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A Stroke of the Pen
- The Lost Stories
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Claire Foy, Derek Jacobi, David Jason, Paterson Joseph, Indira Varma, Stephen Briggs, Rhianna Pratchett, Pat Harkin, Jan Harkin, Colin Morgan
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
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A Stroke of the Pen
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Far away and long ago, when dragons still existed and the only arcade game was ping-pong in black and white, a wizard cautiously entered a smoky tavern in the evil, ancient, foggy city of Morpork...
A truly unmissable set of unearthed stories from the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett: award-winning and bestselling author, and creator of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.
Twenty early short stories by one of the world's best loved authors, narrated by David Tennant, Claire Foy, Steffan Rhodri, Jon Culshaw, Derek Jacobi, David Jason, Katherine Parkinson, Paterson Joseph, Hattie Morahan, Indira Varma, Tony Robinson, Nigel Planer, Maggie Service, Stephen Briggs, Rhianna Pratchett, Jason Watkins, Richard Coyle, Mathew Baynton and Rob Wilkins. With a foreword by Neil Gaiman, and an introduction by Colin Smythe.
These are rediscovered tales that Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym for newspapers during the 1970s and 1980s. Whilst none are set in the Discworld, they hint towards the world he would go on to create, containing all of his trademark wit, satirical wisdom and fantastic imagination.
Meet Og the inventor, the first caveman to cultivate fire, as he discovers the highs and lows of progress; haunt the Ministry of Nuisances with the defiant evicted ghosts of Pilgarlic Towers; visit Blackbury, a small market town with weird weather and an otherworldly visitor; and go on a dangerous quest through time and space with hero Kron, which begins in the ancient city of Morpork...
A STROKE OF THE PEN is a must-have collection for fans of all ages.
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Critic reviews
'Pratchett is a master storyteller' - A. S. Byatt, Guardian
'The Discworld novels have always been among the most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies' - Independent
'Compulsively readable, fantastically inventive, surprisingly serious exploration in story form of just about any aspect of our world . . . There's never been anything quite like it' - Evening Standard
What listeners say about A Stroke of the Pen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lucy
- 17-12-23
Thank You to all who made this possible xx
This made me so Happy! Just one more blast of Sir Pratchett popping in to make us laugh cry, raise a leg and a thimble of scrumble to the Great Writer In The Sky. I really enjoyed the early ideas; knowing full well that they were the ancestors to a multiverse of pure thought provoking entertainment from a Master Wordsmith. Much Respect to Sir Terry Pratchett and His Family xx
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Circle Jerk
- 09-08-24
oh so nice to hear a few more tales from STP
Lovely short stories. Mainly for younger listeners but a good into to the world of Pratchett
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Vivian Sternwood
- 04-12-23
Terry, the apprentice Pratchett
The stories are like unpolished gems. The more accomplished writer Terry became later could have done a better job, but all the elements everyone loves about Terry are already present.
Can I just mention how much I love Indira Varma as a reader? All the artists are doing a great job, but Indira brings so much heart and soul into her reading, it stood out to me.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Lili Finn
- 11-01-24
Delightful
Sir Terry's voice is very apparent in these early writings. The audio version was brilliantly cast and narrated.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EwingSpindrift
- 14-04-24
Classic Pratchett
Loads of short stories from his early years but even then his style was shining through. A super collection well read by a myriad of stars! A must listen!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kitten vampire
- 10-10-23
How it all started
Herein lies the bones of the Pratchett novels that we know so well. It’s amazing to see how ideas that are in their infancy bloom into the novels.
A must listen for all Discworld fans
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nakul Shenoy
- 09-11-23
A most magical listen!
As I bought this audiobook, I was preparing myself to not like this as it was supposed to be a collection of early material from Terry, and generally early material is way too different from what we are used to. But was I in for a surprise?! This is a most fantastic collection of stories that had me laughing out loud in so many places, guffawing in some, and all of them leading to a most enjoyable listen. The stellar cast of narrators just made the stories so much more magical. Recommended.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- PeterH
- 18-10-23
A seedbed of Pratchett ideas
You can see where a lot of Terry Pratchett’s ideas & subsequent characters come from. Witches, wizards, magic, gnomes, dragons, folk tales, talking animals, humour, puns, a unique way of looking at things … and, oh yes, a steamroller!
It’s all there for Pratchett fans to play “Hey, I recognise that character/idea/setting from book <insert name here>.
It’s also a wonderful opportunity to hear some of our favourite Pratchett narrators & actors “do Pratchett” one more time.
Possibly not one for newbies but definitely an audiobook that fans will enjoy.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Kevyn
- 22-11-23
Another great collection of stories from Sir Terry!!
Loved every second of these great stories. Sir Terry had the same wit and story telling mind right from the start!! thoughaly
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Lynne Nicholson
- 12-10-23
Oh dear.
I love Terry Pratchett and the worlds he imagined and his previous short story compilations that he polished before releasing were fantastic. This collection however wasn’t pulled together and polished by STP and feels a little bit lacking. The stories themselves were enjoyable and were well read by all the narrators but for the first time I’m glad that a steamroller destroyed the author’s disc drive as this feels like the publisher was more interested in making money out of STP fans.
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14 people found this helpful