# Terry Pratchett dead at 66. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835 "2015-03-12T15:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835/181 "2015-03-26T11:38:18Z")
> [@BDBoop](#): > > Oh yeah. Trending on FB and Twitter, everybody coming undone. He didn’t die, ffs. He just left the band. > > [One Direction fans freak out on social media over Zayn Malik’s departure – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/1d-fans-freak-social-media-zayn-malik-exit-article-1.2162154) It’s social media. It freaks out at any change, especially one which affects the demographics most likely to use social media (young people and idiots). Terry Pratchett was trending on my Twitter for a good while, and was then knocked off by Jeremy Clarkson, who was then knocked off by Zayn, who was then knocked off by people making puns of celebrities and fantasy names. Relax: The loss of Pratchett will be felt for a good long while, it will just be a quiet sadness and people hiding “GNU Terry Pratchett” on websites. ---
**Author:** ![BDBoop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@BDBoop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BDBoop)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835/182 "2015-03-27T10:30:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Zayn Malik’s departure from British boyband One Direction has caused such consternation amongst fans that employers have been inundated with requests for compassionate leave. > > Mr Malik announced that he was leaving the band two days ago, prompting a flurry of calls to employment law firm Peninsula, which provides advice on staff rights in the workplace, as employees sought time off to grieve. > > Alan Price, a director at Peninsula, yesterday tweeted that “you could not make this up”. According to the Manchester-based firm, there have been “hundreds” of calls about Mr Malik. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/11498773/Zayn-Maliks-departure-from-One-Direction-has-fans-seeking-compassionate-leave.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/11498773/Zayn-Maliks-departure-from-One-Direction-has-fans-seeking-compassionate-leave.html) Craziness. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835/183 "2015-03-27T12:07:37Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > IIRC Pterry received either irate mail or faced an irate American mom, taking him to task for putting out a book ostensibly kid-friendly but filled with so much profanity, without any profanity warnings on the cover. He was most \_\_\_ing amused. I liked it best when he used something similar in Mort, where there’s this conversation between two thieves: “Well, ---- me, a ----ing wizard. I hate ----ing wizards!” “You shouldn’t ---- them, then.” {effortlessly pronouncing a row of dashes} ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835/184 "2015-03-27T19:14:10Z")
Coming in late here: I hate Pratchett’s works; have tried them, and found them – except for the odd slight smile – ponderous, lead-heavy, and profoundly un-funny. However – so many people whose taste I respect, loving the guy’s output: has me feeling that the problem is likely with me, rather than with the late Mr. P. And at all events, it’s regrettable that the author’s decline and death at a sadly early age, robbed enthusiasts for his writings, of potentially much more of them. Plus, I gather very much that Pratchett was personally, an extremely nice man. Altogether – would that things had been otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835/185 "2015-04-08T00:22:54Z")
Bumping the thread due to news. [The Shepherd’s Crown to be released September 10.](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/07/terry-pratchetts-final-discworld-novel-september-the-shepherd-s-crown) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-pratchett-dead-at-66/714835.md?page=9)