Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography

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Rob Wilkins says: ‘Living a life alongside one of the world’s greatest authors, then reliving every moment for his biography, has been an incredible journey. Terry was one of the most talented, complex, intellectually stimulating people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting - a true genius. The responsibility of documenting his life when I lived so much of it with him has been such an emotive experience. A Life with Footnotes is a book that I hope would have made Terry proud.’

Writing was mostly what he did. There isn't a huge amount to sustain a biography in the usual way of things. There is, however, the Embuggerance: this brilliant author's horrifically early slide into dementia via a particularly virulent form of Alzheimers that took away his memories, his ability to make connections, his words.As much as this is about Terry Pratchett it was fascinating to get a glimpse of what it was like to see him work, travel and negotiate fiercely for his art. The man was a perfectionist and reading all this from Rob's perspective made the book even more special. Next, I marveled at the Ode to Sir Terry Pratchett from Sir David Jason, which as just lovely and included a closing line that was reminiscent of how the Two Ronnies would close each episode of their comedy television show. A truly wonderful and heartbreaking tale, filled with memories typed by Pratchett himself and lovingly woven with those of writer and ‘best PA in the world’ (read the book), Rob Wilkins. The unique humour and storytelling that carries you along in all of the adventure’s in Prattchett’s fiction is present throughout this biography which is filled with characters and situations as colourful and as rich as those from his books, making this a really enjoyable read.

Here’s the former press officer of the Central Electricity Generating Board, South Western Region, with his name in lights – Terry Pratchett at the peak of his powers.Drawing on his own extensive memories, along with those of Terry’s family, friends, fans and colleagues, Rob recounts Terry’s extraordinary story – from his early childhood to the literary phenomenon that his Discworld series became; and how he met and coped with the challenges that ‘The Embuggerance’ of Alzheimer’s brought with it. I loved learning about the author's days in school - thereby getting quite the history lesson, too - and of his struggles before he became an avid reader. Equally, I was delighted to meet all the other family members and discovering quite a number of people who seemed intrinsically familiar ... because they definitely were the inspiration for certain people on Discworld! :D However, his years spent as a journalist of one sort or another and the people he thereby met was quite astonishing as well.