himself in fantastic situations.

Dodger (so far not translated into Croatian)

The plot follows the adventures of a young man in Victorian London, where he meets a series of Dickens characters - including Charles Dickens himself.

Writing style

His extremely witty texts refer to topics from everyday life, and include, among others, characters and ideas from science fiction art, Ingmar Bergman's films, rock and roll music, religion and philosophy.

"A writer who made the absurd unusually convincing." The Guardian

He often inserts characters from popular culture, but transforms them with some unexpected element. 

In addition to his distinctive writing style, Pratchett is known for his use of footnotes in his books, footnotes that often include a comic departure from the narrative or commentary on the narrative.

Also, most of his books are not divided into chapters because, as he stated, life, like movies, does not happen that way.

From his private life

As a child, Terry Pratchett, wanted is to become an astronomer. He collected pictures of stars and planets, and spent much of his youth looking through a telescope. His interest in space fueled his passion for writing, and in his honor NASA named an asteroid "127005 Pratchett". He considered himself a humanist.

In November 2007, Pratchett was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's disease. In the following years, he donated large funds for research into the disease, and participated in a BBC documentary about his experiences with Alzheimer's.

It was during this period that he began writing an autobiography, which he never finished. However, seven years after the writer's death, this task was taken over by his long-time assistant Rob Wilkins. momentsthat occurred during Terry's life, and especially after he suffered from dementia. For example, on one occasion he accidentally donated 50,000 pounds to the Postal Museum.

Due to his merits in literature, the British Queen knighted him in 2009. Later the same year, he had a sword made for himself because: "What is a knight without his sword?".

He died in 2015, peacefully in his home, surrounded by his family.

You can get a large number of Terry Pratchett's books at Biblos! :)

Prepared by: Marijana Matijević