The End: Discworld author Sir Terry Pratchett dies of Alzheimer’s aged 66

Author Sir Terry Pratchett has died at the age of 66 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Sir Terry enjoyed stellar success with his Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, selling 70 million books worldwide. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2007, he became an active campaigner for assisted dying. The 66-year-old’s death was announced on his Twitter account, with a series of messages which began: “AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.” In his books Death’s words always appear in capitals.

Terry faced his Alzheimer’s disease (an ‘embuggerance’, as he called it) publicly and bravely. Over the last few years, it was his writing that sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come.

Larry Finlay, MD at Transworld Publishers

The next tweet said: “Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.” And the last simply said: “The End.” A statement issued following his death said the best-selling writer passed away at his home with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family on Thursday. It said he battled the progressive disease with his trademark determination and creativity, and continued to write. He completed his last book, a new Discworld novel, in the summer of 2014, before succumbing to the final stages of the disease.

Sir Terry was fond of saying ‘It’s time we learned to be as good at dying as we are at living’ and his brave approach to confronting issues of death, including his own, was a heartfelt demonstration of dignity.

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying

World Terry Pratchett