None are overplayed and can result in all kinds of reaction from the reader varying from laughing out load to a wry grin. There are numerous types of humour employed in Mort amongst them are irony, ambiguity and pun. Death speaks in capital letters, a stroke of genius in my opinion you are able to hear the coffins creak and the bells toll in your mind every time he speaks. The narrative flows effortlessly, abundant in wit and astute in its content. He was tall, red-haired and freckled, with the sort of body that seems to be only marginally under its owner’s control it appeared to have been built out of knees.

There was something infectious, possibly even fatal, about it. It wasn’t that he was unhelpful, but he had the kind of vague, cheerful helpfulness that serious men soon learn to dread. It was also acutely embarrassing to Mort’s family that the youngest son was not at all serious and had about the same talent for horticulture that you would find in a dead starfish. Ysabell and Albert complete Death’s “family”, Albert is deserving of a book all of his very own.

Death plays the supporting role to Mort, the perfect representation of an awkward, gangly male teenager. He stole the limelight with cameos in The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic and reader feedback must have made Pratchett realise that he had created a character that was deserving of much more exposure. Mort marks Death’s first major appearance in the Discworld series. Mort is told in third-person narrative and contains all the dry humour and excellent social observations that has become the Pratchett trademark. To take a theme such as death and turn it into a story that is this amusing and warm-hearted is a remarkable achievement. This is a wonderful book by Terry Pratchett, possibly my favourite. However, he soon found that romantic longings did not mix easily with the responsibilities of being Death's apprentice. After being assured that being dead was not compulsory, Mort accepted. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job. Mort belongs in the comic fantasy sub-genre of fantasy.ĭeath comes to us all. The book is 315 pages in length and Corgi Books published the edition reviewed. The book is the fourth in the series and was first published in the UK by Victor Gollanz Ltd in association with Colin Smythe Ltd in 1987. Mort is a Discworld novel by fantasy author Terry Pratchett.

Mort by Terry Pratchett