Reviews with content warning for Murder - Mort

This was my first Discworld book. It took me a little while to get used to Terry Pratchett’s writing style and the structure of the book.

The book isn’t broken up into traditional chapters and the narrative jumps among the characters. Once you get used to it the pace picks up.

I really enjoyed my first foray into the Disc. The story is clever and funny and the characters become ones you care about.

I think as I read more Discworld books my rating for Mort may change. Look forward to reading more in the series!

Content Warnings

blymanor's review

Go to review page

funny medium-paced

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

Not sure how I feel about the overall plot, but there are some incredibly well-written jokes and sardonic comments in here that make it worth it.

Content Warnings

sigynmoon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

crufts's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

I "read" Mort twice: once in the original novel format and once in the BBC radio play. Both are excellent.
Although this is Book 4 of the Discworld series, there's very little connection to the preceding novels and you can read it as a standalone.

Through unusual circumstances, teenager Mort (Mortimer) becomes an apprentice to Death. Yep, that Death. Stricken by a crush when he's sent to collect the soul of the assassinated Princess Keli, Mort averts her death and inadvertently sets the universe off-kilter. With the help of Death's teenage daughter Ysabell, butler Albert, and the wizard Cutwell, can he fix it all up before Death finds out?

It's a very funny novel. Having Death as an anthropomorphic character allows for wry observations about how people deal with death! In fact, no one can see Death or ghosts unless (like the wizard Cutwell) they've been specially trained.
But not everyone is sorry to see Death. Paraphrased: "The kings and queens always hang on as long as they can when I come knocking, but the peasants? They can't wait!"
Many other interesting ideas are also passed around in the form of jokes. After his endless years of service, Death has learned helplessness about the inevitability of fate: "There's no justice. There's just us." But once fresh-faced Mort is on the scene, he remarks (paraphrased): "I've gotten so caught up in how things are, that I've forgotten what they could become." This character development is satisfying to see.

Another strong point of the novel is unity of plot. The main theme is death and the inevitability (or not) of fate, and the plot sticks to that pretty strictly. There are hardly any extraneous plot threads, making for a focused, "clean" story. This is in contrast to the previous Discworld novels such as The Colour of Magic (#1) and The Light Fantastic (#2), which twist and bend all over the place in order to accommodate the jokes.

Finally, the pacing was good as well. Too many times, I've written Storygraph reviews that say "It was good, but they rushed the ending!" Not so here. The climactic showdown scene stretches out the tension of the final moments, just as it should. Time slows dramatically at all the right points and we get exactly the explosive ending we're hoping for.

I would absolutely recommend this book.

Content Warnings

More...