Beloved Fantasy Author Terry Pratchett Dies

British science fiction and fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died at the age of 66.

"Terry passed away in his home, with his cat sleeping on his bed, surrounded by his family," Larry Finlay, managing director at Transworld Publishers said Friday. 

He said the world had lost one of its "brightest, sharpest minds".

Pratchett, creator of the long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, was among the most prolific and successful authors of his generation.

He sold 70 million books worldwide with translations into more 30 languages. In the 1990s he was Britain's best-selling author.

He announced he was suffering from a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2007.

Newstalk ZB