English language
Published July 13, 2003 by Tandem Library.
The ending of this book really doesn't make justice for the whole setup and build-up.
One of the Pratchett books that certainly gets worse on the re-read. I will dare to say that both Colour and Light were significantly better as a whole than this one.
I appreciate Pratchett's commitment to the absurd, though I thought the Deus Ex ending was a bit heavy-handed and could've used more nuance and gravitas. Still, it's worth the read, even if you haven't delved too much into the Discworld series
Terry Pratchett is what I’ve been missing when reading Douglas Adams. Mort is not just witty, but actually quite touching and even frightening. The humour seems somehow profound, for example when Death explains that everyone gets what they think is coming for them, because “it’s so much neater that way”. This light-hearted fun actually opens up a philosophical can of worms: If I expect a heavenly afterlife together with my family, but my brother expects to be rotting in hell, is the brother in heaven actually my brother? He can’t be, but did I then actually get what I expected? This dilemma is even touched upon later. I much prefer this humour to cliché nihilism.
The characters and storyline in this book really didn't click with me. I felt like Mort was a complete jerk and that Kelli should have totally died. I mean, I'm glad everything worked out in the end but still.
This was a great Discworld novel and I highly recommend it for newcomers to the series. The best part of the book is probably the character Death, who is very unique and surprising in this universe. The plot moves along quickly as well, making this a short, enjoyable read.
For my full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2015/05/book-review-mort-by-terry-pratchett.html
