Title: A Blip of the Screen
Author: Terry Pratchett
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 322
Rating 4/5
This book is beautiful, a hardback collection of some of Terry Pratchett’s short fiction from throughout the years as it was published by newspapers, anthologies and more. The book is a beautiful artifact in and of itself, especially because of the colour illustrations that are included inside of it, but the artifact is just the beginning.
What I liked about this is that it really was a comprehensive look at Pratchett’s entire career throughout the years, featuring early versions of stories like the Nomes books. There are some Discworld stories here too, although I felt like I’d read at least one of those before. Regardless, they were a great addition to his body of work, and there wasn’t a single story that I didn’t enjoy.
I guess the main criticism that I’d level at it is that a lot of the pieces that were included were pretty much just fragments. That was counterbalanced by the fact that Pratchett wrote short introductions to each piece to give them some context, but then it led to some strange situations where the introductions were as long as the pieces themselves.
If you’re a serious Pratchett fan then this one definitely deserves a place on your bookshelves. There’s a lot to love here, and I also like the way that it makes you feel like you’re heading behind the scenes. It does a great job at showing the evolution of Pratchett’s career, and it also does a great job at showing the huge breadth of his imagination. I got my copy used and so it didn’t cost too much, making it a cracking read that didn’t cost a lot of money. So if you like Pratchett anywhere near as much as I do, I suggest you grab a copy.
