Publication
Corgi (2014), 320 pages
Original publication date
2012-10-11
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Description
"A collection of short fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day. In the four decades since his first book appeared in print, Terry Pratchett has become one of the world's best-selling and best-loved authors. Here for the first time are his short stories and other short-form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press, and the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series. Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas, all of it shot through with Terry's inimitable brand of humour. With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and by Paul Kidby, and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member tronella
A collection of Pterry's short stories, divided into two sections - non-Discworld and Discworld. I had actually read most of the Discworld ones before, but it's nice to have them all in one place and I will always reread "The Sea and Little Fishes" if it's put in front of me, too.
The non-Discworld
The non-Discworld
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section also includes a couple of short stories which were early versions of the Bromeliad trilogy and of The Long Earth, which were particularly interesting to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member simchaboston
Good collection for Pratchett completists, of which I'm one (knock a half-star off my rating if you're not). While none of the selections can measure up to one of his Discworld novels (the long Granny Weatherwax story comes closest), they're fun to read, especially if you're already familiar with
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his universe. And as with his nonfiction collection "A Slip of the Keyboard," even the earliest and least polished pieces show some of the intelligence, inventiveness and playfulness that the mature author would have in spades. I agree with some of the other reviewers that this is not the best introduction to Pratchett's work -- for that, I'd recommend either the Witches or Night Watch series. Show Less
LibraryThing member scottcholstad
A Blink of the Screen is a collection of short stories by the late, great Terry Pratchett, which has some wonderful pieces in it and is an absolute must for any Pratchett fan. The book is divided into pieces he wrote as standalone short stories about various topics beginning from the young age of
The second section is of Discworld-related short stories, involving famous Discworld characters, such as Cohen the Barbarian, Rincewind, Lord Havelock Vetinari, and of course in the longest story in the book ("The Sea and Little Fishes" (1998)), two of the best Discworld characters, in a Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax story. Asked by some younger, snobby witches not to compete in an annual witchery contest because she always wins, Granny Weatherwax decides to “be nice about” the insult. The crux of the problem and, hence, the story is, her neighbors and, most certainly the other witches, aren't used to her being nice. At all. A delightful, yet at times, quite sad story. Very well written.
Other good stories in this collection include "Final Reward" (1988), where an author kills off his most popular character and is shocked when the character shows up at his doorstep to “meet his maker.” The character is a seven-foot tall barbarian with a monstrous sword. What to do?
Another good one is "Death and What Comes Next" (2004). Death is my favorite Discworld character. Philosophers evidently think they can argue with Death when he comes for them. However, Death can apply some philosophical logic, too.
ASTONISHING, said Death. REALLY ASTONISHING. LET ME PUT FORWARD ANOTHER SUGGESTION: THAT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A LUCKY SPECIES OF APE THAT IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF CREATION VIA A LANGUAGE THAT EVOLVED IN ORDER TO TELL ONE ANOTHER WHERE THE RIPE FRUIT WAS.
There’s a story about the game, “Thud,” which I believe may have been a real game in England, based on the Discworld novel. "The Ankh-Morpork National Anthem" (1999) is short, but funny. "#ifdefDEBUG + `world/enough' + `time'" (1990) is actually a pretty good cyberpunk story. Not William Gibson good, but startling good for an author who doesn’t usually dabble in such things.
Of course, there are some stories that are less interesting, but that’s always the case in any short story collection. Some stand out, some do not. Overall, this is a solid four star collection. And as I said, a must for any Pratchett fan. Definitely recommended.
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13 with "The Hades Business," which was published in 1963. Published. Written at 13. It’s about Hell and its need for good PR. It’s pretty funny. The writing is obviously immature and it’s not a “great” short story, but you can see the beginnings of a good writer there.The second section is of Discworld-related short stories, involving famous Discworld characters, such as Cohen the Barbarian, Rincewind, Lord Havelock Vetinari, and of course in the longest story in the book ("The Sea and Little Fishes" (1998)), two of the best Discworld characters, in a Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax story. Asked by some younger, snobby witches not to compete in an annual witchery contest because she always wins, Granny Weatherwax decides to “be nice about” the insult. The crux of the problem and, hence, the story is, her neighbors and, most certainly the other witches, aren't used to her being nice. At all. A delightful, yet at times, quite sad story. Very well written.
Other good stories in this collection include "Final Reward" (1988), where an author kills off his most popular character and is shocked when the character shows up at his doorstep to “meet his maker.” The character is a seven-foot tall barbarian with a monstrous sword. What to do?
