A Stroke of the Pen

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