Terry Pratchett Final Novel To Be Released

Almost six months after his death, Sir Terry Pratchett’s final novel has been released.

09:58 28 August 2015

Sir Terry Pratchett’s final novel, The Shepherd’s Crown, went on sale in the UK and Commonwealth at midnight BST. Fans gathered for midnight openings at stores in London, Oxford, and Newcastle to get their copies. The novel, which is the 41 in the author’s Discworld series, will be published in the US on 1 September.

 

The release is expected to be very emotional moments for fans. In fact, one book shop in Perth, Australia, is giving away a free packet of tissues to every customers “because this really is goodbye.”

 

Sir Terry died in March at the age of 66.

 

His friend, Rob Wilkins, read an extract to 200 ticket-holders at Waterstones in Piccadilly, central London. Wilkins said earlier: "It was a hard book to complete because Terry's health was declining in the last year. But he was still enjoying the writing."

 

"He wasn't able to polish it quite as he would have liked and there were a few ideas that he would have loved to have followed up on and he never got the opportunity."

 

Mr Wilkins also told BBC Breakfast Sir Terry left "an awful lot" of unfinished writing.

He said: "Terry was always well into the next novel while the current one was being edited. But I'm sorry to say they will remain unpublished.

 

"There's 10 titles I know of and fragments from many other bits and pieces.