Okay, I’m shamelessly weepy right now, but I managed to keep the tears down long enough to put an archival cover on a brand-new hardback book that just arrived.
What’s the book? The Shepherd’s Crown, the last ‘Tiffany Aching’ novel from Terry Pratchett. The final Discworld novel.
I’ve blathered on about him before, but I am honored to have been alive while Sir Terry Pratchett was writing, and to have met him once or twice. The way he wrote and the things he stood for, his humanity and his blistering cold rage at some of humanity’s greater stupidities…above all, the hilarious, civilized, and oblique ways he often channeled that rage…remind me what’s really important in the background of the Hugo Awards/Culture War, er, discussions.
I’ve blathered about the ‘Tiffany Aching; books, too: how I suspect they might be some of the finest YA fantasy published recently. They are certainly one of my touchstones to judge other, more-hyped YA properties (and most, I’m sad to say, fail in comparison).
So here’s to a last great book, which I will read later this fall after re-reading the other Tiffany books.
Here’s to the universe of meaning behind its dedication: For Esmerelda Weatherwax – mind how you go.
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If you know nothing about Pratchett’s main universe, the Discworld, the Tiffany Aching books are a great start. Here’s an overview from the publisher.