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Title: Mort (Discworld Novels (Paperback)) by Terry Pratchett, Victor Gollancz ISBN: 0-06-102068-0 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (86 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant
Comment: "Mort" is Terry Pratchett's first truly great novel. The gimmick, of course, is that Death is a main character in this book. Growing tired of his job, he takes on a young boy named Mort as an apprentice. The arrangement isn't perfect, however, as Mort still experiences emotions that are entirely foreign to Death. This leads Death on a quest to gain understanding of the human concept of fun, while Mort runs into certain problems during his first attempt at the job. The situations looks to be spiraling out of control, but everything comes together in an absolutely brilliant climax.
Like many folks, I've spent years listening to friends and critics hail Pratchett's genius nonstop. I finally bowed to peer pressure and dove into his body of work, starting with "The Color of Magic", "The Light Fantastic", and "Equal Rites". Now those are all fine books with lots of big laughs, but they didn't quite justify the endless claims of Pratchett being one of the great fantasy authors of all time. "Mort" does. The first two Discworld novels were straight-up farce, and "Equal Rites" seemed a bit uncomfortable with its serious themes. "Mort", however, shifts solidly into character-driven humor. The jokes come not entirely from ludicrous diversions, but rather from watching the personalities in the story bounce off each other. And through it all, Pratchett never forgets the subject matter that he's dealing with. He makes good use of the concept of Death.
With that said, "Mort" is just plain hilarious. I've remarked before how Pratchett has an almost unique gift for choosing words and sentences for maximum effect. In this respect, he just gets better and better with each book. One example from "Mort" that sticks out in my mind is a scene where Mort encounters three thugs in the streets of Ankh-Morpork. First, the author is aware of and plays with formula fantasy conventions. But more importantly, the way that he cuts between different perspectives while telling the story and constructs each sentence with care brings out maximum comic effect. It's so brilliant, I could read twenty more of these novels. Matter of fact, I think I will.
Rating: 4
Summary: You'll have to be really ... not to enjoy this book
Comment: DEATH wants to take a break. So who has to take over the task? A lot of souls out there waiting to be processed, y'know?
Easy. Get an apprentice. Experience not important. Horse, scythe and all the curry you'll ever need.
But dont get too involved with your...eer..'clients'. Thats what Mort did, though. Saved someone who was supposed to die just because he thinks she's cute. But the world doesnt like that. When a person who's supposed to die is still walking around, things begin to turn pear-shaped.
So DEATH (no, Im not shouting) needs to sort things out. But where is he? He joined a conga line and is having a jolly time.
This is where the Discworld books start to become laugh out loud funny. The first three books was okay but 'Mort' is the book where Pratchett finally found his funny bone and infects everyone with the laughing disease.
Those who have yet to start the fun ride through the Discworld and the great city of Ankh Morpork should start their journey here.
Enjoy.
Rating: 4
Summary: Second-funniest Death book to date
Comment: This is the story of Death and his young sidekick, Mort. There are lots of nice details about life in Ankh-Morpork as well as various hinterlands. The coming-of-age aspect is nicely done, with Mort proceeding from an inept farmhand to become Death's apprentice and eventually his rival. Like Pratchett's best Discworld novels, there is a light touch of serious philosophical inquiry here about the nature of reality and just what would happen if you really could change history. When Death walks off the job, to wander Ankh-Morpork drinking top-shelf liquor and working as a short-order cook, the results are hilarious. The story is somewhat comparable to Piers Anthony's _On a Pale Horse_, but Anthony suffers by comparison for his lack of real world-building and his insufferable seriousness. The side characters here are great, and include Death's daughter, and his servant Albert, who turns out to be of more importance than he seems. As is unfortunately typical in Discworld books, the ending is a mad scramble to tie up loose ends, but this is still one of the better Discworld novels.
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Title: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0061020699 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Sourcery (Discworld 5) by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0061020672 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0061020702 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0061020664 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett ISBN: 0061020710 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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