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    A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction
    Unavailable
    A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction
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    A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction
    Audiobook8 hours

    A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction

    Written by Terry Pratchett

    Narrated by Stephen Briggs and Michael Fenton Stevens

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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, this is an audiobook to treasure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 17, 2015
    ISBN9780804193597
    Unavailable
    A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction
    Author

    Terry Pratchett

    Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

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    Reviews for A Blink of the Screen

    4/5

    166 ratings31 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A mixed collection of fictional pieces written by Pratchett from the age of 13 upwards, each with a brief introduction. The first two-thirds of the book contain stories with a science-fiction slant, some of them very bizarre, but - as one would expect - very well written. Even if I didn't quite understand a couple of them I could still appreciate them. The latter third contains Discworld material, including an excellent longish short story about Granny Weatherwax. Also the Ankh-Morpork national anthem, a speech, and some Discworld medical conditions. Mildly amusing, but only really of interest to readers already familiar with the Discworld characters and lifestyle. Recommended to Pratchett fans.
    • 5/5
      Just brilliant, shows his class form the off. The Witches short story is maybe the funniest of theirs I've read - and that's saying something!
    • 5/5
      The collected short stories of Terry Pratchett (of course) is a must for every fan. Although admittedly it wasn`t his favourite genre, his outstanding genius shines through all of his works even his very first ones.
    • 4/5
      This collection of short fiction spans essentially Terry Pratchett's entire career, and includes several stories from the Discworld series.Short stories never really came naturally to Pratchett, something he admits in the introductions to a couple of these pieces, and, truthfully, many of them are very slight and not terribly memorable, especially when compared with his novels. A few of them are really just random bits and bobs that barely qualify as stories. But even those are at least mildly entertaining, and some of the more substantial stories are really good. Among others, there's a sort of Christmas horror story that's just delightfully bizarre, and a couple of the Discworld ones are flat-out terrific, enough to make the collection well worthwhile all by themselves. (Only Pratchett could write a story that's funny and melancholy at the same time and make it deeply successful at both, but the Cohen the Barbarian tale manages it. And nothing on any world, round or flat, will ever be remotely as terrifying as Granny Weatherwax deciding to go around being nice at people.)Some of these, also, are interesting glimpses into different facets of Pratchett as a writer. There are a couple of surprisingly straightforward science fiction stories. There are also a couple of stories that were later expanded into novels. (One story is in both of those categories: "The High Meggas," which eventually became The Long Earth, written with Stephen Baxter.) There's even a couple of poems, including an utterly charming one about picking up hitchhikers on the way to Glastonbury in the 70s.The collection also contains an interesting curiosity: the first story Pratchett every wrote and had professionally published, at the age of thirteen. Thirteen! And while it's clearly unpolished, it's amazing to me how very Pratchett it already feels. It's certainly enough to make me wonder what the heck I was doing at thirteen.Rating: 4/5, although that's mostly on the strength of a handful of the best pieces.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      A nice collection of shorts and thoughts.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved it. Each story makes you laugh and makes you think. Captivating characters. All have Pratchett’s unique style.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      A few stories and very short bits both Discworld and not, in the other order, over the course of Terry Pratchett's career. Familiar ground to be sure, with several delightful passages, but not an absorbing read. I'm sure the illustrations, all grouped at the end, are much better in a larger, more colored form than the Kindle allows.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      I have been a fan of Pratchett for a long while now, and have read almost all of the Discworld books and some, but not all, of his collaborations with other authors. I have read very little of his short stories, but thankfully with this collection this has now been resolved.

      The best way to think of this collection is as a box of rocks. But as you read these, it dawns on you that even though they are a little rough looking, they are actually uncut gems and carry the potential thoughts and ideas that came to make him a household name later on.

      As these have been drawn from his very earliest writings, some are rough at the edges, and do not have the finesse of more recent novels. There are some really good stories in here, Theatre of Cruelty was particular favourite. Some sprung into full length novels later on, and when reading them you can see the inspirations and germs of ideas. These are not all fantasy stories, Once and Future and #IFDEFDEBUG World/Enough Time are science fiction stories, which whilst short are good.

      There are a couple of things that really stand out for me though. The humour, which is very funny, sometimes rude and most importantly clever. And secondly that with his decline because of Alzheimer’s then these brilliant stories and observations will cease sooner that they could have done, and that is a tragedy.
    • 3/5
      A collection of short fiction and “squibs” both Discworld and other.For Discworld completists only, and really for the longest short story, The Sea and Little Fishes, which concerns Mistress Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg.The other short Discworld fiction is nice to read but dependent upon familiarity with the characters from the Discworld novels.
    • 4/5
      The Discworld short stories are the best of this collection, and just perfect.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 5/5
      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 Weatherwax). I recommend it to all Pratchett fans.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 3/5


      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.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 2/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      Even lesser Pratchett is still Pratchett. I enjoyed seeing the genesis of The Long Earth stories. I actually thought the non-Discworld stories were a little better than the Discworld ones. Some I'd read before, but I was happy to hear them again.

      I still miss him. #GNUTerryPratchett
    • 2/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      hi
    • 3/5
      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 Pratchett fierce fans and completists.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      Pretty all right. Good to know that ideas germinate so long before publication. Notes of meetings were hilarious.