Scan barcode
grets_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
linblythe_pub22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, and Classism
ggcd1981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
saltycoffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicide, and Murder
ampharos906's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Violence, and Blood
sreddous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't know how Terry Pratchett does it. This book is, all at the same time, spit-your-drink-out hilarious, tense, haunting, beautiful, poetic. I found myself laughing out loud and reading descriptions out to people in other rooms, I found myself muttering "oh dang!" at some of the twists and character reveals, I found myself chewing my lip in anxiety.
It's a take on the myth of Death that I haven't seen before. The plot is easy enough to follow and IMO is perfectly-paced, not too fast, not too slow. The descriptions of each character, each location, each process tell the reader exactly what they need to know in extremely clever ways. "Show, don't tell," is a sometimes hard rule to follow as a writer. "Immerse, don't show," is something that Terry Pratchett is uniquely a genius about, and holy crap, does this book really put that talent center-stage.
The characters' motivations are consistent and realistic even in this place where space and time don't matter. Death can be a cruel master. He doesn't understand humans and emotions and "why", so therefore, there are times he's setting Mort up for failure. Therefore, the stakes are always super high. Mort can be a bit unlikable sometimes and say and do some sketchy things but -- yeah, what would I do in his shoes? It's so easy to get completely immersed in this drama, this wonder, this tension.
For this story specifically, I don't love the fat jokes that pop up here and there, and there's some not-insanely-graphic-but-still depictions of animal abuse and death, so heads up if that can be upsetting to you. But those aren't too over-reaching. Can't wait to keep reading more Discworld books in general but definitely the Grim Reaper-related ones.
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Animal cruelty and Fatphobia
sigynmoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Fatphobia and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Classism
Fatphobia: Throughout the book a character is described as chubby in a way that implies she is unattractive for it. Murder: There's a lot of murder and death in this book as a whole, the whole story is revolved around death. Animal death and cruelty: Near the beginning, a bag of drowned kittens is found. We do see these kittens come up as ghosts which personally made me feel better but it's still definitely saddening for animal lovers. A man attempts to sacrifice an elephant but fails, however the elephant is still injured in the process. Classism: A princess throws out a bit of classism here and there.missh3ll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Death
torapaint's review against another edition
3.5
Minor: Animal cruelty
andreeahandrea1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal cruelty