The Griper's Times

WHEN a six and a half tonne steamer rolled over a computer hard drive peppered with unfinished novels, it appeared to bring Terry Pratchett's literary canon to a conclusive end. Before he died the author left quite explicit instructions about what was to done with any works in progress and his dying wish was fulfilled some six years ago... at Dorset Steam Fair no less. But it appears that the one story that Pratchett gave permission to be passed on for posthumous polish was his own. A newly-released biography by his long-time friend and personal assistant Rob Wilkins draws on the notes for a memoir which the writer had started to pull together after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. It's nice to see the finished book strung with excerpts from that collection of recollections, not least because they offer frequent flashes of Pratchett's utterly distinctive voice. But Wilkins' introduction is honest enough to admit that what had been drawn together was rou