Hommage a Sir Terence

[RJH]

The book consists of 160 pages and is made up of 11 short stories as a tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett and his emblematic character Death. This is the official description given (please note it has been translated from French to English):

Sir who? Sir Terence Pratchett of course! But if, you know, the flamboyant writer’s imagination, the author of numerous novels and short stories such as the Discworld saga. The site manager Fan Fantasy 2, Mestre Tom, is responsible for this collection of 11 new tribute to this master of fantasy, especially the humorous fantasy. Attention … black humor on the horizon, as this anthology is devoted to the character of Death, recurrent protagonist of Discworld.

The title was released back in November but has seen little press coverage in this country (UK) so I featured it on my site, has anyone got it and read it?


hommage a sir terence by Bricksandbooks, on Flickr

[Who's Wee Dug]

I think that was the one that was given to Terry at Hogwatch, by the french contingent there.

[RJH]

You are right Who's Wee Dug and he got the English version as well.

[MongoGutman]

Given his less than enthusiastic view of fanfic I wonder if it's a gift he particularly cherished.

[Dotsie]

When did he say he doesn't like fanfic? Didn't he used to write it himself?

[Jan Van Quirm]

Yes, he used to write fanfic (variously for SF, especially Arthur C. Clarke and also Tolkien/Jane Austen fusion stories! That snippet's in Once More with Footnotes) and no, he doesn't read it now, because then he can't get ideas from other people and have them accuse him of nicking their original story idea...

I think this is different in that it's a properly published collection, so there isn't a conflict of interest over this situation as it's been done as a (presumably) non-profit anthology as a presentation, probably with permission from Colin Smythe. If it is for sale it's probably heavily ring-fenced and as a charity fund-raiser maybe, due to Terry's copyright for all things Discworld. It's more likely a very limited circulation thing and so it's not surprising that you can't find out how to buy it outside of France as they'd be busting international licensing laws.

[Mrs Ogg]

Where can we buy it? Nothing much is showing up on google

[Jan Van Quirm]

That's what makes me think this isn't a book made for general sale because of copyright issues. If it's for sale it's probably on a very limited print run and there are terms and conditions of where the profits go.

[RJH]

It has been for sale on Amazon and you there is a site in French where you can buy it that ships worldwide. No idea about the profits etc but its an official book as it's got an ISBN number for starters.

here is the site I am going to order it and left you know how I went on

http://livre.fnac.com/a3832664/Collecti ... ir-Terence

[RJH]

You can ordered the french version directly to the editor at redaction@fan2fantasy.fr

[Anilori]

I wasn't involved in this, but my friend Leia Tortoise was one of the editors and wrote the introduction; it was made in partnership with our website, the Vademecum - not that you'd know this from the promotional materials

It's official, but definitely an amateur endeavour, possibly print-on-demand for the French version; I have no idea about the commercial availability of the English translation (for all I know it was made only for Terry himself). It's not fanfic, mind you; only a collection of short stories that feature some kind of Grim Reaper figure. I only read Marie Devigne's story, as Leia lent me a copy for about five minutes and Marie is a Vademecum member; I'm very sorry to say that I saw nothing remarkable about it Anthelme Hauchecorne's and Anthony Boulanger's are probably worth a read as they're both slightly well-known in the world of French SFFF amateur short story writers and have had multiple stories published before.

This critic read the whole book; she says there are some nice interesting ideas in there, but regrets that the stories don't live up to them due to their shortness and the writers' lack of experience ; but she liked Anthelme's longer story.

I personally think Paul Kidby's cover is the main draw of the book

[RJH]

I spoke to the editor and you cant get the English version there is only a few and they are reserved for Sir terry and competitions.

For those who have enquired about how to obtain a copy of the Hommage a Sir Terence you can do so by first emailing Thomas Guibé the editor at fan2fantasy and then sending 10 euros via paypal.com to contactbmt@neuf.fr account. Don’t forget to put your postal address in message so he can send you the book.