Once upon a time, there were two kinds of literature. 1) For adults and 2) For kids. And then a certain J.K.Rowling came along and the world went topsy turvy. Suddenly Rowling was the new god and Harry the new Jesus. But she is not the one I want to talk about. Because as much as I love the Harry Potter Books, I am primarily thankful to Rowling for opening my eyes to the huge world of fantasy literature out there. And thats how I got to know about my next hero.....

TERRY PRATCHETT
I always loved humor, and I always loved fantasy. So its easy to imagine how I feel about Discworld. About a year back , following the trusted close-your-eyes-and-jab-your-hands-on-the-shelf-and-pick-up-what-you-touch method of buying books, I stumbled into Men At Arms, and a certain character called Samuel Vimes. Nobody, but nobody wearing knee leangth leather breeches has ever been or will ever be that manly. Don't ever compare Vimes to Dirty Harry, Vimes is so so much more. Of course t wasn't just Vimes. Brilliant characters like Carrot, Colonobbes(its impossible to consider them apart) and the Patrician, Pratchetts amazing ability to shift from humor, to drama, to action, at the flick of a sentence. Long story short, in the last 12 months, yours truly is on Pratchett like Kate Moss is on crack (not that for a moment I am suggesting I am anything like Miss Moss). Anyone who loves fantasy OR humor should definitely look this brilliant author up.

Top Five Pratchett Characters
1. His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes - Did I mention I love Vimes. The man who is at once a believer and a cynic, overwhelmingly noble and a beast, a self declared speceist but an equal opportunity one . The climax of Thud! and the warewolf chase in The Fifth Elephant still gives me chills.
2. Colonobbes - What would our intrepid hero be without his comic sidekick ? One long unrelenting rant thats what . And whats better than ONE comic sidekick ? Thats right, TWO comic sidekicks. Not only are Colon And Nobbes a perfect foil for Vimes, they are the perfect foil for each other. And we know as long as they are around, all major Bridges in AnkH morpork shall remain safe.
3. Death - Yes. The black clad dude. The not-so-grim reaper. The ultimate fashion model. Who knew he could make such a hilarious character. And although the man in different shades of black can be as scary or noble as the situation calls for, he is mostly a super powered, slightly confused but always understanding character. In other words, he's a dad.
4.The Patrician - Just how brilliant is the expression "carniverous flamengo" . The benevolent dictator for life of Ankh Morpork could send chills down Hannibal Lecter's spine. Hell the guy likes to READ music. I don't even know what that means, but its brilliant.
5.Nanny Ogg - Granny Weatherwax is a bit too cold for me, but Nanny is a sweetheart (just don't marry any of her sons). Cool under pressure, I think she's a lot smarter than she's letting on.

Honorable mention -
Detritus - The dude packs a siege crossbow that becomes a de-facto firball thrower as his sidearm. That is so extremely cool. Now if someone could just teach him the nuances of a safety catch......