New books by Mark Burrows
- Thread starter Who's Wee Dug
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Marc also wrote the first biography about Terry (The Magic of Terry Pratchett), a few years before Rob's biography came out. They are both great books, and Marc and Rob are now pretty good friends (I've interviewed/seen interviews with them both).
Marc also turned his biography into a comedy lecture show (also titled "The Magic of Terry Pratchett") which has done extensive touring of the UK over the past several years, with a few international runs including at the Adelaide Fringe in 2025, which is where I managed to see it (and Marc came out to dinner with our local fan club after the show too).
I'm quite excited about these new books - part 1 comes out this year, and part 2 next year, because Marc is actually doing a deep dive into /all/ of Terry's books (not just Discworld), so it's less of a biography and more of a critical analysis bibliography - and given that Marc is not just a comedian and author, but a musician and a newspaper columnist (you'll often see his name on articles relating to Terry), I'm sure his insights will be very good to read - even if you don't agree with every one of his opinions.
If you want to know what the contents of this book will be like, Marc has put a sample chapter (about Strata) up on his website here: https://www.marcburrows.co.uk/terry-pratchett-readers-guide
He also recently published an extract of his "Equal Rites" chapter on various social media platforms.
Marc also turned his biography into a comedy lecture show (also titled "The Magic of Terry Pratchett") which has done extensive touring of the UK over the past several years, with a few international runs including at the Adelaide Fringe in 2025, which is where I managed to see it (and Marc came out to dinner with our local fan club after the show too).
I'm quite excited about these new books - part 1 comes out this year, and part 2 next year, because Marc is actually doing a deep dive into /all/ of Terry's books (not just Discworld), so it's less of a biography and more of a critical analysis bibliography - and given that Marc is not just a comedian and author, but a musician and a newspaper columnist (you'll often see his name on articles relating to Terry), I'm sure his insights will be very good to read - even if you don't agree with every one of his opinions.
If you want to know what the contents of this book will be like, Marc has put a sample chapter (about Strata) up on his website here: https://www.marcburrows.co.uk/terry-pratchett-readers-guide
He also recently published an extract of his "Equal Rites" chapter on various social media platforms.
I still haven't read the non-Discworld books. :-\ I'm sure some people here would be either shocked by this, or ask "What are you waiting for?" or say "HERETIC! BURN HIM!" 
But I came into Discworld almost sideways, I guess. I started with Interesting Times, which was interesting (pardon the pun) but I was a bit lost because I had no idea who Rincewind or Cohen the Barbarian were. :-\ After a bit of a hiatus, I started reading other Discworldy books, got hooked, started scouring 2nd-hand bookshops for the earlier books, and the rest is, etc.
Of course I know Terry wrote books before Discworld, but part of me is afraid that they won't be as good. *shrug* At my local library, Strata and the Johnny books etc. are in the "Children's" section, which forms a little barrier all of its own. (The last time I went to the "Children's" section was to find Asterix comics for my niece, and I was frowned at, as if the parents reading to their kids were like: How dare you?) =P
I also tried to find the pre-Discworld books at bookshops, but they don't seem to exist anywhere. It's as if there's a great conspiracy around them to stop people from buying them, which is strange. (I can't find the Long Earth books in bookshops, either -- does anyone know what's happened? Did they simply not sell as well?)
But I came into Discworld almost sideways, I guess. I started with Interesting Times, which was interesting (pardon the pun) but I was a bit lost because I had no idea who Rincewind or Cohen the Barbarian were. :-\ After a bit of a hiatus, I started reading other Discworldy books, got hooked, started scouring 2nd-hand bookshops for the earlier books, and the rest is, etc.
Of course I know Terry wrote books before Discworld, but part of me is afraid that they won't be as good. *shrug* At my local library, Strata and the Johnny books etc. are in the "Children's" section, which forms a little barrier all of its own. (The last time I went to the "Children's" section was to find Asterix comics for my niece, and I was frowned at, as if the parents reading to their kids were like: How dare you?) =P
I also tried to find the pre-Discworld books at bookshops, but they don't seem to exist anywhere. It's as if there's a great conspiracy around them to stop people from buying them, which is strange. (I can't find the Long Earth books in bookshops, either -- does anyone know what's happened? Did they simply not sell as well?)