Small Gods question

Rhianna Pratchett said in June that The Shepherd's Crown would be the final Discworld book. No further works or unfinished books would be published. Pratchett was too unique to formulate. Even he struggled with it in the end.

It's an interesting question, and I think there a few different threads to be teased out here.

On the one hand, I find that I'm not interested when an author tries to take over a series entirely identified by the style of its prior author. On the other hand, when characters and settings are used by different authors who bring their own style, then you can end up with some fine reading.

Personally, I would be interested to read a collection of short stories set on the Disc written by other authors who are fans. However, I'm not enthused by the idea of anyone trying to continue the series by imitating Pratchett.

I say give the girl a chance, after all she was raised in Discworld. That humor and world view tends to run in families.

I love Terry Pratchett too, but I generally don't think it works out that well to have someone else continue. Styles are too different.

However...it might be worth it for a world you really love.

No, no, no. We're so used to franchising and brands that on the face of it, this seems reasonable, but Discworld's charm doesn't lie in the formulaic manipulation of a number of stock characters, but in Pratchett's anarchic footnotes, or the little asides (which don't add anything to the plot) that really root you in the world. Think of Vetinari solemnly hopping from stone to stone on his secret way to see Leonard of Quirm, just to put any spies off the scent. Irrelevant, but just perfect. You can't just *will* that idiosyncratic imagination on to someone else.

*Sigh* No, just no. I don't think Discworld will be Discworld if Pterry is not the one writing about it. I'm sure Rhianna Pratchett is a talented writer (I've actually played some games written by her), but I don't think that she or anyone else could write exactly the same kind of books as Pterry does.

It would be different if the Discworld series were a plot-driven one, and Pterry were in danger of leaving it unfinished. For example, Robert Jordan left his 'Wheel of Time' series in the hands of Brandon Sanderson because he didn't want to leave it unfinished, and from what I've heard, Sanderson did a good job finishing it off. But the Discworld series isn't like that - people don't read it in order to learn 'what happens next' or 'how will it end'. It's an open-ended world, and its charm lies in the characters and the voice of the author. Without that unique voice, there really wouldn't be a Discworld.

If Pterry does hand the series over to Rhianna or to anyone else, I might still read one or two books by the new author, mainly out of curiosity. But as far as I would be concerned, it wouldn't be the real Discworld any more.

Hmm. No doubt it will happen as there will be lots of money in it, but whether they will be successful or not...

For example, there have been some successful and enjoyable James Bond books after Fleming, but I fear Discworld would be more like the Hitchhiker's Guide universe - and the non-Adams extension to that was just terrible.

The best we can hope for is that his daughter brings her own unique take on the world and doesn't just become a pale imitation - it won't be to the taste of all fans but could be an interesting ride...

I'm prepared to keep an open mind until it happens!

I reserve judgement until I read a book not by Terry Pratchett in the Discworld. I share my concerns as Mitali does, but it may be OK.

The perfect example of what could happen is what happened in Thieves' World series. One open ended world where a group of writers played with each others characters through short stories. I know it is not exactly the same, but it could work.

The Dune Chronicles has been inhabited by other writers since Frank Herbert died and they seem to be well written and popular.

Depends what you mean by "continuing the series". Personally I'd like to see how new authors might take Discworld in new directions, but I suspect that isn't what will happen here- people will be clamouring for more of the same, conveniently ignoring how over the years Discworld itself matured and evolved as TP's writing and intellectual interests changed.

Hopefully she'll be able to bring in some new characters. Part of the charm for me was learning about new people each book, without Vetinari or Vimes popping up every ten minutes. I wonder how long Ridcully is going to hang on as well, loved as he is, when his job has one of the shortest life span expectancy rates on the disc.
I love CMOT as much as anyone, but I really hope that Moist starts falling into the background more.

I would like to see some Discworld shot stories written by Gaiman and Rhianna Pratchett and potentially other authors(short story collection book would be great). But would I like to see full continuation of series by another author?I say no, let it die with sir Terry, no one can write it way he did.

It would be interesting if his daughter would work with him to write a couple of books, to let the readers see how well she works in the book, although perhaps it would be good if she could try and test out the waters herself to see what would happen?

My question is: Has she actually agreed to this? Last time I read anything on the subject, it was an idea being kicked around. Nobody had agreed to anything concrete. For all we know, this could never happen.

Jill Paton Walsh has written several (at least three, anyway) Lord Peter Wimsey books, mostly working from the original notes of Dorothy L Sayers. It's not original Wimsey, but it fills a desire for more stories about him and Harriet - and well written "fan fiction" can be worth reading if there is no more of the original version to read.

I hope the daughter has the sense NOT to take it over. The recent books, written by Terry with the help of his wife, are pale shadows of his earlier works and not fit to be part of the series, IMO. The Discworld series is not about plot or even characters, it's about TP's wonderful language. He had a unique voice and no one can reproduce that.