Another good one is "Death and What Comes Next" (2004). Death is my favorite Discworld character. Philosophers evidently think they can argue with Death when he comes for them. However, Death can apply some philosophical logic, too.
ASTONISHING, said Death. REALLY ASTONISHING. LET ME PUT FORWARD ANOTHER SUGGESTION: THAT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A LUCKY SPECIES OF APE THAT IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF CREATION VIA A LANGUAGE THAT EVOLVED IN ORDER TO TELL ONE ANOTHER WHERE THE RIPE FRUIT WAS.
There’s a story about the game, “Thud,” which I believe may have been a real game in England, based on the Discworld novel. "The Ankh-Morpork National Anthem" (1999) is short, but funny. "#ifdefDEBUG + `world/enough' + `time'" (1990) is actually a pretty good cyberpunk story. Not William Gibson good, but startling good for an author who doesn’t usually dabble in such things.
Of course, there are some stories that are less interesting, but that’s always the case in any short story collection. Some stand out, some do not. Overall, this is a solid four star collection. And as I said, a must for any Pratchett fan. Definitely recommended.
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LibraryThing member ritaer
Enjoyable collection of shorter fiction, some early science fiction, some set in Discworld
LibraryThing member cuentosalgernon
If you love Terry Pratchett and you’ve read nearly all of his novels, this book is probably for you. If that’s not your case, I’d stick to his novels for a while, because although a few of the stories here are good enough, there are also quite a few which I think will only be of interest for
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Pratchett fierce fans and completists. Show Less
LibraryThing member DLMorrese
This wonderful collection of short stories (and a few other things) by the late, great Terry Pratchett is a fun read. It features several wonderful Discworld shorts, including Troll Bridge (Cohen the Barbarian), Theater of Cruelty (Corporal Carrot), and The Sea and Little Fishes (Granny
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Weatherwax). I recommend it to all Pratchett fans. Show Less
LibraryThing member atreic
I read this because I wanted to read The Sea and Little Fishes, as part of my 'read all the Witch books' project. It's a good witch story, and interesting as the seed of a lot of the ideas in the Tiffany Aching books. Mrs Earwig feels slightly different - the busybody summer fete organising
The rest of the book is a fun read, lots of cute stories by Young Pratchett, some jokey stuff it was nice to read around Christmas (the twelve days of Christmas story, the cthulu Christmas cards story), lots of draft stories that grow to be other stories that are interesting as a road map of where things come from.
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everything should be fair type doesn't quite join up with the showy higher class Mrs Earwig of the Tiffany books (or at least gets more of my sympathy). But it's very interesting to see a story that so explicitely addresses Granny's major flaw, of being _good_ but not very _nice_. It's a bit cringe comedy in places. Not sure it concludes much, other than your friends stick with you, and whether you're nice or not, it's good to be Right. The rest of the book is a fun read, lots of cute stories by Young Pratchett, some jokey stuff it was nice to read around Christmas (the twelve days of Christmas story, the cthulu Christmas cards story), lots of draft stories that grow to be other stories that are interesting as a road map of where things come from.
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LibraryThing member JohnFair
Published three years ago, these stories are arranged chronologically and are arranged as non-discworld and discword shorts. The earliest stories were written for his school magazines though you'd be hard pressed to realis that if you hadn't been told (some have a naievity that he would lose but he
The non-discworld shorts are a wide ranging group of stories with no overarching themes though there are a couple that proved to be the seeds of later full-length books - the better of these was definitely 'The High Meggas', to be expanded out into the Long Earth series. Overall, though, I thought the best was 'The Sea and Little Fishes', featuring Granny Weatherwax.
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managed to keep a sort of twisted humour throughout his career)..The non-discworld shorts are a wide ranging group of stories with no overarching themes though there are a couple that proved to be the seeds of later full-length books - the better of these was definitely 'The High Meggas', to be expanded out into the Long Earth series. Overall, though, I thought the best was 'The Sea and Little Fishes', featuring Granny Weatherwax.
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LibraryThing member marysneedle
I took a bit longer to read this book than I usually do mainly because I wanted it to last and savor it. I really enjoyed most of it. Some seemed like just unpublished thoughts but even these were interesting to someone who knows his writing. Love it. RIP Terry Prattchett.
LibraryThing member Lukerik
This is a collection designed really for the Pratchett fan. Stuff like The Hades Business probably won't hold much interest for anyone else. Some of the other stuff could be enjoyed by anyone; Troll Bridge or The Sea and the Little Fishes, for example. There are also some excellent illustrations.
LibraryThing member MikeRhode
As he admits, he didn't like to write short stories, and these are pretty minor. That said, I don't see why we had to wait 3 years for it to be reprinted from the UK edition.
