The Knight of the Fantasy World

Discworld appeared in my life by a recommendation and I was attached to it from the very first moment.

I always admire people who is able to create a whole fantasy universe with all the small details. For example J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin or J. K. Rolling.

Pratchett somehow put me under his spell straight away. Every author creates a unique ambience by his creatures and what he made was such a weird and also humanly real world. He did it by his wit and his special method of describing all his creatures with little, sweet abnormalities, which makes all of them loveable. You can not tell the same about George R.R. Martin. There was blood, and there were murders in Pratchett's novels as well but somehow he organized it in a way that everything fell into place, while the happy ending never reached the level of the Hollywood-syrup version.

But it was only one side of the story. Drawing parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues in a satirical way and from a viewpoint of a wise wizard - who knows the deeper meaning of life - gave a pinch of insight to his intellectual and was an invitation to a journey into the mind.

He created this weird upside-down reality where everything was working in an abnormal way, and the stronger they believed in it, the more abnormal it looked but still it worked so well together, that it took you smoothly in.

He did not create one single hero and he did not concentrate the story about one single issue, but he built up a whole village with several characters where all were equal important and significant with their own rights.

Not to mention how he combined folklore, mythology and fairy tales and presented these items set into the storyline just like everyday life events.

Discworld is counted 41 books and still he owned several other books and projects.

In 2007, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer and he dedicated time, energy, efforts and financial support for the research of the disease. He greatly contributed to the public acceptance of the illness and he also produced a documentary about an assisted dying, expressing his will to choose the time, when he wish to leave before the illness would take over. The documentary triggered controversy but still the point was clear and it created a huge impact.

His work, his life, the contribution he made during his lifetime is truly a Magnum Opus, an extraordinary piece, view and wisdom shared with the public.

He was truly a knight.

This post is dedicated for the one and only Sir Terry Pratchett and his Magnum Opus.