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sarahlreadseverything's review
5.0
As seen on The Everyday Reader
I still haven’t made my way through the whole of the Discworld, but have been picking up Terry Pratchett’s work on and off as the mood strikes me for nearly 7 years now and am still constantly astounded (and overjoyed) by the combination of wit and intelligence in his writing. A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction offers real die-hard Discworld fans a chance to see some of the more obscure odds-and-bobs he’s produced, while the rest of us can soak in some really quite good non-Discworld short fiction. A Blink of the Screen shows that Pratchett’s flair for the written word doesn’t end with the Discworld. The short pieces come in a variety of forms – from poetry to board game write ups. Although I think some of the included pieces, especially in the Discworld section, were really just fluff (such as a 1 and a half page speech written from the perspective of Lord Vetinari on the twinning of Ankh-Morpork and Wincanton) it’s not necessarily bad fluff and the gems make the whole book worth it. Some of my favourites:
The Prince and the Partridge: A fairy tale style origin story for the Christmas carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’ Short and sweet
The Glastonbury Tales: A side-splitting poem about the perils of picking up hitchhikers near Glastonbury
The Ankh-Morpork National Anthem: Plays on what we all know to be true about national anthems and their second verse
Death and What Comes Next: Probably my favourite piece in the book. A conversation between DEATH and a dying philosopher, which rolls the crucial elements of scientific, religious and philosophical theory on life into one and a half pages.
If you’re not familiar with Terry Pratchett’s work A Blink of the Screen probably isn’t the place to start, as the second half will likely confound anyone who isn’t at least vaguely familiar with the major Discworld characters. Then again, you could just read the first half. I’m sure you’d like it just as much. How could you not, if you have half a brain in your head and like to laugh? If you are already familiar, A Blink of the Screen is certainly worth picking up.
I still haven’t made my way through the whole of the Discworld, but have been picking up Terry Pratchett’s work on and off as the mood strikes me for nearly 7 years now and am still constantly astounded (and overjoyed) by the combination of wit and intelligence in his writing. A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction offers real die-hard Discworld fans a chance to see some of the more obscure odds-and-bobs he’s produced, while the rest of us can soak in some really quite good non-Discworld short fiction. A Blink of the Screen shows that Pratchett’s flair for the written word doesn’t end with the Discworld. The short pieces come in a variety of forms – from poetry to board game write ups. Although I think some of the included pieces, especially in the Discworld section, were really just fluff (such as a 1 and a half page speech written from the perspective of Lord Vetinari on the twinning of Ankh-Morpork and Wincanton) it’s not necessarily bad fluff and the gems make the whole book worth it. Some of my favourites:
The Prince and the Partridge: A fairy tale style origin story for the Christmas carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’ Short and sweet
The Glastonbury Tales: A side-splitting poem about the perils of picking up hitchhikers near Glastonbury
The Ankh-Morpork National Anthem: Plays on what we all know to be true about national anthems and their second verse
Death and What Comes Next: Probably my favourite piece in the book. A conversation between DEATH and a dying philosopher, which rolls the crucial elements of scientific, religious and philosophical theory on life into one and a half pages.
If you’re not familiar with Terry Pratchett’s work A Blink of the Screen probably isn’t the place to start, as the second half will likely confound anyone who isn’t at least vaguely familiar with the major Discworld characters. Then again, you could just read the first half. I’m sure you’d like it just as much. How could you not, if you have half a brain in your head and like to laugh? If you are already familiar, A Blink of the Screen is certainly worth picking up.
m1thrandir's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
spockpandasaurus's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
silthy's review
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kitsuneheart's review
5.0
This book...is going to utterly torment me about not having started Discworld yet, isn't it? I've read little bit! "Circle of Magic," a few short stories, some descriptions. But I'm only vaguely aware of the real plot of the series. And...this book is going to change that, because the glimpse I got was so tantalizing, I do believe tomorrow I'm hitting the used bookstore.
This isn't just a Discworld book. About half of the stories are unconnected short fiction, including some of Pratchett's earliest works. Like, not a legal adult yet earliest. And the general quality of everything is still rather high. You'd expect his first published work to be sort of bad (as seen in some of George R. R. Martin's early work collections), but Pratchett always had a general understanding of what makes a good story. Certainly, he improved over the years, but his work never wastes your time.
I'm a particular fan of "Final Reward," in which the author of a sword and sorcery series kills off his main character, only to realize that literary promises that he would "meet his maker" and "dine in his halls" were literal, and there is a large, somewhat violent man standing on his front stoop.
