The real reason Sir Terry Pratchett’s work resonates so deeply with so many people around the world—and will continue to do so for decades to come—is that every one of his stories tugs at a deep, philosophical thread that sneaks up under the cover of action and punny dialogue to mug you faster than a denizen of the Shades.
Sir Terry’s work—not just the Discworld novels, of course, but also his early science fiction works, the ever-popular Good Omens written with Neil Gaiman, his anthologies such as A Blink of the Screen, and also his BBC lecture, Shaking Hands with Death—is filled with daring and challenging philosophical viewpoints hiding in plain sight.
I explore just a handful of them in the first installment in my “Tao of Sir Terry” series of articles for Tor.com–now available here!