(I read this book as part of the Reading Out of the Box Challenge. This book was in the It’s My Birthday! category, in which I read a book published the same year or month as my birthday.)
Mort isn’t stupid, really, just a little…odd. So it’s not particularly surprising when he’s chosen as Death’s apprentice. The job isn’t challenging, and meals, lodging, and use of the company horse are included.
But working for an anthropomorphic personification has its drawbacks — especially on Mort’s love life. And when he breaks the rules set forth in the world’s beginning, he threatens to undo time itself.
Well done, but…
I’ve met the result of Mort’s quest for love in Hogfather, but was interested in learning how he ended up as Death’s apprentice. As you’d expect, it’s quite a story.
Unfortunately, though, Mort’s story is a bit overshadowed. It’s well done and exciting, but I found Death to be a more interesting character. He’s an odd mix of profound and bizarre, someone firmly planted in the world of the theoretical but obsessed with humanity. So much so that he adopts a living girl as his daughter.
This doesn’t take anything away from the book — in fact, it makes it even better. Just a little different than I was expecting. Fortunately there’s a zillion other books in Pratchett’s Discworld series, so there’s plenty more chances to enchant me further.
