Terry Pratchett is one of the most loved writers in the world. With worldwide sales of over 65 million copies in 37 languages, his novels are eagerly awaited by his legions of fans year after year. His first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic was released in 1983 and ever since then the series, with its whimsical heroes and fiendish foes, has delighted both young and old alike. In 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He has courageously faced the disease head-on, equalling the determination of his characters in his vivid and satirical novels. In Terry Pratchett - The Spirit of Fantasy, Craig Cabell examines his extraordinary life, showcased against the backdrop of his irreverent works. With 2011 the 40th anniversary year of his first novel, The Carpet People, this is a fitting time to pay tribute to the author's artistic achievements and celebrate one of Britain's true national treasures. Featuring an in-depth look at the man and his work, as well as on-screen adaptations and a complete UK bibliography and collector's guide, this is essential reading for any fan.
Terry Pratchett
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Terry Pratchett - The Spirit of Fantasy for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
About the Author
Craig Cabell is the author of 17 books. He has been a freelance writer and reporter for over 20 years, working most notably for The Independent. For five years he was an in-house reporter for Focus, the house journal of the Ministry of Defence. He has written book reviews and wine reviews for several different magazines and has travelled the world for government services, from the Middle East to North and South America. He is the author of Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus, The Doctors Who's Who and the acclaimed Operation Big Ben - the Anti-V2 Spitfire Mission 1944-45 with Graham Thomas. He lives in London with his wife and three children.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
120 of 120 people found the following review helpful
By Janet 49
Format:Hardcover
I was very disappointed with this book. I've been a Pratchett fan for years and hoped to learn more about this brilliant author. The book appears to have had no input from it's subject so one has to wonder whether Terry Pratchett simply prefers that there should be no biography, or did not want to collaborate with this particular writer. I suspect that most of the material about Terry Pratchett the man, has been gleaned from what is already in the public domain. Most of the book is dedicated to analysing the books and speculating on the literary influences on Pratchett's own writing. There are also quotes from other fantasy and science fiction books of note interspersed in the text which added little if anything and I found slightly annoying. There are some colour photos in the book, but they are all relatively recent. I would have liked to see photos of Terry as a child and young man. There are a couple of short chapter's on Terry's response to his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and his views on assisted death, however I felt I learnt nothing new. There's even a micro chapter on cats. But we all know Terry likes cats.
106 of 106 people found the following review helpful
By BenCarroll
Format:Hardcover
Please avoid this. It's a horrifically written non-biography that has no information that isn't already out there and easy to find. A few points that annoyed me most:
A whole chapter 'about' Terry's choices on Desert Island Discs.
Numerous quotes from Terry and other authors that the author doesn't even try to make relevant.
Specific quotes from Terry that the author mentions just to disagree with for no real reason, and others that the author completely misunderstands.
Ridiculous theories about genre-splicing that have no relevance at all.
Often citing Spike Milligan, James Herbert, Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth with very little relevance, just because the author's other work is about said writers.
Starting a chapter with the sentence People don't change much during life.'
Laughably bad, throughout.
A whole chapter 'about' Terry's choices on Desert Island Discs.
Numerous quotes from Terry and other authors that the author doesn't even try to make relevant.
Specific quotes from Terry that the author mentions just to disagree with for no real reason, and others that the author completely misunderstands.
Ridiculous theories about genre-splicing that have no relevance at all.
Often citing Spike Milligan, James Herbert, Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth with very little relevance, just because the author's other work is about said writers.
Starting a chapter with the sentence People don't change much during life.'
Laughably bad, throughout.
66 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found six factual errors in the first two chapters*, two mis-orderings of the books, and the style alternates between ponderous and uninformed fanboy
Avoid
*Including one in the very first WORD!
Avoid
*Including one in the very first WORD!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing
A well-intentioned gift from someone who knows I enjoy TP. Should in theory have been interesting but in reality it offers little insight into TP as a person and is an incredibly... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Martin Dunn
4.0 out of 5 stars
More fantastic than fantasy
Please don't get me wrong, I love science fiction and hate fantasy, you know, all the swords and sorcery stuff, but Terry Pratchett is a whole different genre, funny bone fantasy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by G. N. Duffett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terry Pratchett The Spirit of Fantasy
I have read all of Terry Pratchett's first books like The Carpet People and The Bromeliad (Truckers, Diggers. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Tash
1.0 out of 5 stars
Avoid, avoid, avoid.
This is one of the most fatuous, ill-researched and disingenuous biography's I have ever had to endure. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Richard H
1.0 out of 5 stars
Drivial
A painfully boring uninformative read. I love terry pratchett and have read all his books and I am appalled at the superficial level of information in this so called biography.
Published 11 months ago by Beethoven's Left Ear
1.0 out of 5 stars
Missleading
"An in-depth look at the man and his work" the sleeve blurb tells us. More like one man and his ego and I'm not talking about Pratchett himself. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Woody
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unutterably bad
This book was passed on by a friend who had been given it. I'm not surprised that it's been passed around a bit in unread condition; it really is unreadable. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. I. Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
'Appreciating Sir Terry..'
I found reading this a very enlightening experience. Tracking Sir Terry's life through his thought processes, marvelling at his vision and amused by his lateral thinking. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Pat M Fraser
1.0 out of 5 stars
Save your money, dont buy this book
This is a NOT serious book about TP and his books.
Craig Cabell is only interested in airing his subjective views, which I do not agree with. Read more
Craig Cabell is only interested in airing his subjective views, which I do not agree with. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Peter Morell
1.0 out of 5 stars
Deceit
This is a blatant piece of deception. It is not written by TP and is a compilation of the writers narrow views on creativity and copious unrelated and irrelevant excerpts from... Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. S. Burnett
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
