Saturday, September 30, 2006
***** Mort by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy. Re-read.
I tossed this one back in my TBR pile after my son read it to give me an excuse to re-read (we don't really want to get into a discussion of the convoluted ways my mind works, do we?). I hadn't forgotten how much I enjoyed this first Death book, and hadn't really forgotten the details either, but it was wonderfully fun revisiting it.
The basic premise, for anyone who hasn't read the Discworld books, is that Death takes an apprentice, Mort. This is where we learn of the theory behind Death's job, and his affection for kittens, as well as his curiosity about and inability to understand humans, particularly that YEC*. (whoops, mixing author catch-phrases here--is that worse than mixing metaphors?)
Mort, unsurprisingly, makes a bit of a mess of things, and his attempts to fix it just make things worse. There's some interesting (and hilarious, of course--nobody missed the memo on that, right? Terry Pratchett = very, very funny unless otherwise indicated) theory about destiny and what happens when you mess with it, and also about the nature of history.
Mort's one of the earlier Discworld books, and it shows, because it's not nearly as complex as later ones, but it's got the serious bones overlaid with fantasy and humor that's common to the whole series.
It's also a very good introduction to the series, better, IMO, than the first, Rincewind books. It's short, uncomplicated, and doesn't draw on knowledge or events from previous books. And did I mention it's funny? I'm incapable of reading a Pratchett book if there's anyone within shouting distance without reading lines aloud to them. In lieu of copy-and-pasting some here for you, I'll just send you to the L-Space page: Mort Quotes. Pretend I'm reading them aloud to you. You're welcome.
*"YEC: Scenes with lots of emotion (from Bob's request that he not have to write the Yucky Emotional Crap)" --from http://www.jennycrusie.com/cherries.php
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Categories: Books, 5stars, Fantasy
Labels: 5 stars, books, fantasy
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Cool. Glad to hear you enjoyed this. I've had this book in my TBR pile since forever. I'll have to give it a bump. :-)
Oh, I would. I heartily recommend it. It's a fast read, too, so even if you don't love it, you wouldn't waste all that much time. :)
Thanks for mentioning this one. I've read lots of Pratchett's books, but for some reason I keep forgetting to pick this one up.
You've sold me (and those quotes, too, natch).
You've sold me (and those quotes, too, natch).
# posted by 
: 9/30/2006 7:20 PM
: 9/30/2006 7:20 PM
I really must reread some Pratchett!! Although there are quite a few that I haven't read at all yet...maybe I should do a glom on him!
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