Reviews - A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories

782 reviews for:

A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories

Terry Pratchett

3.96 AVERAGE

transportedlfl's review against another edition

4.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the free book. These opinions are my own.

This is a short story collection that is beautifully illustrated. It includes 20 of Terry Pratchett's early stories. Only after he died was it learned that he had published them under a pen name.

I often find short story collections inconsistent in their quality. But that wasn't the case here. His magical writing shone through in every one. Many of the stories were very short. They featured worlds of magic, dragons, and gnomes.

Some of my favorites make this a perfect read for the holiday season as there are responses to A Christmas Carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Miracle on 34th Street.

Some are just plain fun, and others are quite thought provoking. I was especially interested by the underlying themes around capitalism.

I quite enjoyed the collection. Though I have read some of his works, I don't think you need to be at all familiar with them to enjoy these.

leahwargent's review against another edition

3.75

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

kristie_beth's review against another edition

3.5

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jemilyhugh's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

It feels wrong to give this a star rating, since the point is that these are stories Pratchett wrote before honing his craft, under a pseudonym so no one would find them. They’re funny and at times a clear precursor to the Discworld, but arguably not “good”. Pratchett fans will enjoy, not sure about anyone else.