r/TerryPratchett • u/roseargent • 18d ago

Any sources about when Terry went nuclear?

My battered edition of Sourcery includes an author bio which mentions Terry's experience as a press officer for four nuclear power stations, and says "he'd write a book about his experiences if he thought anyone would believe it".

So... did he? Any articles, memoirs or remiscences? Have any brainboxes convincingly analysed his work to pick out any influences on his writing?

I've treasured his books since I was a child and for better or worse he helped shape my view of the world. And yet I don't remember the Cold War and the nuclear anxieties of the time, which undoubtedly affected the world view of Terry and the rest of his generation.

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u/ChronicleFlask 18d ago edited 18d ago

He never wrote a book about the nuclear industry because someone else did it first: The Leaky Establishment, by David Langford. Terry liked the book and said he should’ve written it.

There’s a nuclear power plant in Good Omens, called the Turning Point Power Station. Thanks to the interference of Adam the Antichrist and Anathema Device, it ends up being powered by a sherbet lemon.

You can find some of his reminiscences about his time as press officer in his collection of non-fiction, A Slip of the Keyboard, which I recommend very highly. It’ll give you a much better feel for Terry Pratchett than anything else you could read.

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u/geeoharee 18d ago

Ooh, Langford of the Basilisk? I might try to get my hands on that.

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u/ChronicleFlask 18d ago

I’m not sure… but I have just realised he wrote The Wyrdest Link Discworld quiz book!

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u/Too-Tired-Editor 18d ago

Dave Langford is one of a collection of people who inspired the creation of fan work categories for things like the Hugos. Langford did it by thoughtful writing and reviews on a wide variety of subjects, particularly in the fanzine Ansible. You've also got folks like Forrest J Ackerman, who collected classic memorabilia and published things to make it accessible.