Whilst overall enjoyable, I found this book a little disappointing when compared to its reputation. Both the plot and the characters didn't feel as developed as I'd hoped, especially coming into it straight from Equal Rites. I'd hoped the series would continue to progress, but to me this felt like a little bit of a step backward.

Perhaps I'm a little too familiar with the idea of Death as a character to appreciate how this novel was quite surprising and unique at the time that it was originally released. I think some of the later volumes, which I read in my teens, just do the whole concept rather better. Mort ultimately only hints at what is to come, and it felt a bit stodgy in the middle, with a meandering plot which didn't grip me.