A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction

This book...is going to utterly torment me about not having started Discworld yet, isn't it? I've read little bit! "Circle of Magic," a few short stories, some descriptions. But I'm only vaguely aware of the real plot of the series. And...this book is going to change that, because the glimpse I got was so tantalizing, I do believe tomorrow I'm hitting the used bookstore.

This isn't just a Discworld book. About half of the stories are unconnected short fiction, including some of Pratchett's earliest works. Like, not a legal adult yet earliest. And the general quality of everything is still rather high. You'd expect his first published work to be sort of bad (as seen in some of George R. R. Martin's early work collections), but Pratchett always had a general understanding of what makes a good story. Certainly, he improved over the years, but his work never wastes your time.

I'm a particular fan of "Final Reward," in which the author of a sword and sorcery series kills off his main character, only to realize that literary promises that he would "meet his maker" and "dine in his halls" were literal, and there is a large, somewhat violent man standing on his front stoop.

I listened to the audiobook version of this series, which is all done by one reader, so don't go in expecting to have a big difference in voices between stories. There's no confusion for a listener as voices are repeated, luckily, but there's just not the variety available from a wider cast. Still, feel free to read or listen, whichever is available to you.

This is a charming collection of Sir Terry's short fiction, the majority of which are non-Discworld pieces. These include his early story "The Hades Business" (which reminded me of the second Twilight Zone episodes, "One for the Angels") to "The High Meggas", the basis/start of The Long Earth. It also includes some great Discworld stories, including "The Sea and the Little Fishes", featuring our favorite witches.

So why am I only giving this four stars? Because, in truth, as other reviewers have stated, this is not the best introduction to the great man's work for a non-fan. Although I enjoyed all the stories and the author's notes on them, the quality varies, and a reader new to Sir Terry's work should really start elsewhere. Also, I am lucky enough to have a copy (signed twice!) of Once More with Footnotes, and there is nothing new in this edition.

I am also a wee disappointed that this ARC doesn't have *any* of the illustrations by Josh Kirby and Paul Kidby, and only a few of the author's drawings.

To sum up: purchase if you're fan, and if you're not, purchase and then read everything else and become a fan!

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, Kt, OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015)

Wunder schlecht. Leave it to the Germans to find a phrase that embodies both joy and sorrow, an emotion that I, as a longtime fan of the late Terry Pratchett, felt when I read this anthology of his writings, each introduced by comments from the author. A BLINK OF THE SCREEN encapsulates the creative evolution of a “middling” (Pratchett’s self-description) 13-year old student whose interest was permanently focused on writing when he was paid the monumental sum of 9.43 pounds ($14) for an English class homework assignment. He knew then what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. This collection of shorter fiction contains flickers of what would become future characters in the Discworld series, along with personal observations on, and grumblings at, the human condition.

A BLINK OF THE SCREEN is directed at the countless fans of one of the bestselling authors of our time. However, it may not be the best introduction of Pratchett’s work to a newcomer because it contains so many insider glimpses of his genius and characterizations that are likely to be lost on anyone unfamiliar with his genre-defying work. But to a collector and longtime reviewer, this is the motherlode to be mined as we remember and mourn the loss of this brilliant satirist and humorist.

Death is a major character in each of the 40 Discworld books. The cloaked figure on a white horse is never threatening nor is he villainous. Death is a personality vested with a wicked sense of humor, who usually arrives abruptly and departs with a wry comment. If you allowed your eye to wander across a page spread, you knew somebody is in for it because Death’s dialogue always appears written in FULL CAPS. He intones, often succinctly, as introduced in the very first Discworld book, THE COLOR OF MAGIC: “SHALL WE GO? asked Death.” Or he might try to reason with a reluctant soul: “IT WON’T HURT.” Oddly, I always look forward to his appearance because he makes me laugh.

Pratchett created a discourse in 2004 for an online game called TimeHunt that he called “Death and What Comes Next,” which appears as a chapter in A BLINK OF THE SCREEN. In it, Death exchanges theories on life and death with a dying philosopher who offers the concept of Schrodinger’s Cat as the center for debate as his light begins to fade. The philosopher argues that he is dying in only one dimension and may, in fact, still exist in another. This is a pure Pratchett device of interlacing theory, fantasy, inevitability and humor to convey the human condition. Death’s last line is a real knee slapper, at least if you know your Pratchett --- and your philosophy 101.

As his one continuing character, Death, came to Pratchett in the end, one wonders if he tried to argue his way out of it, as the wizard Rincewind did successfully in THE COLOR OF MAGIC. Or did he simply fall in beside Death when he heard “SHALL WE GO?” and slip into that great unknown? Fortunately, for those of us still around, we have nearly 70 works, some as collaborations but most as original pieces, to savor.

I plan to do just that this summer during the desert doldrums and enjoy once again the adventures of the trolls, dragons, dwarves, witches, wizards, werewolves, assassins, golems, elves, corrupt officials and others who live on and beneath Discworld.

Reviewed by Roz Shea.

