What I'm Reading: Mort by Terry Pratchett

In my review of Equal Rites, I mentioned how a lot of people suggest beginning reading the Discworld series with this book, Mort. It's about Mort (surprise), who is a young man from a remote village whose family needs to put him to work. He finds a place as Death's apprentice.

When Sir Terry Pratchett died in 2015, my book club read Mort to celebrate his life and work. Some of us were already familiar with the Discworld, and others were totally new to it. I know at least one member who's gone on to read the entire series since then.

Although Discworld's Death is one of my favourite characters in all of literature (he's embodied as a grim reaper figure and speaks in tones of coffin lids and mausoleum doors, but also rides a white horse named Binky), I have to admit that I personally don't think that this is the place to start with the series. As I mentioned previously, the Witches are my favourite and so they have a bit of an edge. But I just don't like Mort that much because I honestly think it's kind of muddled. There are later Discworld books where I recall a lot of complexity, but in Mort Pratchett is juggling too many different things: Mort's apprenticeship, Death deciding he wants to try other jobs, Death's daughter not wanting to stay in his domain, an old wizard who doesn't want to die, a princess who should've died. I've read this book twice and I still honestly don't really understand what happens at the end of it.

I now have to admit that I actually read this book months ago and I just didn't have time to write a post about it until now, so I don't have a ton to say about it. We'll be returning to the Wizards next with Sourcery a book that I know for a fact I've read, but possibly not for almost two decades.

My other Discworld reviews:

1. The Colour of Magic
2. The Light Fantastic
3. Equal Rites