Reviews with content warning for Death - Reaper Man

'' They said that dying was just like going to sleep, although of course if you weren’t careful bits of you could rot and drop off. ''

Have you ever wondered what would happen if death went on holiday? Or how cities go about reproducing? Probably not but these are exactly the kinds of questions you didn't know you needed the answer to before you get them. Death, having told he has limited time left, decides that he wants to see what being human is all about. He finds himself working as a farm hand under the name Bill Door and seems to be perpetually confused. In contrast to his literal mindedness we have the chaos incarnate that is the wizards of Unseen University. Through them (and the recently deceased Windle Poons) we get to see the consequences of death's time off as everything starts descending into even more mayhem than usual.

I loved this book and the characters. And it definitely had some very interesting ideas. I do, however, feel like Pratchett tried to do a bit too much. Two whole plots (while related) is a bit too much for a relatively short book. I feel like a lot was lost, although I still enjoyed it immensely. I just wish there was a little bit less jumping around and that we had got to see more of the antics of both sets of characters.

While it doesn't really matter what order you read the Discworld Books in, I do think readers would gain much more from this story if they have already read at least one book about the wizards and one about Death. I think having an understanding about the characters before diving into this rather busy book (it feels like a Pratchett cover with a lot happening at the same time and mentally jumping between details) would definitely be beneficial.

Content Warnings

shadereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I'm jumping around the Discworld series a little and decided to read this one next because Death is my favourite character. There are moments of comedic genius throughout as you'd expect but it's very much a book of two halves and I preferred Death's storyline to that of the wizards. I really enjoyed seeing Death learn how to be human and there are some brilliant side characters in both plots.

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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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petitemass15's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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