This collection got somewhat mixed reviews from my husband and son, but I love it. However, I am a Pratchett fan, and the short story is probably my favorite literary medium. There are stories from throughout Pratchett's career, and they are all good to excellent, although some work better than others.

If I had one criticism, it is that some writers don't always get their point all the way across in a more compact format, and Pratchett is often best when he gets to wander a bit more. But these stories have his wit and his inimitable phrasemaking, and it is interesting to sort of watch it ripen over time.

I would recommend this for people who enjoy Pratchett's style a lot, just for the fact that you have a collection of works that show him moving through space and time. It's okay for serious genre fans who just want to check it out, but it isn't really a fair way to appreciate his particular genius. My husband and son are both genre fans, and they liked it, but they were not as gushy over it as I was. Maybe I'll make them read it again.

The late Sir Terry was best known, of course, for his forty or so Discworld novels (and more than a dozen other books of fiction), but he also produced a fair amount of short work over the years. This volume includes several Discworld "shorter writings" (stories, but also essays and odds and ends written for conventions, introductions to online games, and so on) ,as well as twenty non-Discworld pieces -- including "The Hades Business," the first story Pratchett actually sold for money, when he was thirteen. (Several more sales followed before he was old enough to vote, all of which are also included here.) Many of these pieces appeared in the 2004 collection _Once More, with Footnotes,_ but most of them are worth rereading. And many of the non-Discworld stories are quite good all on their own, especially the award-winning "Hollywood Chickens," and "The High Meggas," which shows the origin of some of the ideas and the setting that later became _The Long Earth_. And "The Sea and Little Fishes" gives us another whole side of Granny Weatherwax. Other pieces, though, like "Minutes of the Meeting to Form the Proposed Ankh-Morpork Federation of Scouts," are pretty minor and will be of interest mostly to Pratchett completists -- of whom there are many.

Terry Pratchett's genius shines within A Blink of the Screen. From his first story published at the age of 13 to the Ankh-Morpork National Anthem, this anthology gathers lesser known gems that fans will surely cherish.

The stories run the gamut from comedic to thought provoking. In “Hollywood Chickens” we learn that the question isn't why the chickens crossed the road, but how. “There's No Fool Like an Old Fool Found in an English Queue” is a delightful rant enumerating the myriad ways others can make our lives miserable, or at least make five minutes seem like an eternity. Some stories will make you laugh out loud, while others amaze with their cleverness and unique plot twists. Each story is prefaced by a brief introduction by the author explaining its origin. Terry Pratchett is a master of making the impossible completely believable and the surreal an everyday occurrence. It is no wonder that Pratchett's best-selling novels are loved by fans of all ages around the world.

A delightful array of illustrations, some by Pratchett himself, accompany the stories in this volume.

A Blink of the Screen is a treasure that will be enjoyed by Pratchett fans old and new.

I received a copy of A Blink of the Screen from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

In this revealing work Pratchett himself reveals that short stories 'require blood' referring to his own difficulty in producing them. Nonetheless in his huge career he has pumped out enough works to put together a compilation and A Blink of the Screen is it.

Pratchett's works range from funny, to barely understandable bizarre and quirky, to surprisingly dark and violent. Each story has a short intro and history from the author, providing what I found to be the most enjoyable parts of the book. Which I guess in saying reveals that this piece is for Pratchett fans, for those novice to the Discworld I wouldn't recommend this as a first read. For fans of the man of course this is a must read, it's split about 50/50 Discworld and 'real' world novels although many of Pratchett's stand-alone work still smells of his most famous universe.

I have been a fan of Pratchetts for decades, and was always eager for one of his books to come out. The last few years I was saddened by how much his writing had changed due to his condition, and was esp saddened to hear of his passing a few months back. So when I happened upon this book in my local store, I couldn't be more delighted - short stories written when he was in and at his prime! I must say I wasn't disappointed. From the first story he'd ever published at the age of 13, I knew I found just what I was looking for - stories that only Practchett could write! I had several favs, from the non Disc World Final Reward, Turntables of the Night, World Enough and Time to the familiar Discworld characters: The Sea and Little Fishes, and Death What Comes Next. There is also The High Meggas, the precursor to his Long Earth series with Charles Baxter. I closed the book thinking that Pratchett had left us a final gift, to remind us just who he was and why we loved him so.

It is difficult to imagine a reader who wouldn’t be delighted by “A Blink of the Screen.” This collection of short fiction was wonderful to experience as an avid Pratchett fan, but I would also recommend it to anyone unfamiliar with him.
The stories that take place outside of Discworld break away from the Discworld atmosphere. One is more relentlessly frightening than anything else I’ve read by Sir Terry. A couple are fairy tales for children. One answers a question I’ve had for years: “Why would you give someone a partridge in a pear tree?” Another, the first in the collection, was written by Pratchett as a teenager and, boy, is it good! My favorite, though, is about a fictional hero who goes to meet his maker. What is an author to do when his “barbarian hero” shows up on the doorstep?
Of the Discworld stories, my favorite is a touching but funny one about the witches. Appearances are also made by DEATH, UU (Unseen University), Lord Vetinari and Captain Carrot. I’d have liked to see a few more of my favorite characters, and a bit more of The Librarian, but with so many, it would be impossible for them all to make an appearance.
Finally, I love the title. I feel there is still a cultural idea of authors scrawling in composition books or writing with feathered pens, so it’s quite nice to see tech being acknowledged as part of the creative process, especially for those of us who can’t read our own writing.

