Hardcover, 224 pages
English language
Published Nov. 14, 1996 by Gollancz.
Death takes on an apprentice who's an individual thinker.
Death takes on an apprentice who's an individual thinker.
Wonderful book, written in the humorous style of Pratchett
Most of this was fun and I had a good time, but there were too many random moments that took me out of the narrative with an off-putting comment that didn’t fit the rest of the story. Usually this took the place of treating the mention of someone’s fatness or the idea that they might be insane as if the observation of it was the whole joke. These moments were especially frustrating because so much of the rest of the humor is great. It’s paced well, the dynamic between DEATH and Mort was strange but interesting, and I liked the ending.
Terry Pratchett is what I’ve been missing when reading Douglas Adams. Mort is not just witty, but actually quite touching and even frightening. The humour seems somehow profound, for example when Death explains that everyone gets what they think is coming for them, because “it’s so much neater that way”. This light-hearted fun actually opens up a philosophical can of worms: If I expect a heavenly afterlife together with my family, but my brother expects to be rotting in hell, is the brother in heaven actually my brother? He can’t be, but did I then actually get what I expected? This dilemma is even touched upon later. I much prefer this humour to cliché nihilism.
The characters and storyline in this book really didn't click with me. I felt like Mort was a complete jerk and that Kelli should have totally died. I mean, I'm glad everything worked out in the end but still.
The characters and storyline in this book really didn't click with me. I felt like Mort was a complete jerk and that Kelli should have totally died. I mean, I'm glad everything worked out in the end but still.
This fantastic edition of the Folio Society is just beautiful, from the quality paper used to the slipcase and the cover design - not to mention the full-colour, full-page illustrations. This edition is lovely all around.
This seems to be an increasingly uncomfortable read for me, in that the basis for the entire thing relies on a contract that's broken.
This seems to be an increasingly uncomfortable read for me, in that the basis for the entire thing relies on a contract that's broken.
I think this might be my favorite one so far!
The best/funniest book in the series so far. The story is tighter around Mort and there's less irreverence overall. It's still zany, but more focused.
The best/funniest book in the series so far. The story is tighter around Mort and there's less irreverence overall. It's still zany, but more focused.
A fun read that introduces Death. Lovely read when he's around, drags when he's not.
A fun read that introduces Death. Lovely read when he's around, drags when he's not.
Enjoyable read. I love Death and the way Pratchett describes him. His attempts at living in the real world sound like me sometimes. :D I didn't really like the titular character Mort until halfway through. Out of the other main players, Ysabell is probably my favourite.
The last 10-15 pages were a bit... odd. The climactic "battle" didn't really work for me, nor did its resolution. The story suffers from a need to finish, unfortunately. It was a pretty good run leading up to it, even if it was haphazard and not really leading anywhere until then.
Enjoyable read. I love Death and the way Pratchett describes him. His attempts at living in the real world sound like me sometimes. :D I didn't really like the titular character Mort until halfway through. Out of the other main players, Ysabell is probably my favourite.
The last 10-15 pages were a bit... odd. The climactic "battle" didn't really work for me, nor did its resolution. The story suffers from a need to finish, unfortunately. It was a pretty good run leading up to it, even if it was haphazard and not really leading anywhere until then.
Still funny, but a bit darker and more serious than the other Discworld novels I've read so far. I enjoyed it.
Still funny, but a bit darker and more serious than the other Discworld novels I've read so far. I enjoyed it.
This was a great Discworld novel and I highly recommend it for newcomers to the series. The best part of the book is probably the character Death, who is very unique and surprising in this universe. The plot moves along quickly as well, making this a short, enjoyable read.
For my full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2015/05/book-review-mort-by-terry-pratchett.html
I'm afraid to admit that this was my first Discworld book, though not my first go at it. I tried reading The Colour of Magic about ten years ago, but apparently for some unfathomable reason I was unsuccessful.
Now that Death has finally collected his creator, I couldn't help but learn more about both of them.
Mort was quite a delightful read. I enjoyed reading it altogether and I think I will continue with Reaper Man and pave my own path through the Discworld.
I'm afraid to admit that this was my first Discworld book, though not my first go at it. I tried reading The Colour of Magic about ten years ago, but apparently for some unfathomable reason I was unsuccessful.
Now that Death has finally collected his creator, I couldn't help but learn more about both of them.
Mort was quite a delightful read. I enjoyed reading it altogether and I think I will continue with Reaper Man and pave my own path through the Discworld.
Death takes on Mort as an apprentice. We find Death trying to make sense of life, and Mort trying, horribly, not to unravel life as he knows it.
This is a fun read.
This is #4 in the Discworld series, and takes the recurring character of Death to the center stage. Death always makes an appearance in each Discworld novel, but this is the first (but not the last!) one in which he is a main character. We learn more about how Death does his job, where and how he lives, etc. He needs an apprentice and finds one in Mort. The problem though is that Mort is not satisfied to let everyone die on schedule and tries to change fate. This will of course go wrong in hilarious ways.
As before, I listened to the audiobook.
