DEATH comes......a-hiring (Mort - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: sandemp

Product:	Mort - Terry Pratchett
Date:	02/08/05 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good characters | Stronger Story | Very Readable | Many Layers |

Disadvantages: Not as funny as some of the books

A giant turtle slowly makes it's way across the vast emptiness that is space, and on it's meteor pocked shell stand four over-sized elephants, on whose backs rests the flat, circular, and highly magical Discworld. Discworld is world of heroes, heroines, witches and wizards, where magic is a very real part of life and DEATH may just come to collect your soul in (non) person, but there again he might just send Mort (his new apprentice) instead…..

As this, the fourth of the Discworld series begins, we meet Mortimer, a gangly lad who not only appears to be all elbows and knees, but also thinks about things rather more than is good for him. He's not a bad lad, just not the type his father wants working on the farm, and so he is taken to the hiring fare, in the hope that he might be suitable for a trade, any trade. Sadly, as the clock begins to strike midnight, poor, old (young) Mort is the only lad who hasn't been apprenticed and it looks like he's going to have to return to the farm in shame. But then a black robed figure on a white horse appears, and the ultimate undertaker seems to need some hired help….

If you want to find out any more about how the story turns out, then I'm afraid you're going to have to find yourself a copy of the book. What I will tell you though is that, just for once with a Discworld novel, the actual story is quite important and even follows a reasonably good plot. I say just for once, because something I've noticed with these particular fantasy novels is that the story is actually secondary to both the jokes and characters.

Talking of jokes, I don't know if it was just me, but I really didn't find this book as funny as others in the series. Yes there were a few puns (or punes even) scattered within the pages, but there was no point at which I laughed out loud. This was a little disappointing but, thankfully, the actual characterisations more than made up for the lack of laughs.

The main character of the book, is not (as you might think) Mort (although he obviously plays an important part), indeed it is that ultimate in undertakers, DEATH, who steals the show. In the three books previous to this one, we had only been shown glimpses of DEATH's character, in fact just enough to whet our appetites. In this book, however, DEATH comes into his own, his naivety, and lack of understanding of human emotions really shines through. I found DEATH to be such a complex character, that it was, at times, hard to remember that he is essentially just a skeleton, and as for his struggles to understand the human world around him, well what can I say…

I've already told you about Mort, and there is very little to add about his character, except as the book itself says, he's one of those dangerous people that really wants to know how things work. Throughout the book, we are also introduced to a few other characters (which may or may not become important in later books), including Albert, the butler who may (or may not), be all that he seems, and Ysabell, DEATH's adoptive daughter.

So what do I think this book is about? Well I can, of course, only give my impression, but my overall feeling was that the book was particularly showing how certain jobs can mould you. I know this sounds a little strange, but I really felt that it took a stereotypical role and then looked at how it affects the person playing it. I'm sure that you'd reach your own conclusions, and possibly find many other examples of our life mirrored in the book, but I'll leave you to discover them for yourself.

The thing that has always impressed about the Discworld novels, is the many layers contained within them, and this is no exception. At the very simplest level, there is a simple plot that can be followed by young and old, but on further re-reading you can discover Pratchett's sharp observations on our "civilised" lifestyle, and the little swipes he is taking at us all. The final layer in the book can be found in the many footnotes, without which many of his loyal readers would be sorely disappointed. Although this book is aimed at an adult audience, I see no reason why younger readers would not be able to enjoy reading it, even if they don't quite get all the jokes.

So who am recommending this book to? Well, for anybody who has already read some of the Discworld novels, then this is a must, especially if you plan to read some of the later works, such as Hogfather. To those that haven't yet made their first steps into this fantasy world, I would say that due to the fact that this book does not depend too heavily on you having read previous books in the series, then this would make quite a good first foray. If however, you prefer serious writings or chick-lit then this may not be the book for you. There is not a serious (or lovey-dovey) moment to be found, from the bright cartoon cover through to the very last page, but if you enjoy the writing style as much as I do, you will find that you are unable to put it down until you reach those magic words….The End.


---Technical Bits---

Paperback : 315 pages
Publisher : Corgi Adult
ISBN : 0552131067

Price : £5.59 from Amazon (UK)

Summary: Fourth in the Discworld series and first to fully introduce DEATH