A Blink of the Screen

This is a collection of short stories from the late-great Discworld author Terry Pratchett, whose work I have always loved. Herein are some high- and low-concept sci-fi stories that are guaranteed to be entertaining and tasty for Pratchett fans.

There are of course puns, devils, computers, chickens, time travel and other sci-fi brick-a-brack, sitting about 60/40 between non-Discworld/Discworld stories.

The thing about an author with such a huge body of work is that it just gets better and better - I don’t believe you get a raw, edgy sound in the early days like with an rock band’s debut album - so what you’re reading here at the start are, quite naturally, some of the worst of his output. There are kernels of what would become the wit and satire that I adore, but even in the notes Pratchett is cringing at his own work.

In a way it’s inspiring to think that even a prolific and inspiring author like this looks back on his early work as a bit crap. There’s hope for us all.