Despite having read The Color of Magic my first day of college, adoring Good Omens, and in general living up to every nerd stereotype, I never got into the Discworld series. So for my dual review, I asked my husband, a major Discworld fan, to recommend a good entry point and discuss the book with me.
Apparently much of the internet agrees with the octospouse that this is a good one to start on, and while I did enjoy it, it may have been a better entry for someone completely ignorant of the series. I read the book thinking it had a foregone conclusion as I knew Death was often called Mort in the series. So, clearly this tale about Death’s apprentice named Mort was about his assumption of the title, that this is how Mort becomes Death. And I mean, I was partly right, but I guess it made for a legitimate surprise since the book isn’t that simple.
What the Octospouse likes about Mort is that this is one of many Pratchett books where the author creates a character he loves so much that he writes them their own book, and that the stakes are often more entertaining for being human and smaller scale, and sure enough, my favorite part of the book was Death’s holiday from being the grim reaper and enjoying the small things in life. That, and the subtle joke of Death’s unusual coins that made my review title. He also made mention of liking Pratchett’s witch in this book stacking up exactly as many resources as she needed until Death’s arrival, which was a cute touch.
The one complaint that I have, and it’s a small one to be sure, is that Pratchett rewards attention (there are so many small jokes that you only pick up on with close reading), and I like books in this irreverent vein to read a bit brisker, but I am going to try again with the Wyrd Sisters.