This hit and miss collection of very brief works from Pratchett's career is like a packet of seeds that have fallen onto fertile ground. All the works (mostly stories not poetry) are little things, as few as 100 words, and some of them are clearly just the start of something that needs to grow. While some stories feel like they were written in a couple of days, there are some beautifully thought through ideas here.

If you are a connoisseur of Pratchett you will love this because you can see his writing grow from childhood. I had not read him in 20+ years, but I loved his work. Reading this reminds me of why I liked his earlier works so much but if you have not read his other stories you are better off grabbing The Color of Magic.

This collection gathers Terry Pratchett’s shorter fiction, both from and outside the Discworld, into one book. Obviously the Discworld stuff will draw fans (the Granny Weatherwax story is a standout), but the book also includes the first story he published at age 13, a later story that would evolve into his novel The Long World (co-written with Stephen Baxter), and some shorter pieces and squibs written for various events and publications. Essential reading for Pratchett fans.

Terry Pratchett is such an excellent writer and it's a shame there are so many people out there who don't know that. Although he writes fantasy fiction, the quality is head and shoulders above most other writers. His imagination and his take...and skewering...of modern culture is spot-on! I'm not a fan of fantasy fiction but I'm definitely a fan of Terry's work! I'm collecting everything he's ever written so I can read it all again and again!

I think the thing I liked best about this collection is seeing the progression and variety of Pratchett's career. Some of these stories are quite good (I especially liked the poems and Discworld short stories). Some are. . . not so good. But that just goes to show you, even great writers don't always write greatly. If you're not a Pratchett fan, TBH you won't get much out of this collection. But if you are, it's a worthwhile complement to your collection.

This is a nice collection of short fiction that I enjoyed very much. I liked The Sea and Little Fishes and the Hollywood Chickens the most. Stories are witty and delightful.
It is interesting to see how the writing style developed, from the first tries to mastery. I especially liked author's comments preceding each story, about how the story came to be and placing it in a context.

Most of this is pretty disappointing, at least up until the last section, Discworld Shorter Writings, which are uniformly up to Pratchett's usual standards, and which I would consider a must-read for fans.

In the middle of the largely-disappointing stuff is his 1986 short story The High Meggas. The title alone will tell you this was the original (if condensed) version of The Long Earth, and it is every bit as un-Pratchett-like as his extended (and co-authored) version.

So we can't blame Pratchett's dementia, or some sorcery by his co-writer, for the earnestly-unfunny Long Earth trilogy. The seeds of his rather ordinary SF trilogy were sewn when Pratchett was in his physical prime.

As with any collection of stories written over several decades, some are good, some are bad, and some are wonderful.

I suspect my 'good' and 'bad' stories will be different from other, but THE SEA AND LITTLE FISHES was just amazing.

Not only did he do the novel, but entertaining short stories that did both the disc world series and other ideas that came to mind. They are all set with an introduction to whit they came.

Thank you Terry for stories.

This is a delightful collection of stories from the wonderful Terry Pratchett. It'll tickle your bone if you are already a fan, and will make you a fan, if you aren't already. It's well written and well envisioned and a fun read.

Though I haven't looked through this release, I can tell by the customer reviews that it is essentially a UK updated reprinting of the original 2005 book titled "Once More* with footnotes" that was put out by NESFA Press. I recommend either one for avid fans of Pratchett and Discworld. "Once More" was 280 pages in length, whereas this version is 320, so it clearly includes a few more stories that Terry has done, probably including "A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices" short story, which I found online well after getting "Once More". You can view the original book here: http://www.the store.com/Once-More-Footnotes-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1886778574/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357512862&sr=1-1&keywords=once+more+with+footnotes

Since Terry Pratchett's recent passing, I have been back on a small binge, trying to read some of his books I may have previously missed. This anthology gathers together some of his earliest short stories with later ones, including many characters familiar with readers of his Discworld series.

I found it interesting to read works he wrote when apparently very young. Honestly, most of the ones in this collection hold up to later work in terms of interest and writing skill. I also found the added mini-forwards for most of the stories just as fascinating as the stories themselves.

As much as I love Discworld, it was fun to read of entirely new and unrelated characters. Other books of his I've read which were either stand alone works, or otherwise non-Discworld related, have seemed to have a different "voice." I've enjoyed these as well, though not all of them.

Overall, this was a very fun read. My only point of incomplete satisfaction came for a few stories which involved characters and situations I was not as familiar with, but the story proceeded as if the reader would be. Even with that, It's still worth reading for the fun view of the young writer and his earliest creations, as well as tiny glimpses into his personal life as a youngster