Posted on 07/31/2005 1:32:27 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
Sunday, 31 July 2005, 10:41 GMT 11:41 UK Pratchett anger at Rowling's rise
Author Terry Pratchett has complained that the status of Harry Potter author JK Rowling is being elevated "at the expense of other writers".
Pratchett, one of the UK's most successful novelists with 40 million books sold, said the media ignores the achievements of other fantasy authors.
He also took a sideswipe at Rowling for saying she did not realise Harry Potter was fantasy until it was published.
His comments came on Rowling's 40th birthday, also Harry Potter's birthday.
In a recent interview with Time magazine, Rowling said she was "not a huge fan of fantasy" and was trying to "subvert" the genre.
The magazine also said Rowling reinvented fantasy fiction, which was previously stuck in "an idealised, romanticised, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves".
Pratchett, whose first fantasy novel was published 34 years ago, wrote to the Sunday Times saying the genre had always been "edgy and inventive".
"Ever since The Lord of the Rings revitalised the genre, writers have played with it, reinvented it, subverted it and bent it to their times," he wrote.
"It has also contained come of the very best, most accessible writing for children, by writers who seldom get the acknowledgement they deserve."
He also expressed surprise at Rowling's comments that she only realised Harry Potter was fantasy after the first book was published.
"I'm not the world's greatest expert," he wrote.
Birthday celebrations
"But I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, hidden worlds, jumping chocolate frogs, owl mail, magic food, ghosts, broomsticks and spells would have given her a clue?"
Rowling's latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sold almost nine million copies in the UK and US in its first 24 hours of release on 16 July.
Meanwhile, Rowling celebrated reaching 40 on Sunday, the same day she has given as her young creation's birthday.
The author's website displayed pictures of a birthday cake and birthday card with the words: "Happy birthday Harry Potter."
Fans have been trying to deduce how old he is, with one site saying the boy wizard has now turned 25.
Exactly - his comments are chiefly sour grapes.
Pratchett's a good authoir but needs to stop following the same format every book becasue he never abandons the same structure which means that even the most amusing characters can quickly become jaded.His best stuff is when he was fresh or when he switches genre and tests himself like GOod Omens with Neil Gaiman or Strata.
Hmm, I agree - best of his recent books was "Night Watch" and that was... different, somehow. It had a lot more depth and meaning to it, instead of just poking fun at a new target. I think he needs to grow as a writer a bit more. But of course I read every new Discworld as it comes out.
Woo-hoo! Just checked Amazon; Pratchett's next book, "Thud!" comes out in October and it's a Watch book, which are always my favorites.
Hey, Terry-it's called the marketplace. The last time I checked, Dean Koontz wasn't complaining about the success of Stephen King.
Granny Weatherwax is my favorite Pratchett character. But I want to be Nanny when I grow up. :-)
I dunno about serious fantasy, but IMO there's a fair amount of meat to what he writes. I loved "Maskerade" for exactly that reason - Granny's stopping a sword cut with her hand, and the results thereof, are one of my favorite bits in all of fiction.
Nice comments. I have been intrigued by the same thing myself. Her style of writing has gradually become more adult as have the story lines. Her books are 'growing up' with her target audience.
It will be interesting to see where she takes it now. Probably in ten years time we'll start to hear comments like 'I remember back when Harry Potter was for kids'.
If those young actors that play Harry, Hermione and Ron are lucky and play their cards right they could have jobs in film for the rest of their lives. It makes me wonder though if we'll ever have to see love scenes in the future Potter films...
Isn't it about time for Rincewind and The Luggage to show up again?
Very tacky by Terry. Never read him, but less inclined to after the big whine.
Now I, on the other hand, have a right to whine, I can't even get a agent.
However, I choose not to, but to appreciate all the good writers... there are so many bad ones.
later
Her book being a best seller does not take away from you. In fact the kids that buy her book may one day buy yours.
One word: Xanth.
Sounds like jealousy.
In 1977, I'll bet People magazine was full of articles about how George Lucas had reinvented Science Fiction, reinvigorating a staid and stodgy genre, blah, blah, blah. And I'm sure that if Asimov ever said, "nu, that's not quite right," the blogosphere would have said, "Sour grapes! Say it ain't so, Ike!"
And what's the number one rule for the crossbow, Detritus?
When Mr. Safety Catch is not engaged, Mr. Crossbow is not our friend.
I'd give just about anything to make that rumor come true.
Nah. Until I read the article, I thought that I might agree.
Pratchett pokes a little gentle fun at Rowlings' silly statement the she had not thought of HP as fantasy while she was writing it. And at the Beebs' stupid claim that fantasy had been stuck in a rut, where "an idealised, romanticised, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves".
Pratchett's novels are some of my favorites. At his best, he is a satirist as skilled as Twain or Swift.
I've always thought that Rowling got her ideas about the school (moving stairways, self-guarding library books, magic wand characteristics, etc) from Pratchett's work. I can see why he'd be somewhat irritated. Pratchett's books I very enjoyable. I'm sorry that they don't get the attention that Rowling's have as well.
Wow, that displays quite a breathtaking ignorance of the state of the Fantasy genre pre-Rowling.
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