From News.com.au:
Nerdy ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a new god. Thanks to everyone who sent this in. (Via Obvious Winner)
To recap: Terry Pratchett -- author of the wonderful Discworld books, member of the Order of the British Empire, sufferer of Alzheimer's -- made himself a sword. This would be incredible enough -- the dude smelted his own goddamn weapon! -- but then he also made his own sword out of fucking meteorites.ENGLISH fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett says he was so excited after being knighted by the Queen that he decided to make his own sword to equip himself for his new status.
It was not enough, however, simply to find some metal and get a blacksmith to bash it into shape.
Pratchett, believing the sword would not truly be his own unless it was made from metal he had produced, found a field with deposits of iron ore near his home in Wiltshire, west of London.
He gathered the deposits and smelted the iron ore himself.
The author, 62, who has sold about 65 million copies of his books, which include the Discworld series, said: "Most of my life I've been producing stuff which is intangible and so it's amazing the achievement you feel when you have made something which is really real."
With help from his friend Jake Keen -- an expert on ancient metal-making techniques -- the author dug up 81kg of ore and smelted it in the grounds of his house, using a makeshift kiln built from clay and hay and fuelled with damp sheep manure.
Pratchett, who has Alzheimer's disease, also said he had thrown in "several pieces of meteorites -- thunderbolt iron, you see -- highly magical, you've got to chuck that stuff in whether you believe in it or not".
After days of hammering the metal into bars, he took it to a blacksmith, whom he helped to shape it into a blade, which was finished with silverwork.
Pratchett has stored the sword, which he completed last year, in a secret location, apparently concerned about the authorities taking an interest in it.
He said: "It annoys me that knights aren't allowed to carry their swords. That would be knife crime."
Nerdy ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a new god. Thanks to everyone who sent this in. (Via Obvious Winner)
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aka Otto Chriek of course.
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Hey I recognize that photo. Robert Flach took it! Way to go Robert!
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Nice use of my picture[1] :-) Even though this is not his real sword - that can be seen here: http://www.paulkidby.com/images/news/april2010-02.jpg [1] taken at the 2010 Discworld Convention in Birmingham
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Wait until closer to x-mas to start with Mort, because then you can read Hogfather at x-mas. But really, it's better to start from the beginning at "Colour Of Magic" and go from there. You could also look at his other works, like "Good Omens" w Neil Gaiman, and his kid's stuff - Truckers, Diggers and Wings or the Johnny series. And if you buy them, buy them used and get the old covers, either the UK ones or the US ones. The old ones have re-released with the most boring covers in the world.
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I also started with Mort and have to agree that it's a really good place to start. It introduces one of the longer plotlines and is filled with what I view as the trademark Discworld humor.
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Bad Ass! Er, the sword-making from scratch, not the city of the same name, that is!
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Holy Mother of Pratchett, that is awesome.
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Whichever book you choose, your enjoyment may be supplemented with The Annotated Pratchett File, a sort of Cliffs Notes to jokes and connections that might go over the heads of Americans or those who read quickly - http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/
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All Hail Sir Pratchett.
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As of now every other fantasy author alive is just a poser.
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Reaper Man is a good Discworld book to start with. Good Omens is also a must.
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I think that final paragraph of the book illustrates how unnecessary a sequel would be.
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You can't go wrong with any of the Discworld novels, but Mort (that's the title of the book) is my personal favorite.
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I find it hilarious, yet also a bit sad, that they had to mention the Alzheimer's along with the quote about meteorites. Y'know, as if to say "whatever, crazy old man...sure, <i>meteorites</i>..."
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.... this is news to you, I take it?
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Terry Pratchett is a MAN??
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"Terry, you're making us all look bad, stop being so awesome. Sincerely, The Rest of the World."
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Some mention jetpacks to him...
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I don't think <i>Conan</i> even ever did THAT much to get a sword.
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THIS is why the English are better than any other nation. FACT. Oh and Stephen Fry the "Greatest Living Englishman"? More like the stupid persons idea of a clever person.
