Mort: (Discworld Novel 4) (Discworld Novels)

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Dave Langford reviewed Mort for White Dwarf #96, and stated that "After a slightly less successful experiment in Equal Rites, Pratchett has sussed the combination of hilarity with a tortuous plot, and the rest of us would-be humorists hate him for it." [7] Young Mort despairs of finding a suitable career in his provincial village, until one day he is rather unexpectedly hired by a bony figure in a cowl – Death, it seems, is in need of an apprentice. Introduced to the chilly truth behind the workings of the universe, the inherently curious Mort cannot help but meddle with the laws of time and space. The resulting chaos means all manner of trouble for the stability of reality, not to mention his burgeoning love life …

In 2004, Pratchett stated that Mort was the first Discworld novel with which he was "pleased", stating that in previous books, the plot had existed to support the jokes, but that in Mort, the plot was integral. [1] Plot summary [ edit ] Death was standing behind a lectern, poring over a map. He looked at Mort as if he wasn’t entirely there. The first volume of the bewitching ‘Chrestomanci’ series by Diana Wynne Jones. Charmed Life arrives in an explosion of magic in this edition illustrated by Alison Bryant and introduced by Katherine Rundell.Death comes to everyone eventually on Discworld. And now he's come to Mort with an offer the young man can't refuse. (No, literally, can't refuse since being dead isn't exactly compulsory.) Actually, it's a pretty good deal. As Death's apprentice, Mort will have free board and lodging. He'll get use of the company horse. And he won't have to take any time off for family funerals. But despite the obvious perks, young Mort is about to discover that there is a serious downside to working for the Reaper Man . . . because this perfect job can be a killer on one's love life. Death is one of the classic characters from Terry Pratchett's discworld novels. He pops up often and is always funny, with a defined personality. Mort is the book where the reader really learns about him and the world he has created for himself. The very concept of Death having an apprentice so he can take time off or retire is amusing in itself. What it entails is even funnier. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Read more With this book the Disc World Series really starts to come alive. Death is looking for an apprentice, and manages to take on the most awkward hopeless young fellow ever: Mortimer, known as Mort or Boy.Mort’s growth into the, er, gravity of his position is something to behold. Death makes mostly pathetic attempts to understand humans and their mysterious ways. This is a feel-good little book with lots of humor and satire. Recommended for anyone who needs a break from the weariness of the world. Read more

When she spoke again it was in the thin, careful and above all brave voice of someone who has pulled themselves together despite overwhelming odds but might let go again at any moment.”Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. He died in March 2015. Mort was already aware that love made you feel hot and cold and cruel and weak, but he hadn't realized that it could make you stupid.” He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death is yearning to experience what humanity really has to offer, but to do that, he'll need to hire some help. Terry Pratchett wasn’t simply a master of his genre, conjuring one of fiction’s strangest and most beloved fantasy realms in the form of the Discworld; he was also a master storyteller, and one of our greatest modern writers. In her introduction for this edition, A. S. Byatt describes his ‘maddening and delightful’ imagination, and how the core of his work always contained a ‘reflection on the nature and language of things’. Whether describing the personification of Death in a curry house or threatening the great city of Ankh-Morpork with a dragon, Pratchett’s focus was always on the humanity of his characters. He knew their passions, failings, hopes and desperations, revealing them with compassion and wisdom – and if the truth bit a little close to home for the reader, a joke would be along at any moment to take away the sting. In the first in his ‘trilogy of five’, Douglas Adams introduces us Earthbound readers to Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Babel fish, Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters and Marvin the Paranoid Android.