Westlake Reviews Pratchett

As many of you know, two of my favorite living authors are Donald E. Westlake and Terry Pratchett. Westlake is a master of the comic crime novel, Pratchett the man behind the amazing Discworld books. And while both have amassed devoted followings, it's only in the past few years that either has gained wider recognition in the US. (That Westlake, a native New Yorker, would struggle to be placed on the same plateau as Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiassen seems absurd to me.)

When PTerry, in speaking to a crowd at a Barnes & Noble event two years ago, told us that he was a big fan of Westlake, I was thrilled. When he told us he'd gone to a book fair in Cleveland in part to meet Westlake, was geeked. One of my favorite authors is as big a fan of another of my favorites as I am.

Well, guess what? It's something of a mutual admiration society:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092901727.html

(NOTE: It's a book review, so there are spoilers. Also, registration might be required.)

It's already a big deal that the Washington Post Book World reviews Thud. Most of PTerry's books don't get such a treatment in the US. It's all the more amazing that they hired Westlake. And even more impressive that Westlake is a big fan of PTerry.

This makes me very happy for no good reason.