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That is amazing. My hero.
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So, he forged his own sword, out of meteorite metal that he collected himself... Terry Pratchett is Sokka!
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Man that is friggin impressive! I'm 26 and thought jesus that's a lot of work to do! But if I were knighted I too would be compelled to have a sword made for me, especially if I could get meteorite in that bitch! Automatic +2 weapon.
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wait... like seriously? you live near him?! man i envy you SO much!
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Nah, I think Good Omens is perfect as is.
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Good Omens is great, but I would avoid Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic to start with as they are heavy in the fantasy and a bit creaky round the edges. Mort is where I was introduced to the series and think its great, Guards Guards is fantastic and there is a lot to be said for Going Postal.
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I love this man. Even better, I saw him collecting the iron ore. He lives just down the road, and I was out walking. I asked him what he was doing, and he explained. I replied 'awesome'. He nodded.
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Yeah, I was really confused at the phrasing of that part also. Seemed really tacked-on. Not sure why his alzheimer's is mentioned at all since it has so little to do with the article's subject. I think they might be trying to subtly suggest that he was only knighted because people felt sorry for him being a sufferer of a disease. That's kinda bitchy.
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The more I heard about Terry Pratchett, THE MORE AWESOME HE GETS.
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The City Watch books are less fantasy and more mystery, with a good mix of politics thrown in. "Guards, Guards!" starts that series.
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Fucking meteorite sword. Holy Christ. This may be the most awesome piece of weapon related news I've heard in a while. Fuck thats rad, not enough people smelt and forge their own armor and weaponry these days. And yes, it's entirely bullshit that knights can't carry a sword. If they can't, who can?! No one, apparently. Bullshit.
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Didn't Turin Turambar have a sword made out of meteorite iron? Tolkien probably got buried with one.
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I'd say start with either Good Omens (my first Pratchett), or The Colour of Magic, which begins the Discworld series.
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Depends. Although they all take place in the same universe and frequently cross over with each other, the Discworld books are sort of split up into different 'series'. There's the witches, there's the wizards, there's the City Watch, there's Rincewind, there's Death, there's the Nac Mac Feegle.... but if you want a personal favourite, I would say Soul Music, Hogfather, Guards! Guards! and Wyrd Sisters are all good places to start....
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I've never heard of anyone who didn't like 'Guards, Guards!' If that's too much on the fantasy side for you, "The Truth' and 'Going Postal' might be worth reading.
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I didnt know he had alzheimers! His are the only books I really read anymore
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OK...confession time. As huge a nerd as I am,I'm not really a fan of fantasy literature. This story is SO AWESOME though,that I now want to read one of the mans books. Anybody want to suggest what my first Pratchett book should be?
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I always thought that the resistance to a sequel was more from Gaiman's end. Terry's never met a sequel he didn't like (not that this is a bad thing, mind you)
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Why? How could they make a follow up to such a grat book?! On a side note, let's pump Pratchett full o' stem cells!
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Pfft, please. I've been worshipping Pratchett as a God since Guards! Guards!
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This just makes his Alzheimer's all the more painful. The Agatha Cristie curse strikes again on the literary world. Terry Pratchett, we honor you.
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Pratchett, who has Alzheimer's disease, also said he had thrown in "several pieces of meteorites -- thunderbolt iron, you see -- highly magical, you've got to chuck that stuff in whether you believe in it or not". Doesn't it sounds like the author of the article believes that Pratchett's statement above is because he has Alzheimer's? I would like to think maybe they should say he has Awesome's Disease.
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That's cool and all, but call me when J.K. Rowling whittles a broomstick out of a Giant Redwood.
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Awesome. Now if he and Gaiman would just start working on the sequel to Good Omens!
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Man, this guy just gets more and more awesome. Already have the new Tiffany Aching book on order.
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And with that Sir Pratchett has beaten Stephen Fry for the title of "Greatest Living Englishman".
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That is truly badass!
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Wow, I now feel that everything I do in life is insignificant.
TotalComments: 48
