To you, the one who showed me the true measure of wit. To you, who told me of the darkness we all have inside and how to conquer it. To you, who made me laugh even on my worst days. To you, we say goodbye.

A lot of you out there may have been heartbroken by the news that Terry Pratchett, the author of the Discworld series recently passed away. Even after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s around eight years ago, Pratchett continued adding books to his résumé (just over 70 total.) Many of his books act as parodies of famous works by authors like Tolkien, Lovecraft, and other renowned world-creators, but the stories are just as memorable. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Discworld series, let me take you on a tour. The rest of us will just be over here on memory lane.

Some Background

Much like the title implies, Pratchett’s stories take place on a flat world. Oh, and that world is on the back of four enormous elephants, all carried on the back of a floating Giant Star Turtle, the Great A’Tuin. But the stories aren’t “carried” by this premise. It’s the characters and all of their quirks and qualities that drive the events (not to say that the Great A’Tuin isn’t a character in its own right. You’ll see.) Let’s take a closer look at the characters that make this series so great.

Characters

Here’s a look at some of the most prominent central characters in Pratchett’s Discworld. This list could go on for a LONG time. I’ll leave it to you to discover the sentient suitcase, the trained assassin who became the ruler of a city, or even the human that believes he’s a dwarf.

Rincewind

“Of course I’m sane, when trees start talking to me, I don’t talk back.”

Keywords: Wizard, Coward, Chose One

Rincewind is the protagonist of the first book in the series, The Colour of Magic. As a young wizard, he acted on a dare to open a book of spells so powerful that the book had to be chained shut. One of the powerful spells leapt into his mind, and all other spells were so afraid that they refused to share a space in Rincewind’s mind.

Rincewind is well known for being a coward, but he is also well-acquainted with a number of interesting people. He has met Death many times, and much to Death’s minor annoyance, he seems to avoid his scheduled departure from the living world. Rincewind also befriends the Silver Horde, a group of elderly barbarians. If you’re looking for a particularly lighthearted and comedic part of the series, Rincewind is your guy.

Books featuring Rincewind:

The Colour of Magic

The Light Fantastic

Sourcery

Faust Eric

Interesting Times

The Last Continent

Unseen Academicals

Sam Vimes

“The key to winning, as always, was looking as if you had every right, nay, duty to be where you were.”

Keywords: Officer, Brooding , Knurd

Sam Vimes may be my favorite of all of Pratchett’s characters. He joined the Night Watch at a young age to earn some more pocket money, but the nature of the job did nothing to free him from hopeless circumstances. The Night Watch was a joke to the city, and Sam Vimes was always two drinks short of being able to hide from reality in the way that people do to sleep at night (his fellow officers referred to it as knurd, or “drunk” backwards.)

Everything changed when the Night Watch took on a threat to the city that no one else could face. From that point forward, Vimes has tried his best to avoid acclaim, but despite his pleas he has taken on the role of Watch Commander and become a Duke. Whenever possible, he still tries to walk the street in worn boots to feel the cobblestones beneath his feet.

Books featuring Sam Vimes:

Guards! Guards!

Men at Arms

Feet of Clay

Jingo

The Fifth Elephant

Night Watch

Thud!

Snuff

Granny Weatherwax

“I had to learn. All my life. The hard way. And the hard way’s pretty hard, but not as hard as the easy way.”

Keywords: Witch, Affectionately Unaffectionate

Esmerelda Weatherwax, more commonly known as Granny Weatherwax, is an extremely powerful witch. So much so, that she rarely ever needs to use magic. Her reputation spreads from her home town of Bad Ass, and those who know her fear her. Although she was not born into the role of a witch, she chose magic, much like she chose the role of “the good one” instead of the more likely “wicked witch.”

Pratchett describes Granny Weatherwax as having a clean complexion and all of her teeth, something that she thinks is very unbecoming of a great witch. At one point she is given a kitten, which she unaffectionately names “You.” In almost every way, Granny Weatherwax fulfills the role of the curmudgeonly old witch, but her stubbornness and prowess make her a frightening force of power and influence, especially with her friends at her side.

Books featuring Granny Weatherwax:

Equal Rites

Wyrd Sisters

Witches Abroad

Lords and Ladies

Maskerade

Death

“YOU DON’T SEE PEOPLE AT THEIR BEST IN THIS JOB”

Keywords: Curious, Sympathetic

Death is not cruel, nor does he revel in what he calls THE DUTY. You could even say he resemble Ariel from The Little Mermaid in his fascination with humanity. He has even been seen bending the rules or intentionally losing in a game he has been challenged to in order to spare someone’s life. He also cares deeply for his adopted daughter Ysabell and his horse, Binky

Death is one of the most popular characters in the Discworld and makes at least an appearance in every book except one. Rather than acting as a simple plot device, Death takes on the role of a deeply developed character with an endless number of quirks, much like the rest of Pratchett’s cast. He even is the central character in the movie adaptation of Hogfather.

Books featuring Death:

Mort

Reaper Man

Soul Music

Hogfather

Thief of Time

There’s really not a good combination words that can sum up a life, especially one with so many accomplishments. But I’ll leave you with a quote from my favorite book in the hopes that it may provide some comfort.

“That’s a nice song,’ said young Sam, and Vimes remembered that he was hearing it for the first time.

It’s an old soldiers’ song,’ he said.

Really, sarge? But it’s about angels.’

Yes, thought Vimes, and it’s amazing what bits those angels cause to rise up as the song progresses. It’s a real soldiers’ song: sentimental, with dirty bits.

As I recall, they used to sing it after battles,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen old men cry when they sing it,’ he added.

Why? It sounds cheerful.’

They were remembering who they were not singing it with, thought Vimes. You’ll learn. I know you will.”

–Night Watch, Terry Pratchett