I have skipped through the Discworld series for the past several years: reading every new title, and picking up the older ones at used bookstores and libraries. The last one I have finished is Mort, and gives me faith that Pratchett has been a fabulous writer throughout this series. Albert and Death are two of my favorite characters, and readers of this book will know why.
Discworld is a series of books by UK author Terry Pratchett that has been going strong and selling millions of copies worldwide, as well as being made into plays, and the occasional Graphic Adventure video game. The main idea is a world that is similar to Earth, but different enough that Mr. Pratchett does not get sued over likenesses to living, dead, and Incorporated persons. Magic and mythology are strong forces in the Discworld, and mythic figures include Death, the Death of Rats, the Tooth Fairy and the many unionized aides thereof, and the Hogfather.
The basic premise behind this book is that the Discworld's anthropomorphic personification of Death has taken an apprentice named Mort, who is learning how to take souls to the afterlife, ride Binky (Death's horse) and run the business in general, but something goes wrong when Mort falls for a princess who is supposed to die, thus bringing peace and prosperity to her land for many years. This creates a disturbance in reality, since it is split as to what happened.
According to her life timer and book of deeds (not to mention her subjects) she is dead, but according to her, she is not. This causes a variety of hijinks to insue in a Pratchett-esque fashion, and you shall have to read the book to find out more about that!
This is certainly one of my favorite of the Discworld novels, since it has some of my favorite characters in it, and a plot that I can appreciate. It also has some of my favorite lines, and goes into why Albert has decided to serve Death, as opposed to dying and going on to what comes next. That question has puzzled me for many books.
I would recommend this book to any fan of the series, as well as for first entrants to Discworld. But beware- once you start, you will likely want to read them all!!
Death comes to Mort with an offer he can t refuse -- especially since being dead isn t compulsory. The position of Death s apprentice is everything Mo...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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