LibraryThing member libgirl69
Interesting but not on my top 10. Some stories I just couldn't connect with. Others, were okay but not as good as the ok ones out of Discworld.
LibraryThing member sloopjonb
Most of the Discworld stuff I had read before, and most of the non-Discworld stuff isn't worth the bother, but the seed story for 'The Long Earth' was sufficiently interesting that I am now reading the resultant novel.
LibraryThing member Helenliz
I'm torn on what to rate this at. As a collection it is very variable in quality. Some of the short works are really very good, in others you can see the germ of an idea that was developed further. still others are dated and then there are those that are just not very good... Hence being torn on
The collection is presented as Non-Discworld in chronological order, from the first published story (aged 13) to more recent work, and then there are a number of Discworld related pieces. With each is a short commentary on what it was written for, when, and some thoughts about if it later became something else, or what he thinks of it now. Some were excellent (the one about the obsessive record collector was probably my favourite, as well as clearly being where Death first makes his apperance). Others were much less good. The diskwork selection seemed more veen in quality, with the national anthem making me snigger the most.
I can;t say that the way in which these are organised does the colleciton many favours, they do improve as they progress, but it's not a continual upwards slope. I also fdon;t think that this would be a good introduction to Pratchett to the uninitiated - it's too uneven and the tones used are too different for the things to sit well as a collection. I think one for the completist only. Which is a shame and is why I'm not going higher than an OK 3 stars. Sorry.
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how to rate this. The collection is presented as Non-Discworld in chronological order, from the first published story (aged 13) to more recent work, and then there are a number of Discworld related pieces. With each is a short commentary on what it was written for, when, and some thoughts about if it later became something else, or what he thinks of it now. Some were excellent (the one about the obsessive record collector was probably my favourite, as well as clearly being where Death first makes his apperance). Others were much less good. The diskwork selection seemed more veen in quality, with the national anthem making me snigger the most.
I can;t say that the way in which these are organised does the colleciton many favours, they do improve as they progress, but it's not a continual upwards slope. I also fdon;t think that this would be a good introduction to Pratchett to the uninitiated - it's too uneven and the tones used are too different for the things to sit well as a collection. I think one for the completist only. Which is a shame and is why I'm not going higher than an OK 3 stars. Sorry.
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LibraryThing member StigE
For the completist and the fans. A couple of okay short stories and one very good one. Read if you gotta catch them all, but almost all other Pratchett books are better.
LibraryThing member Mithril
Pretty all right. Good to know that ideas germinate so long before publication. Notes of meetings were hilarious.
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Not as good as I'd have though it would have been, but with a few interesting stories in it.
This is a collection of pTerry's shorter works mostly written as specials for anthologies and conferences, but also featuring some of his very earliest stories published in the school magasine and local
The last section includes specific Discworld stories, and with one or two exceptions seems very contrived. The Sea nad Little fishes is almost a novella, and has been published before, but few of the others are interesting stories. My favourite in the collection was the short story that became the basis for 'Long Earth'. I didn't enjoy the collaborative novel with Baxter, but it works very well as a short story, using the principles for making a different point altogether.
Overall an Interesting collection for the fan, but probably not the best place to start reading pTerry if you haven't come across him before.
This is a collection of pTerry's shorter works mostly written as specials for anthologies and conferences, but also featuring some of his very earliest stories published in the school magasine and local
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newspapers. Strangely he claims to hate doing them, and to have 'only ever written about 15'. There are more than 15 in this book. The very earliest ones from when he was aged 13 are understandably somewhat juvenille in tone - but you can still clearly see the voice that he will go on to develop. After that there are a few excerpts from his newspaper days and these are already established writings. I would have liked to have had more of these included in the volume, as many are quite good - some noteworthy puns!The last section includes specific Discworld stories, and with one or two exceptions seems very contrived. The Sea nad Little fishes is almost a novella, and has been published before, but few of the others are interesting stories. My favourite in the collection was the short story that became the basis for 'Long Earth'. I didn't enjoy the collaborative novel with Baxter, but it works very well as a short story, using the principles for making a different point altogether.
Overall an Interesting collection for the fan, but probably not the best place to start reading pTerry if you haven't come across him before.
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LibraryThing member Whiskey3pa
A nice collection of shorts and thoughts.
LibraryThing member TempleCat
Good fun and a good collection!