I listened to the audiobook version of this series, which is all done by one reader, so don't go in expecting to have a big difference in voices between stories. There's no confusion for a listener as voices are repeated, luckily, but there's just not the variety available from a wider cast. Still, feel free to read or listen, whichever is available to you.
This isn't just a Discworld book. About half of the stories are unconnected short fiction, including some of Pratchett's earliest works. Like, not a legal adult yet earliest. And the general quality of everything is still rather high. You'd expect his first published work to be sort of bad (as seen in some of George R. R. Martin's early work collections), but Pratchett always had a general understanding of what makes a good story. Certainly, he improved over the years, but his work never wastes your time.
I'm a particular fan of "Final Reward," in which the author of a sword and sorcery series kills off his main character, only to realize that literary promises that he would "meet his maker" and "dine in his halls" were literal, and there is a large, somewhat violent man standing on his front stoop.
I listened to the audiobook version of this series, which is all done by one reader, so don't go in expecting to have a big difference in voices between stories. There's no confusion for a listener as voices are repeated, luckily, but there's just not the variety available from a wider cast. Still, feel free to read or listen, whichever is available to you.
huddlej's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lee214's review
3.0
Not all of the stories in this collection are particularly memorable. Many I could take or leave, but I feel they still have a place in this collection. They show some of the writing process; throwing ideas out there to see which ones work. Not every idea is the best, and this is likely why they stayed short stories. The ones that are memorable are really really great. I greatly enjoyed the chronological organization of the short stories. It highlights the evolution of Terry Pratchett’s writhing throughout his long career. My favorites include Turntables of the Night, Hollywood Chickens, Once and Future, and The Sea and Little Fishes.
jonathanpalfrey's review against another edition
3.0
Terry Pratchett was primarily a novelist, but here are 32 short pieces of fiction left over from his career. By his own admission, he found it difficult to write short stories, and he never mastered the art of writing a really good short story. But he could write fragments of fiction that were readable and somewhat entertaining, so this is a solid three-star book that I can reread occasionally.
They are divided into 21 non-Discworld and 11 Discworld stories, the former including an early short version of what later became [b:Truckers|989036|Truckers (Bromeliad Trilogy, #1)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461277153l/989036._SY75_.jpg|1737268].
For me, the best things in this collection are:
1. “The High Meggas” (1986), which is an early short version of his non-Discworld novel [b:The Long Earth|13147230|The Long Earth (The Long Earth, #1)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1335532694l/13147230._SY75_.jpg|18164154], and in my opinion better than the novel (which I’m not very keen on).
2. “Troll Bridge” (1992), a Discworld story about Cohen the Barbarian.
3. “Once and Future” (1995), a non-Discworld story about a time traveller marooned in the past—apparently an alternative version of the past. He thought of making a novel out of it, but never did.
4. “The Sea and Little Fishes” (1998), a Discworld story about the witches.
They are divided into 21 non-Discworld and 11 Discworld stories, the former including an early short version of what later became [b:Truckers|989036|Truckers (Bromeliad Trilogy, #1)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461277153l/989036._SY75_.jpg|1737268].
For me, the best things in this collection are:
1. “The High Meggas” (1986), which is an early short version of his non-Discworld novel [b:The Long Earth|13147230|The Long Earth (The Long Earth, #1)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1335532694l/13147230._SY75_.jpg|18164154], and in my opinion better than the novel (which I’m not very keen on).
2. “Troll Bridge” (1992), a Discworld story about Cohen the Barbarian.
3. “Once and Future” (1995), a non-Discworld story about a time traveller marooned in the past—apparently an alternative version of the past. He thought of making a novel out of it, but never did.
4. “The Sea and Little Fishes” (1998), a Discworld story about the witches.
finhatfield's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book while in a book store in Ireland around 2 or 3 years ago and have carried it around ever since. It's been intended as my fun vacation read, that I never got around to because there were other things that needed to be read or I didn't have a ton of time to read a physical book. I think it's been on every flight I've taken since. But I read maybe 10 physical books and over 50 audiobooks so this was all unrealistic and aspirational.
I finally just got the audiobook and spent a lovely time listening to it. I found the non discworld short stories to be really fun and lovely, and I really enjoyed seeing more glimpses of the discworld.
I would recommend it highly.
I finally just got the audiobook and spent a lovely time listening to it. I found the non discworld short stories to be really fun and lovely, and I really enjoyed seeing more glimpses of the discworld.
I would recommend it highly.
katzreads's review
3.0
Some very clever stories. A bit uneven, but fascinating chronological presentation, starting with a story he wrote when he was only 13! I enjoyed the editorial comments before each story providing a bit of history about when/where it was published and sometimes how he came up with the idea.