Review by Booklist Review
ldquo;When does a young writer become the writer you love?" asks longtime friend Neil Gaiman in his heartfelt introduction to this collection of previously undiscovered stories written by the late Discworld author when he was a young reporter. Serialized in regional newspapers under a pseudonym in the 1970s and 1980s, 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. Many tales take place in Blackbury, a "pleasant little town really" where "things are never quite usual": town-council members are beset by freak storms whenever they try to do anything official, an alien hides in plain sight, and a simple misunderstanding can lead to the creation of the world's biggest exploding pie. The two most clearly fantasy stories, "Dragon Quest" and "The Quest for the Keys," follow innocent adventurers sent upon foolish quests by shiftless leaders; the latter is also the most proto-Discworld, set in Morpork and featuring a wizard named Grubble the Utterly Untrustworthy. 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.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The late, great Sir Terry Pratchett (1948--2015) famously had his hard drive crushed by a steamroller after his death to prevent the posthumous publication of any unfinished work. Now, however, "uber-fans" Pat and Jan Harkin have unearthed a treasure trove of Pratchett's early writing published in the 1970s under the pseudonym Patrick Kearns. The result: a collection of 20 excellent, often laugh-out-loud early works. Pratchett's fans will be particularly delighted with "The Quest for the Keys," which contains the first mention of the Discworld series' Morpork, as well as the set of short stories focusing on Father Christmas leaving a job vacancy--"Wanted: A Fat, Jolly Man with a Red Woolly Hat" and "The New Father Christmas"--which will remind readers of Pratchett's Hogfather. The collection also includes a touching foreword from Pratchett's good friend and Good Omens collaborator Neil Gaiman, and a concludng essay from the Harkins explaining their methodology and their discoveries. 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. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A collection of lost stories from early in Pratchett's career. Commissioned to find episodes of a serial story called "The Quest for the Keys," enterprising Pratchett scholars Pat and Jan Harkin unearthed this cache of early stories, written for newspapers under the pseudonym Patrick Kearns. "How It All Began…" shows a young caveman inventing fire and troubling the older cavemen with his newfangled ways. Father Christmas quits in "Wanted: A Fat, Jolly Man With a Red Woolly Hat" and can't seem to find another job where his talents are appreciated. "The New Father Christmas" decides to " 'modernize and streamline' the toyshop," which means sacking almost all his employees, including the reindeer. In "Mr. Brown's Holiday Accident," a man drives through what turns out to be the scenery of his life and discovers the scriptwriters and props managers who make things work behind the scenes. As Neil Gaiman writes in his foreword to the volume, these stories are briskly written: "He has a certain amount of space on the newspaper page…and he's going to start, build and finish his story to the word-count." There's not much space for character development or worldbuilding; these short fictions are essentially jokes, setups, and punchlines delivered efficiently, but with glimmers of the Pratchett charm. 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. Like any collection of juvenilia, for committed fans only, but there's plenty here for them to enjoy. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
