A Stroke of the Pen is a lovely collection of previously undiscovered Terry Pratchett short stories. Originally published in the 1970s and 80s under a handful of pseudonyms, these stories show off some of Pratchett’s earliest fiction writing. And you can immediately see some of the hallmarks of his later writing. His humor, his gift for worldbuilding, and even some of his political commentary. None of these stories are Discworld-adjacent, necessarily. But a lot of them lay the groundwork for much of Pratchett’s later work.
Even if you’re not super familiar with his later work, though, this is a delightful collection of short stories in its own right. The tales are quick, breezy, fun reads. Full of magic and aliens and general weirdness. It’s the literary equivalent of wrapping up in a warm blanket with a cup of soup. Some personal highlights are “The Fossil Beach”, “How Scrooge Saw the Spectral Light”, “The New Father Christmas”, “The Haunted Steamroller”, “The Blackburry Thing”, and “The Quest for the Keys”
Overall, A Stroke of the Pen is a delightful read from start to finish, perfect for longtime fans of Pratchett’s work and those wholly new to his writing.
4.5 out of 5 wands.
Disclaimer: a review copy was provided by the publisher and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own.
Last year, the Target line of Doctor Who novelizations burst back to life with the first adaptations of episodes from the revived TV series – 
I rarely listen to the Big Finish Productions audios that only feature one voice actor because I tend to prefer the full cast format to the singular narrator format, but The Siege of Big Ben was well worth listening to. Written by Joseph Lidster, Doctor Who: The Siege of Big Ben is the latest installment of Big Finish Production’s monthly Short Trips series, a series of audios featuring a short story related to one of the Doctors Big Finish has the rights to and read by one of the original cast members from the TV series. This story featured Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler in a story featuring the Meta-Crisis Doctor in the parallel Earth seen at the end of Journey’s End. “Jackie Tyler has everything she’s ever wanted: a loving husband and, two children. But a terrible, far-reaching plan is underway, and only Jackie and a single friend stand in the way of it. But the Doctor isn’t the man he was…” 
Thoroughly Modern Reviewer 