I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, up 'til now, and I've been a devourer of science fiction and fantasy for sixty years! A Blink of the Screen, a collection of his short stories, fixes that woeful circumstance, and it's a shame I waited so long before
However, I needn't have worried. This collection of short stories is an excellent introduction to Pratchett's oeuvre for a total newcomer to fantasy and will provide hours of pleasure to an experienced reader of science fiction and fantasy. The stories range from the first one he ever published, when he was thirteen years old, to excerpts from his recent Discworld novels. Watching his maturation in story telling and in subject matter is quite interesting, but, significantly, while his humor grows more complex, it really doesn't change in essence - it seems it has always been about the absurdities of mankind's beliefs and what happens when they bump up against modern reality - the quirks of the edge cases which shine a light on the humor and absurdity in everyone's behavior.
In Pratchett's very first published story - "The Hades Business" - the stereotypical devil, Beezelbub, Satan, decides that he needs more lost souls and hires a modern advertising company to change his image, arrange day trips, bring in more business. Of course, the story is not so much about the devil's abode, but rather advertising's power to shape minds and its willingness to be subverted. As one would expect, all the characters are treated comically - Cerberus, that big happy dog, jumps up on visitors, licking their faces (with not one tongue, but three) then whines and slinks back to his kennel when scolded. Demons eventually are promoted to the position of tax collectors in the normal world. But, Pratchett's humor is not dark - he goes toward the light and his heroes can outsmart the devil. The success and fame that the advertising firm brings to the devil is not what he had envisioned, he loses his privacy and his peace and quiet; his life becomes quite miserable, leading to a change in his attitudes.
One of the last stories in the collection, "The Sea and Little Fishes," from the Discworld series, provides a good point of comparison. Esme 'Granny' Weatherwax is the most powerful witch seen in the area for generations; Gytha 'Nanny' Ogg is a sister witch and was a wild tart in her youth. In her adulthood she has had many husbands, even marrying three of them, and sees it as her job to keep Granny from becoming bored, knowing anything could happen if a witch is left on her own to entertain herself. A big witch competition, The Trials, is about to take place and Granny, by working and preparing very hard, has won it every year; it's a major source of pride for her. This discourages the other witches, three of whom try to take charge and talk Granny out of participating in this year's competition. Of course, the reader will chortle with pleasure at the thought of the fun that will be forthcoming as second best witches and also rans try to keep Granny from competing. "Some sort of war had been declared.... Granny could do some terrible things when roused, and the fact that they'd been done to those who richly deserved them didn't make them any the less terrible." [location 177] Granny decides to trade on her reputation. She wanders around, being sweet and affable, cheerfully wishing good fortune on her neighbors. This scares the living daylights out of them, because they can't envision salutations from Granny to be anything but disguised curses. "People shouldn't go around not doin' what you expect," one character says weakly. "It gets people on edge." [location 181] The events of The Trials obviously make up the climax of the story and let me just say that the delights that Pratchett hints at are richly rewarding! Athletes at all levels should read this story just to learn how a real pro psyches out his opponents!
As Pratchett matures as a writer, his characters become more complex and more human, going beyond the pratfall to the depths of the human comedy and shining a light on our own weaknesses and absurdities. In the immortal words of Pogo and in the writings of Terry Pratchett, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, up 'til now, and I've been a devourer of science fiction and fantasy for sixty years! A Blink of the Screen, a collection of his short stories, fixes that woeful circumstance, and it's a shame I waited so long before
Show More
picking up one of Sir Terry's books. Certainly, part of my hesitation was concern over whether I would enjoy his brand of humor. I really prefer more serious kinds of science fiction and fantasy: military and romance and cyber punk and 'hard' SF; fantasy that is steeped in folk lore and mythology, though I do enjoy the humor of the Stainless Steel Rat and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. However, I needn't have worried. This collection of short stories is an excellent introduction to Pratchett's oeuvre for a total newcomer to fantasy and will provide hours of pleasure to an experienced reader of science fiction and fantasy. The stories range from the first one he ever published, when he was thirteen years old, to excerpts from his recent Discworld novels. Watching his maturation in story telling and in subject matter is quite interesting, but, significantly, while his humor grows more complex, it really doesn't change in essence - it seems it has always been about the absurdities of mankind's beliefs and what happens when they bump up against modern reality - the quirks of the edge cases which shine a light on the humor and absurdity in everyone's behavior.
