huh. this draft has developed a certain theme, which makes me slightly uneasy in my selection. however, since NoBonus' first pick should put them off the market for both possibilities here, I'll just go with the one that I'd have put people on my Liam Neeson list for, if they had stolen him.
Terry Pratchett
wiki
"God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time." (Good Omens)
Notables:
everything Discworld
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Truckers, Diggers, and Wings
The Carpet People
Personal Favourites:
The Thief of Time
The Last Continent
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Men at Arms
after losing Adams, it was a bit of a foregone conclusion that I had to get Mr. Pratchett (not that it wasn't before), to bring the laughs. I'm actually not 100% certain which of the two I like better, seeing as how Adams has a few very good books, whereas Pratchett has a clear advantage in volume (39 novels in the Discworld series alone) and, aside from the fact that not a single one of those is sub-standard or even standard, has some incredibly good books in his oeuvre as well.
for those uninitiated: Pratchett is the creator of the Discworld, a flat world resting on the back of four elephants that, in turn, rest on the back of a giant turtle, swimming through space. it started out as a simple fantasy comedy, owing quite a bit to Adams for having done something quite similar with the
Hitchhiker. however, as time progressed and Pratchett put out book after book after book, it developed. he acquired a very distinct view on a lot of things, not only just fantasy, but fairytales, crime fiction, national culture, even the nature of narratives. you can pick any one of the several strands of storylines (Rincewind, Death, the Witches, the Guards, etc.) and find yourself in completely different types of books.
Pratchett's wit, the fantastic world he has created, the imaginativeness of his storylines (the accountants of the universe, tired of having so much work with living things, decide to kidnap Santa Claus, in order that the sun won't come up the day after Christmas, so Death replaces him for a night and sends his granddaughter to solve the whole thing?) and, once more, his brilliant characters make Pratchett by far my most reread author and probably still my favourite.
