A review by valereads
Mort by Terry Pratchett

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I found this novel had a great balance of humour and philosophy. It made me laugh out loud multiple times (including once in the library...) but didn't hold off exploring deeper themes about life, death, and the nature of reality. The main characters were all wonderfully created and even when they were not likeable so to speak they were certainly a joy to read about and I'm looking forward to following some of them through the rest of this series.

All that said I did find the ending to be slightly rushed. I thought that the last section of the story was probably one of the weakest parts and I found myself thinking that it seemed like Prachett just wanted to get it over.

Another issue I take with the book is the portrayal of certain minority ethnicities. There are a number of minor characters in this story who belong to an ethnicity which appears to be modelled on South Asian cultures and who practice a religion which appears to be inspired by Hinduism. I understand that this book was written in a different time and I cannot speak of Prachett's intentions but some of their portrayals felt like negative stereotyping and rubbed me the wrong way. If this concerns you I'd recommend looking for reviews from South Asian readers to know what they think of this portrayal.

That said I would absolutely recommend this novel if you like humour, fantasy and just a little bit of deep philosophy. Though if you're looking for a story you don't have to think too much about you're better off looking elsewhere

Expand filter menu Content Warnings