thisislauraw 's review for:

A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett

5.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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Like many others, when I saw that there was going to be a new collection of Terry Pratchett's short stories, I was dubious. But these are not previously unpublished tales. These are some of his early works, published under pseudonyms in newspapers back when he was working as a journalist.

I listened to the audiobook, and I highly recommend it. It was a wonderful production, from the introductions by Neil Gaiman and Colin Smythe, to the stories themselves.

So, what about the stories? Well, they're mostly genteel and whimsical. It felt like they could be enjoyed by both children and adults.

They're unpolished early works, but undoubtedly from the imagination of Sir Terry Pratchett. Many stories held glimpses of ideas that later appeared in the Discworld. 'The Quest for the Keys' in particular could almost have been a Discworld story.

I enjoyed every story in this collection, but especially 'The Real Wild West' and 'Mr Brown's Holiday Accident'.

As the holly and berries on the cover suggest, this contains several short Christmas tales.

'How Scrooge Saw the Spectral Light (Ho! Ho! Ho!) and Went Happily Back to Humbug', read by Jon Culshaw, was a particular highlight.

This felt like a lovely treat, to have some more Terry Pratchett tales. It felt like a cosy, nostalgic collection.