In Pratchett's very first published story - "The Hades Business" - the stereotypical devil, Beezelbub, Satan, decides that he needs more lost souls and hires a modern advertising company to change his image, arrange day trips, bring in more business. Of course, the story is not so much about the devil's abode, but rather advertising's power to shape minds and its willingness to be subverted. As one would expect, all the characters are treated comically - Cerberus, that big happy dog, jumps up on visitors, licking their faces (with not one tongue, but three) then whines and slinks back to his kennel when scolded. Demons eventually are promoted to the position of tax collectors in the normal world. But, Pratchett's humor is not dark - he goes toward the light and his heroes can outsmart the devil. The success and fame that the advertising firm brings to the devil is not what he had envisioned, he loses his privacy and his peace and quiet; his life becomes quite miserable, leading to a change in his attitudes.
One of the last stories in the collection, "The Sea and Little Fishes," from the Discworld series, provides a good point of comparison. Esme 'Granny' Weatherwax is the most powerful witch seen in the area for generations; Gytha 'Nanny' Ogg is a sister witch and was a wild tart in her youth. In her adulthood she has had many husbands, even marrying three of them, and sees it as her job to keep Granny from becoming bored, knowing anything could happen if a witch is left on her own to entertain herself. A big witch competition, The Trials, is about to take place and Granny, by working and preparing very hard, has won it every year; it's a major source of pride for her. This discourages the other witches, three of whom try to take charge and talk Granny out of participating in this year's competition. Of course, the reader will chortle with pleasure at the thought of the fun that will be forthcoming as second best witches and also rans try to keep Granny from competing. "Some sort of war had been declared.... Granny could do some terrible things when roused, and the fact that they'd been done to those who richly deserved them didn't make them any the less terrible." [location 177] Granny decides to trade on her reputation. She wanders around, being sweet and affable, cheerfully wishing good fortune on her neighbors. This scares the living daylights out of them, because they can't envision salutations from Granny to be anything but disguised curses. "People shouldn't go around not doin' what you expect," one character says weakly. "It gets people on edge." [location 181] The events of The Trials obviously make up the climax of the story and let me just say that the delights that Pratchett hints at are richly rewarding! Athletes at all levels should read this story just to learn how a real pro psyches out his opponents!
As Pratchett matures as a writer, his characters become more complex and more human, going beyond the pratfall to the depths of the human comedy and shining a light on our own weaknesses and absurdities. In the immortal words of Pogo and in the writings of Terry Pratchett, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
Pretty poor. A couple of short stories raised a smile. And I didn't bother with most of the writings at all. It wasn't even me that took it out of the library.
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Even better than Dragons at Crumbling Castle -- it has a Discworld selection, after all. Great collection of shorter works from all parts of his career.
LibraryThing member fred_mouse
One for the fans, although lovers of short stories might get enough out of the better stories to enjoy it without a reasonable background in Discworld.
LibraryThing member KittyCunningham
This is a collection of bits and pieces. Some are very good (The Sea and Little Fishes) and some aren't, more doodles than anything. I'm glad to add the book to my Discworld collection. If half was removed, I wouldn't miss it.
LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
Pretty poor. A couple of short stories raised a smile. And I didn't bother with most of the writings at all. It wasn't even me that took it out of the library.
LibraryThing member sperzdechly
It's not Pratchett's finest work for sure. And this makes this book interesting!
This collection of short stories is ordered chronologically. It starts with a piece that Pratchett wrote at age of 13 and is clearly embarrassed by it. It's fascinating to see how it all started and witness the raw
And this anthology has some peculiar failures. If you are a Pratchett fan, you've probably read the best stories from this book somewhere else. The rest proves that this author shines in longer forms, but at the same time presents early ideas that later on transformed into more famous books (Nomes, The Long Earth). Again, proving that the first draft of anything is shit, even for a published and acclaimed author ;)
So it's an interesting book for Pratchett fans and aspiring writers. Everyone else should subtract at least one star from my rating.
This collection of short stories is ordered chronologically. It starts with a piece that Pratchett wrote at age of 13 and is clearly embarrassed by it. It's fascinating to see how it all started and witness the raw
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talent of a young author as well as appreciate years of tireless practice that followed. It's a little bit comforting to see that everyone has to put the work into their craft and fail from time to time before creating a masterpiece.And this anthology has some peculiar failures. If you are a Pratchett fan, you've probably read the best stories from this book somewhere else. The rest proves that this author shines in longer forms, but at the same time presents early ideas that later on transformed into more famous books (Nomes, The Long Earth). Again, proving that the first draft of anything is shit, even for a published and acclaimed author ;)
So it's an interesting book for Pratchett fans and aspiring writers. Everyone else should subtract at least one star from my rating.
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0552163333 / 9780552163330
Physical description
320 p.; 5.01 inches
Other editions
A Blink of the Screen: Collected Short Fiction by Terry Pratchett (Digital audiobook)
Pages
320