- Published: 5 October 2023
- ISBN: 9781529911121
- Imprint: Transworld Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 256
A Stroke of the Pen
The Lost Stories
- Published: 5 October 2023
- ISBN: 9781529911121
- Imprint: Transworld Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 256
This delightful collection is inventive, entertaining and a little quirky, often with a twisty end… a fun read
Independent
Expect comic fantastical fragments riffing on everything from cave people to Father Christmas.
Guardian, Best Books for Autumn
You always feel the push of the inimitable Pratchett behind them — funny, sharp, warm, wise and always so, so readable
Daily Mail
One for the completists
SFX
Biggest books for autumn
The Times
A treasure trove glittering with lost gems
Financial Times
This delightful collection is inventive, entertaining and a little quirky, often with a twisty end
Press Association
A new Pratchett! Clear the bestseller decks: this book is heading for the top.
Guardian
Terry Pratchett’s short tales from the 70s and 80s reveal a young talent bursting with invention and wit… there’s much here to delight the open-minded, the fantasy aficionado and the Pratchett completist
Observer
Funny, fantastical and slyly smart
Mail on Sunday
The wit, wisdom and intelligence are interspersed with a lively dose of naivety, with entertaining results
Herald
A Stroke of the Pen shows [Pratchett] at a stage when he was stopping at the first or second tree. Soon he would plunge into the forest
The Sunday Times
Shows the beginnings of one of the UK’s best fantasy writers… A treat for seasoned fans and newcomers
The Sun, Pick of the Week *****
Enjoyable literary bonbons
i Paper
Delicious, bite-sized stories
My Weekly
A collection of 20 excellent, often laugh-out-loud early works. . . . Pratchett devotees will be moved and gratified by this unexpected gift and even casual readers will be utterly charmed. There isn’t a bad story in the bunch.
Publishers Weekly
These early stories show Pratchett’s remarkable ability to poke fun at the absurdity of the real world through fantasy full of irreverent wordplay, silly authority figures, and subverted endings. . . . Pratchett’s legion of fans will relish the view through this almost-overlooked window into the author’s evolution, finding much to love in these clever, funny, and tightly written tales.
Booklist
A short and slightly bittersweet portrait of Pratchett as a young writer, as seen through this collection of long-lost and forgotten short stories. . . . They reflect an author in search of his craft, but there are hints of the Discworld to come. . . particularly in the standout story in the collection, ‘The Quest for the Keys’ . . . . The earliest seeds of what later became Discworld are there for readers who still miss his inimitable style.
Library Journal
A collection of lost stories from early in Pratchett’s career. . . . Several stories set in the fictional town of Blackbury have a genial, tall-tale feel, and the "proto-Discworld" in 'The Quest for the Keys' is a true treat
Kirkus Reviews